Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Bristol Hotel was built between 1897 and 1898 on the initiative of Sir Blundell Maple, a London furniture manufacturer, to make it a luxury palace on the Riviera. The works, carried out by the company Baptistin Serraire with architects Hans-Georg Tersling (Danish) and Marcello M., were completed in December 1898. The hotel, inaugurated in January 1899, is distinguished by its 300 rooms spread over five floors, an inner street, libraries, and pavilions dedicated to shows. Its "hotel-block" architecture articulates two wings around a central body, with interior fittings signed Maple and Co.

In 1899, an adjacent rotunda was built to house a restaurant and tea room, the Verandah Restaurant. This circular building, with a dome and adorned with glass absides, was completed in January 1904. The metal structure, designed by Marcello M., and the interior decorations (Italian room, gallery, gallery for musicians) reflect the fascist of the period. The rotunda, now classified, illustrates the influence of foreign architects and technical innovation of the late nineteenth century.

On 28 March 1911, a fire ravaged the two upper floors of the hotel, partially spared thanks to its reinforced cement floors. Rapid reconstruction allows a reopening for the 1911-1912 season, but with only four floors. During the First World War, the hotel was converted into a military hospital (1914-1916), like many Azurean palaces. After the war, he hosted tennis tournaments and resumed his tourism activity until the 1950s.

In 1954, the hotel was transformed into a high-end condominium by the developer Saglia. Its gardens and tennis courts are sold to the commune. The rotunda, left behind, was expropriated in the 1970s and restored in 1982 to become a conference centre, operated by Groupe Partouche in the 1990s. Since 2011, it has hosted the Salons de la Rotonde Lenôtre, despite persistent litigation with the co-owners.

The facades, roofs and gardens of the old hotel have been listed as historical monuments since February 2022, while the rotunda has been since 1978. These protections highlight the heritage value of an architectural ensemble emblematic of the Belle Époque, combining technical innovation, luxury and social history of the Côte d'Azur.

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