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Origin and history

The Hotel du Palais de Biarritz came into being in 1854, when Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie de Montijo ordered a summer residence, Villa Eugénie, to get closer to Spain, which was born in the latter. Designed by the architect Hippolyte Durand, then taken over by Louis-Auguste Couvrechef due to the incompetence of the first, the villa was built in Louis XIII style between 1854 and 1855. From 1856 to 1868, it hosted a lavish festival of European aristocracy. After Napoleon III's death in 1873, Eugénie sold the estate in 1881 to the Banque de l'Union Parisienne, marking the beginning of its transformation into a hotel-casino under the name of Palais Biarritz.

In 1893, the establishment became the Hôtel du Palais after extensions led by architect Octave Raquin. Ravaged by a fire in February 1903, it was entirely rebuilt by Édouard-Jean Niermans between 1903 and 1905, adopting a neo-Louis XIII style of reinforced concrete with brick and stone facades. The E-shaped plan, in tribute to Empress Eugénie, symbolizes this reconstruction. The palace, modern for the time, integrates a seawater pool in 1957 and welcomes personalities like Frank Sinatra or heads of state during the G7 in 2019.

Ranked 5 stars and distinguished "palace" in 2011 – the only establishment on the French Atlantic coast to hold this title – the hotel combines imperial heritage and contemporary luxury. Its facades and roofs have been protected as historical monuments since 1993. After major renovations (2018-2022, 70 million euros), it reopens in 2022 with 86 rooms, 56 suites, a Guerlain spa and two restaurants, including La Rotonde, celebrated by Alain Ducasse. The management is carried out by the Hyatt group, while the property remains mostly municipal.

The architectural history of the site reflects the evolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries: from imperial residence to the symbol of luxury tourism, to technical innovations such as reinforced concrete. The nearby imperial chapel, the only intact vestige of Villa Eugénie, bears witness to this past. Today, the Hotel du Palais embodies both the historical prestige of Biarritz and its international influence, between heritage and modernity.

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