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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Hotel Negresco is a luxury palace located on the promenade des Anglais in Nice, inaugurated in 1913. He is one of the few survivors of the early 20th century hotel industry, designed by architect Édouard-Jean Niermans for Henri Negrescu, an ambitious Romanian hotel master. Its neoclassical architecture, embellished with Baroque ornaments, makes it a symbol of Nice elegance. The large central hall, known as the "Royal Lounge", with its oval window and Baccarat chandelier, as well as its facades, have been listed as historical monuments since 2003.

The project is based on the ambition of Henri Negrescu, inspired by his years of service to prestigious customers such as the Rockefellers. Funded by automobile manufacturers, including Alexandre Darracq, the hotel is built of reinforced concrete for reasons of cost and speed. Its inauguration in 1913 attracted seven crowned heads, amazed by its luxury: giant carpets, Carrara marbles, and modern technologies such as electricity and a pneumatic mail distribution system. However, World War I turned the hotel into a military hospital, damaging its facilities and precipitating the ruin of Negrescu.

In 1920, a Belgian company bought the lease. The hotel goes through decades by welcoming celebrities like Louis Armstrong, who discovers It's so good in 1948. In 1957, Jeanne Augier and her husband Paul Augier took over the establishment and made it a hotel-museum, collecting more than 6,000 works of art, including royal portraits and pieces by Niki de Saint Phalle. Jeanne Augier, emblematic figure, modernises the hotel while preserving its historical soul, refusing prestigious buy-back offers to maintain its independence.

Ranked "Twentieth Century Heritage" in 2001 and labeled a Living Heritage Enterprise in 2015, Negresco remains a symbol of the French Riviera. Despite successive challenges, such as the complex management of Jeanne Augier's estate after his death in 2019, the hotel retains its status as a cultural and historical monument, managed today by the Mesnage-Augustier-Negresco endowment fund.

Negresco has also marked culture, appearing in films such as The Crazy Cage 2 or The Family Hero, and in literature, as in Romain Gary's Promise of Dawn. Its royal salon, thematic suites and collections make it a unique place, combining history, art and modernity.

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