THE STORY BEHIND THE HOTEL · FRENCH RIVIERA SEASON · 10/12
Opening photograph: John Jason Junior · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In 1923, Gerald and Sara Murphy rented an entire hotel on Cap d’Antibes for the summer. On a coast organised around winter visitors, their decision helped change the Riviera’s social calendar.
Villa Soleil, a refuge for writers
Le Figaro founder Hippolyte de Villemessant imagined Villa Soleil as a retreat for writers. Russian aristocratic support helped bring the project to life, and a special train carried one hundred guests to the launch on 26 February 1870 for waltzes and a fifteen-course dinner. The dream faltered until Piedmontese hotelier Antoine Sella found the abandoned property and reopened it in January 1889.
Gartenfassade Hotel Du Cap. Architecture and setting around Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc. John Jason Junior · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
From the Grande Allée to the sea
The main house commands the long Grande Allée towards the sea. In 1914, Sella added a tea house on the rocks—the future Eden-Roc Pavilion—and blasted a seawater pool from basalt. Cabanas, terraces and a yacht club followed. Architecture here is an itinerary: formal hotel, garden axis, cliff, pool and horizon.
The Murphys and Fitzgerald’s Riviera
The hotel served the American Red Cross during the First World War and a military role again in the Second. The Murphys’ 1923 summer changed the coast’s season; Fitzgerald recast the hotel as the Hôtel des Étrangers in Tender Is the Night. The first Cannes Festival brought a famous 1946 party; the Oetker family bought the property in 1969.
Two tables in the hotel’s memory
The hotel’s anniversary timeline recounts a meeting in 1949: actress Rita Hayworth and Prince Aly Khan were dining separately. General manager André Sella noticed, introduced them and withdrew. They later married. It is the perfect hotel story because the decisive service was not a grand gesture but social perception: knowing which two tables should become one conversation.
The verified roll is unusually rich: George Sand described the Cap as an Eden; George Bernard Shaw became a loyal guest; Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald came; the Duke and Duchess of Windsor returned; Annabella and Tyrone Power were regulars; Rita Hayworth met Aly Khan here. In 1987, President François Mitterrand and Prime Minister Jacques Chirac attended a Franco-African summit at the hotel.
The war behind the postcard
The idyllic image contains war hospitals, abandonment and accidental bombardment. In 1944, the US Navy mistakenly hit the Eden-Roc Pavilion while targeting a German position; the Americans later rebuilt the damage. The hotel’s permanence is therefore not natural. It is the result of repeated reconstruction and unusually continuous stewardship.
The Oetker years
After the Oetkers purchased the hotel, they retained its teams and family culture while renewing the rooms, pavilion and pool. A seven-year restoration overseen by Madame Oetker and architect Luc Svetchine culminated from 2007 onward. Restaurants and suites have continued to evolve, including a Dior spa and new social spaces.
The estate includes the original hotel, Eden-Roc Pavilion, private villas, cabanas, the saltwater pool, tennis, restaurants and the Dior Spa Eden-Roc. The most desired experiences still follow the historic route down the Grande Allée to the water; the glamour works because the landscape remains legible beneath it.
Choose it for a highly private, seasonal resort where history and social ritual matter as much as accommodation. It is ideal for travellers seeking the Cap d’Antibes, sea access and a self-contained world, not those who need to walk into a town centre each evening.
Booking at the end of the season
The hotel announced its 2026 season from 20 April to 18 October. A winter stay cannot be assumed: check the next season’s dates and the availability of restaurants and spa treatments before choosing your stay. Arriving at Antibes or Juan-les-Pins station still requires a local transfer to Cap d’Antibes; the railway station is not the hotel entrance.
The hotel’s official 2026 season announcement
The hotel occupies the southern tip of Cap d’Antibes at 167–165 Boulevard J. F. Kennedy. Antibes and Juan-les-Pins stations are reached by car; Nice Côte d’Azur Airport is about 20 kilometres away. The property operates seasonally.
At a glance
- Address: 167-165 Boulevard J. F. Kennedy, 06160 Antibes, France
- Official hotel website
The season matters as much as the room
Checked on 13 October 2026: the hotel’s official homepage advertises its current season through 18 October. Confirm your precise arrival and departure dates directly before arranging flights. A historical hotel visit, a restaurant reservation and an overnight stay are different bookings: ask which facilities and access are included.
The property lists 111 guestrooms across Villa Soleil, the Eden-Roc Pavilion and Les Deux Fontaines, plus four rental villas. Compare the building, outlook, walking distance to the water and step-free access when choosing accommodation; a category name alone does not describe the whole stay.
The long walk towards the water has outlasted its famous guest lists. It gives the hotel a more durable story than any season’s social calendar.
Let OUISTARS shape the stay
A story can explain why a hotel matters; choosing the right room, dates and arrival plan is a different craft. OUISTARS can compare room and suite options, coordinate the route from airport or station, and help shape the wider Riviera itinerary—while keeping this article editorially independent.
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Editorial selection is independent. No partnership, sponsorship, complimentary stay or endorsement is implied. Availability, rates, taxes and cancellation terms must be confirmed before commitment.
Research desk: primary and authoritative sources
- Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc — official 150-year timeline
- Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc — official hotel page
- Oetker Collection — official hotel history
All Wikimedia Commons images are used under the licence shown in each credit. Official hotel imagery, where used, is editorially credited and must be re-cleared for commercial print or paid reuse.
Osama Samaha
Editor-in-Chief — OUISTARS Travel
