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There are places that evoke images of a bygone era, a distant past for which we harbor nostalgia without ever having known it. The Negresco is one such place. It stands proudly, flaunting its pink dome, facing the Mediterranean Sea lined with palm trees. Its story is reminiscent of a Christmas tale where wishes, once uttered, materialize in the snap of a finger. It’s the story of Henri Negresco, the headwaiter of Romanian origin, who staunchly believed in his dream to construct a breathtaking hotel.
In front of the Rococo facade of the Negresco where a doorman is stationed in his navy and red Louis XV livery, we can trace back the singular history that started in 1911 when Henri Negresco purchased the land in Nice where his dream would become reality. It was the Belle Époque, a period when technological advancements were generating opulence and carefreeness in Europe, when the French Riviera was welcoming an aristocratic crowd eager to warm themselves under the rays of a radiant winter sun. The Promenade des Anglais, initially designed for contemplation and leisurely walks, now drew everyone’s attention, igniting numerous initiatives. Henri Negresco, a headwaiter in grand palaces serving extremely affluent clients, dreamed big. He envisioned a flamboyant hotel on this promenade, one that would cater to an upscale clientele. Having rubbed shoulders with businessmen and sovereigns, he had rendered himself indispensable. He approached the magnates of the automobile industry, Dion-Bouton and Alexandre Darracq, who, out of friendship for this exceptional headwaiter, did not hesitate to offer him financial support. Architect Édouard-Jean Niermans was commissioned to draw the plans, which Negresco adjusted according to his vision.
On January 4, 1913, among the illustrious guests, crowned heads celebrated the sensational inauguration of the Negresco, unsuspecting that a war would break out eighteen months later. All were in awe of the Louis XVI style hall that has retained its former splendor. The majestic ballroom, crowned by a splendid glass roof now listed as a historical monument, revealed a 4.60-meter high Baccarat crystal chandelier, originally intended for Tsar Nicolas II. Under the colonnade, two immense frescoes conveyed the ambiance of the Belle Époque, marked by festivities and erotic lightness, one of them signed by Paul Gervais. The grandiose dream of the headwaiter had become reality.
However, reality, which can sometimes be merciless, caught up with him. The Great War spewed its dead and injured by the hundreds. The war, with its infernal breath, reshaped history. It swiftly shattered the headwaiter’s dream. The Negresco was requisitioned to accommodate war-wounded and refugees, morphing into a military hospital. In 1918, Henri Negresco vainly attempted to revive his grand hotel, but, ruined and ill, he died in 1920 in Paris. A Belgian hotel company purchased the lease. The golden age had sadly come to an end.
In the aftermath of the Great War, horseriding along the sea slowly disappeared, and the summer season, over the years, supplanted the winter one, with its beach activities and water sports. The Negresco had already lost some of its splendor, overshadowed by other hotels on the coast. Then the Second World War broke out in 1939. It was a grim omen for the Negresco which had already started to decay.
It was a long time before it could regain its former youth. In 1957, Jean-Baptiste Mesnage, whose wife was paralyzed following surgery, purchased it because it was the only hotel equipped with an elevator for wheelchairs. He entrusted the hotel to his daughter Jeanne, married to Paul Augier, a lawyer from Nice. She instilled in it a spirit of grandeur and extravagance, upholstering the elevator in red velvet and furnishing lounges, suites, and rooms with works of art.
In the sixties and seventies, the Negresco regained all its former exuberance. It became the center of cultural life and art on the French Riviera. It welcomed famous stars who came to perform or film on the Riviera, painters, writers: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Richard Burton, Liz Taylor, Montserrat Caballé, Charles Aznavour, Dali, Picasso, Matisse, Cocteau, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jeanne Moreau… the list goes on. Jeanne Augier turned it into a museum, adorning it with approximately six thousand classical and contemporary works of art, such as Niki de Saint Phalle’s Yellow Nana presiding over the Royal Salon, the portraits of monarchs, the majestic bust of Marie-Antoinette at the entrance of the bar, the portrait of Louis Armstrong by Raymond Moretti. She turned it into a jewel of French heritage, both through its works of art, woodwork, carpets, and gastronomy with the Michelin-starred restaurant Le Chantecler and the La Rotonde brasserie. The Negresco is listed as a historical monument.
As the years passed, signs of wear and tear began to show through faded carpets, worn tiles, and peeling paint. In 2010, the hotel closed its doors for extensive renovations before celebrating its centenary. Jeanne Augier, who had no descendants, bequeathed the Negresco upon her death in 2019 to the Mesnage-Augier-Negresco Endowment Fund which works for the protection of animals, offers assistance to people with disabilities or in distress, and contributes to the cultural preservation of France.
At the beginning of 2023, the Negresco, defiantly standing the test of time, celebrated its 110th anniversary. One has the impression of being in a mythical place of dated charm where numerous remarkable stories have left their imprint. Henri Negresco died in deprivation, but his patronym continues to shine like a beacon on the frontispiece of the hotel.
