Long before Le Provençal became a collection of private residences, it was one of the French Riviera’s grand hotels, attracting a well-heeled American crowd to its perch above the Mediterranean. Among its notable guests was the Kennedy family, who spent summers on the Riviera in the late 1930s and returned in the decades that followed. Now, one of the former hotel’s VIP suites has been transformed into a sophisticated penthouse.
Known as Penthouse Nacre, the triplex occupies the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors of the Art Deco landmark in Cap d’Antibes. The six-bedroom residence spans nearly 9,000 square feet of interior space, with another 3,825 square feet of terraces, including one with a 39-foot swimming pool. The asking price is 40 million euros or $45 million, with furnishings available separately.
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A light-filled living room opens onto a terrace overlooking the Mediterrranean.
The Invisible Collection
The building’s American roots date to 1926, when architect Lucien Stable designed the Hôtel Provençal for American millionaire Frank Jay Gould and his wife, Florence Lacaze Gould. The hotel went on to host prominent Americans including Ernest Hemingway and Francis Lenn Taylor, whose daughter was Elizabeth Taylor. Joseph P. Kennedy brought his family to the Riviera in 1938 and 1939 while serving as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. The group included his sons John, who would become president, and Robert, who would later serve as attorney general.
The club room pairs saturated colors with plush upholstery and fabrics.
The Invisible Collection
British developer John Caudwell acquired the long-shuttered hotel in 2014 and has since transformed it into 35 private residences. For Penthouse Nacre, he worked with Isabelle Dubern-Mallevays, co-founder of design platform Invisible Collection, to mix contemporary French designs with vintage and antique pieces. The interiors take cues from the Riviera’s sun-soaked landscape and its history as a playground for artists and international society.
The three-level home includes several entertaining areas, a cocktail bar designed by Willy Rizzo in 1971, a club room, a custom kitchen, two family lounges, a games area, and a cinema. The principal suite has its own terrace and two walk-in dressing rooms, while the top-floor VIP guest suite opens onto three private balconies and terraces.
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The penthouse opens a rooftop terrace with a 39-foot swimming pool.
CAUDWELL
Penthouse Nacre is not the first storied residence at Le Provençal to hit the market. An apartment inspired by singer Ella Fitzgerald, who once stayed at the hotel and famously sang from her window, came up for sale last year at $9.7 million, and Villa Jardin, the former suite of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, was listed earlier this year for $33.6 million.
Residents have access to concierge services, valet parking, a spa, a cinema, and landscaped gardens with a 98-foot swimming pool. The adjacent Hôtel Belles Rives also offers a Michelin-starred restaurant, spa, and private beach club.
Click here to see more photos of the apartment at Le Provençal.
CAUDWELL
Authors
Abby Montanez
