A Brief History
Once upon a time on the French Riviera...
This is how we might begin to tell the story of the NEGRESCO !
It is a marvellous fairy tale which has come true thanks to the determination, courage and the strive for excellence of the men and women who have built, developed and cherished what is today a mythical place.
In 1893, the young Romanian Henri NEGRESCU (1868-1920), son of an innkeeper and gypsy violinist arrived in MONTE-CARLO. He started off in the catering trade and quickly worked his way up to become director of the restaurant at the HELDER. His professionalism drew a renowned and loyal clientele. His management of the restaurants at the Municipal Casino of Nice and the Casino at Enghien-les-Bains in 1905 was to have a significant impact on his future.
His position at the Municipal Casino in Nice gave him the opportunity to meet the celebrated French architect of Dutch origin, Edouard NIERMANS (1859-1928) « architect of the Café Society ». In 1909 at the restaurant in Enghien-les-Bains he met Alexandre DARRACQ (1855-1931), the future financier of his project. Henry NEGRESCO (his given name as a French citizen) could at last entrust his project to NIERMANS. Nothing was left to chance in order to mark the history of the French Riviera, so Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) was chosen by the architect to construct the framework of one of Europe’s most beautiful glass domes - the pride of our Salon Royal.
On January 8th 1913 the NEGRESCO opened its doors and the dazzling white façade and its pink dome have watched over the Bay of Angels ever since.
The hotel attracted a brilliant international clientele, heads of state from the old and new world : VANDERBILT, SINGER, Queen Amelia of Portugal, the Count of Paris, the Grand Dukes Wladimir and Dimitri…
In just one year the NEGRESCO was acclaimed as the most sumptuous of luxury hotels. The first season was an enormous success earning a profit of 800 000 gold francs!
Then World War 1914-18 broke out and Henry NEGRESCO (“Knight of the Legion of Honneur”) decided to open his hotel to the Nation as a temporary hospital. He even paid for the upkeep of 100 beds out of his own pocket and he was subsequently mobilized on the site and so was able to keep an eye on the building.
At the end of the War Henry NEGRESCO was a ruined man. He died in Paris in 1920.
The NEGRESO was purchased by a Belgian company and entered a state of lethargy. Little by little it sank into oblivion, even if it remained a first class address for elegant winter visitors.
In 1957, a family tragedy obliged Monsieur MESNAGE and his daughter Jeanne, future spouse of Maître Paul AUGIER to buy the NEGRESCO which was henceforth to ‘rise from its ashes’.
The passion that Jeanne AUGIER developed for her hotel was to thrust it to the forefront of notoriety once again.. Her main object : to present an overall view of the great periods of French Art - through an exceptional collection of Art - to her guests through the hotel as a living ambassador for France.
Although Maître AUGIER passed away in 1995, Jeanne AUGIER has continued to enrich the collection that she has created and, in doing so, has increased its prestige, attracting an esteemed and loyal clientèle : Elton JOHN, Montserrat CABALLE, ...
On July 1st, 2010 the long history of the NEGRESCO took a new and innovative direction for the satisfaction of its guests.
