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The Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat is an immaculate historic château set on the tip of the Cap Ferrat peninsula. The hotel, which opened in 1908, stands in 15 acres of landscaped gardens surrounded by pine and cypress forest. There are ornamental gardens, secret gardens wild rock gardens and formal gardens, all planted with brightly coloured exotic trees. The hotel was recently refurbished by its Lebanese owners. It is classic and elegant, with exquisite antiques and beautifully embroidered rugs on cool marble floors. A highlight of any stay will be a meal at restaurant Le Cap, which serves contemporary Provençal cuisine in a dining room with an elegant terrace overlooking the lawn and ocean. Just off the terrace is the Somerset Maugham piano bar. The writer was a frequent visitor in the 1930s and the walls of the bar are covered with signed portraits of the many other celebrities who have passed through, from Jean Cocteau to presidents Clinton and George W Bush. The focal point of the hotel, however is Club Dauphin, a waterfront 'beach club' on a natural terrace carved in the rock face above the ocean. It is reached, rather thrillingly, by a funicular that descends the steep hillside. The main attraction is the heavenly Olympic-size, heated, salt-water swimming pool. The hotel also has a second restaurant, Terrasse aux Pins d'Alep, and sunbathing lawns dotted with private cabanas. For those in search of greater privacy, the next-door Villa Rose-Pierre, set in its own grounds with a private swimming pool and team of seven staff, can be rented for two weeks minimum. ££
CONTACT
Le Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat, 71 boulevard General de Gaulle, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (00 33 4 9376 5050; www.grand-hotel-cap-ferrat.com). Doubles from 205 euros.
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