La Co(o)rniche Hotel by Philippe Starck

Built in 1930 by Louis Gaume, this beautiful historic place is located in the Pilat-Plage district in France. The original developer’s family still operates the hotel today. Back in the 30s, this place was a great attraction for princes, grand dukes and aristocratic gentlemen. They were frequently coming here to meet with the other, to interact and to enjoy each other’s company.

But, as lovely and beautiful this place was, a few years ago it was obvious that it needed to be renovated. Philippe Starck was brought to be responsible for the design of the hotel. So he started the renovation process, keeping in mind that the hotel was a very precious building, with a lot memories and unique elements. So he chose to preserve some of those details. The hotel lobby has been preserved intact, with its dark wood and the frescoes. However, Mr. Starck felt the need to create a contrast, so he added what he calls“intelligent objects, for intelligent people, who come to this intelligent place”, which consist of quirky little sculptures and intriguing trinkets.

The hotel now has a large Murano glass chandelier created by French artist Aristide Najean and among other unique decoration we could mention the collages, photographs and travel journals left by past visitors. All those things are meant to offer a unique and surreal experience to anyone who comes there.