THE
BELVEDERE
du RAYON VERT HOTEL
G'day folks,
Time for a walk back in time. Here is a hotel that was closed in 1983 but one that still claims some amazing glory.
Built by a local architect in the late 1920s,
the Belvédère du Rayon Vert teeters above the railway tracks in the southern French town of Cerbère, near the Spanish border.
It’s unique design makes it look like a ship setting out to sea– but over
the years, this luxury hotel of the jazz age has become a little bit more of a
‘Titanic’ frozen in time.
It once had its own tennis court on the roof and boasted a
state of the art cinema, which still remains as it was the day it was
built over 90 years ago, empty and gathering dust (I’ll show you in a minute)
inside the art deco monument. Wealthy tourists would check in to the Belvédère
to take a break from their long railway journeys traveling from northern
parts of Europe to sunny Spain.
The Spanish Civil War and then the Second World War would
end this glamorous époque for the Belvédère and the hotel would spend the
next few decades slowly falling further and further into ruin.
Having officially closed its doors nearly 35 years ago
in 1983, the hotel Belvédère is not technically a
hotel anymore.
The Belvédère today offers ten of its
original suites as refurbished self-catering vacation apartments that can
by rented by the week at €350. Still owned by the same local family, the hotel
recently underwent some modest restoration to the facade and the
“concierge” tries to retain remnants of its lost elegance. After all,
the building has been a registered historic monument since 1987.
Travel through time up the art deco marble staircase,
pass the museum-worthy reception desk and admire the
uninterrupted sea views from the former ballroom, now humbly furnished
with a make-do muddle of plastic chairs and the occasional antique table. The
notably fading frescoes were part of the original hotel’s decor, painted
by a friend of the architect Léon Baille.
Now, have a look at it ...
Clancy's comment: Notwithstanding its history, I admire the people who built it on such a jagged plot of earth.
I'm ...
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