Ancien hôtel Riviera de Menton, Private mansion in Menton, France.
The Ancien hôtel Riviera de Menton is a private mansion in Menton featuring a central rectangular structure with a curved west wing. Its facades are decorated with turquoise ceramics from the Saïssi manufacture, giving the building a distinctive appearance.
Joseph-Arthème Widmer, a Swiss hotelier, bought the land on the Annonciade hill in 1898. His daughter Madame Cheurlot had a palace hotel built there between 1898 and 1901 by architects Abel Glena and Alfred-Auguste Marsang; it had three floors. In 1910 Glena planned two extra floors, two towers and a west wing, built by Marsang between 1910 and 1914, bringing the hotel to 250 rooms. German forces requisitioned it in 1942 for the 4th Army staff, and it closed in 1958.
The hotel's name honours Joseph-Arthème Widmer, the Swiss hotelier who bought the land on the Annonciade hill in 1898 and whose name is inscribed on the facade. His daughter, Madame Cheurlot, had the palace-hotel built between 1898 and 1901. The entrance hall, grand salon, marble staircase and music room were listed as monuments historiques in 1979.
The former hotel stands at 28 avenue Riviera, on the hill of l'Annonciade; it has been converted into apartments and is not open to visitors, so there are no guided tours. The entrance hall, grand salon, marble staircase and music room were listed as monuments historiques in 1979, and the facades, roofs and garden in 2011. The garden, once a 15-hectare park, now covers 1,500 m².
The 15-hectare park of the hotel was reduced to a 1,500 m² garden when the building was converted into apartments after its closure in 1958. The garden, the facades and roofs, the laundry building and the cistern building were listed as monuments historiques on 17 October 2011.
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