FactualAt the dawn of a second deconfined summer, French destinations are full of attractions. In the famous Var village, the room known as “Brigitte Bardot” at the Hotel La Ponche invites you to make films facing the Mediterranean.
In 1938, it was a fisherman’s bistro with a checkered floor, a zinc bar and a few tables. After the war, for the bands of artists and intellectuals eager for sun, sea bathing and simplicity, they will serve grilled sardines, Boris Vian will imagine a nightclub and, upstairs, encroaching on the adjoining pink, ocher and yellow houses, 21 rooms, including 5 suites, will emerge. The owner, Simone Duckstein, sold the family business she had run since 1999 in this remote area, which has remained authentic.
After eight months of work, the Hotel La Ponche is reborn as an elegant summer family home, with a sea-view terrace restaurant where you can taste the Mediterranean dishes of chef Thomas Danigo. In the black and white tiled entrance hall, a red carpet warms the antique furniture. A few steps lead down to Saint Germain des Près, the stylish recreated night bar. The backgammon table and the library await the return from the beach.
On the walls, the glazed ceramic leaves by Victor Levai frame original lithographs by Picasso, a regular from the very beginning. The fresco artist Elvira Solana decorated the small dining room that can be privatized. Fresh terracotta tiles on the stairs leading to the bedrooms, each bearing the name of a celebrity loyal to the legendary establishment.
On the third floor, the 1, whose Tropezian terrace with white wrought iron furniture from the 1960s dominates the miniature beach of La Ponche, is the Brigitte Bardot room. The star spent his first night on the sly with the wealthy playboy Gunter Sachs, whom she married in 1966. Lulled by the sound of the waves, we fall asleep in embroidered and openwork white percale sheets.
300 meters away: travel from an English bar
Mahogany, club armchairs, upholstered benches, old ship models, a huge counter over which the affable Enzi has reigned for years, so much for the cozy decor of this English bar hidden on the first floor of the only hotel in the old port, the Sube. , which was a relay of diligence in the XIXe century. Perfect for sipping a cocktail accompanied by homemade tapas, having a nightcap, having a full breakfast (until noon) on the popular little balcony with a view of the yachts at the quayside.
350 meters away: equip yourself for pétanque
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