Located in a stately neo-Basque building in the French town of Pyla-sur-Mer, is the world class hotel, Ha(a)ïtza. A fusion of creature comforts combined with world class design. When it first opened in the 1930’s (and if your bank account allowed it), you could rub elbows with the rich and famous (and hotel regulars), such as fashion house designer, Jeanne Lanvin, the Rothschilds and Italian-French actor and singer Yves Montand.
And then more recently, the property was acquired by Sophie and William Techoueyres, a couple with a passion to “reawaken the hotel’s panache of yesteryears, to welcome their friends and let them discover the lifestyle and the charms of this region that they adore.” Their vision was perfectly executed when they enlisted the talents of design notable, Phillipe Starck.
It will be a place that remains in the collective memory. It’s a spacious, cheerful, lively and eternal place. While seemingly nothing extraordinary at first sight, it successfully marks a unique place and a new piece of heaven on this earth.” Phillipe Starck
Starck’s influence is immediately apparent upon entering through the grand doors into the ultra modern reception with its concrete floor and immaculate walls, a striking contrast to some of the historical features of the hotel. His signature touches are evident throughout thirty bedrooms, five suites, two Junior suites and an apartment. Starck has deftly reinterpreted the nearby coastline with symbolic references, such and red and green glass windows, braided ropes, white and wood-striped walls. The hotel is a blend of fisherman’s beach cabin with contemporary elements such as brightly lit electric signs, a “feat of harmony” that only someone like Starck and his artist daughter could achieve. And they did.
Drawing on its illustrious history, this infinitely cosmopolitan boutique hotel has been transformed into a place of timeless elegance and boasts memorable features such as a swimming pool under glass, an open bar with underlit slabs of white marble, and an authentic La Patisserie de Famille.
We hope you’ll follow our design journey as we virtually visit some of the most well-designed hotels in the world every week…
© Vincent Bengold / Nicolas Anetson / Courtesy, Hotel Ha(a)ïtza
Until next time,
LIVE A LIFE WELL-CURATED…
