Château Robert

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château Robert is a large 19th-century residence built around 1867 by Ferdinand Dervieu, former Consul General of France in Hamburg and mayor of Vallauris, on the Golfe-Juan seafront. Its hybrid architecture combines elements of an English manor house with Moorish inspiration, featuring crenellated towers. Converted into a hotel (the Hôtel d'Orient) from 1876, the establishment notably welcomed the Duke of Albany, youngest son of Queen Victoria, in 1884. In 1904, the property was jointly acquired by Emil Jellinek, the man behind the Mercedes automobile brand, and the Belgian baron Pierre de Caters; the latter became sole owner after Jellinek's assets were seized on account of his German nationality during the First World War. The estate, which originally covered some fifteen hectares planted with palm trees, eucalyptus and thousands of rose bushes, later passed into the hands of the Saudi royal family before being acquired by the town of Vallauris. Now abandoned and badly deteriorated, the château is the subject of a municipal rehabilitation project partly funded by controlled urban development of the park, in conjunction with the Conservatoire du littoral.