At a glance the dozen topiaried orange trees growing in the central courtyard perfectly embodies what Nice’s newly-opened Hotel Du Couvent represents. Unmissable as you walk in, their presence not only bring the hotel’s connection to nature to the forefront, but planted in a uniformed four-by-three grid demonstrates an understanding of order and the calming power a nuanced aesthetic can unlock.
Here the sense of calm is as important a factor as it is apparent. Yes, this is a five-star property, but one where serenity takes precedent over spectacle.
Located just above the weaving narrow streets of Vieux Nice (the Riviera city’s Old Town), the deceptively vast property is a 400-year-old nunnery turned into a refined urban sanctuary – a labour of love that took esteemed hotelier Valéry Grégo (the founder of luxury hotel group Perseus, which includes Paris’ Le Pigalle) nearly a decade to restore.
Spread across four discrete buildings, the Couvent boasts 88 rooms (decorated by the interior decoration firm Festen Architecture), three restaurants, several swimming pools and subterranean spa with Roman baths. Built into the steep hillside that leads up to the Colline du Chateau park, the property is absorbed by the greenery around it thanks to its bucolic terraced gardens, complete with vegetable and fruit patches. With one eye keeping a clear through line of authenticity, the hotel’s on-site bakery makes daily bread the same way it did back in the 17th century; and there is even a resident herbalist’s apothecary in the cloisters.
Despite having only officially opened in June, the flawless execution and exacting sense of self that the Hotel Du Couvent has, has quickly made it the talk – in hushed tones, obviously – of discerning French Riviera holiday-makers. Unmistakably en vogue, the central courtyard is busy with guests strolling through it, but somehow retains a sense of tranquility.
Only one thing breaks the omnipresence sense of calm around the Couvent – a thunderous, single blast of a cannon every day at midday.
It’s worth noting that the cannon is not part of the hotel’s shtick. Located in the park grounds above the hotel, the ceremonial firing of it is a tribute to a former Nice resident, Sir Thomas Coventry, who back in 1861 used to fire an actual cannon at to inform to his wife – who enjoyed morning strolls along the Promenade des Anglais – that it was time to come back and prepare lunch.
Truth be told, the cannon blast isn’t something the hotel operators are particularly fond of, but as a property that prides itself on respecting (and reinvigorating) the history of what came before it, perhaps a short disruptive blast within the culture of calm is another embodiment of what the Hotel Du Couvent represents.