A historic Cannes beach club gets its groove back

To Europeans, the name Palm Beach can only mean one thing: the red-carpet beach club at the bottom of La Croisette with the sexiest cabanas and sunniest terrace on the Côte d’Azur. Nearly 100 years old, it’s seen every star worth a César. Its louche lounge, the Jean-Paul, was named after legendary French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo. As they say, if you know, you know.

Now that lounge has been renovated by Caprini & Pellerin, the Riviera architecture and design firm founded by Kevin Caprini and Jerry Pellerin. If the interiors weren’t already sumptuous enough, the duo have reinforced the cinematic connections of the bar and played up the intimate, den-like characteristics of its 1920s beginnings.

Accessed through a concealed door, it shimmers like a speakeasy from subdued lighting in the chequered ceiling and backlit bar. The architects have designed bespoke seating in cognac tufted leather and wood tables with geometric, almost primitive, silhouettes. There is tropical wood inlay on privacy screens and panelling, bar stools are upholstered in Loro Piana fabrics, and stained-oak tables feature raku-style enamelled lava tops. No surface or trim is without some sort of rich, unique decoration.

The duo was also charged with overseeing the exterior architecture, bringing the famous Moorish facade back to life. The complex will reopen this month with an improved seawater pool, grand casino and spa.