THE WORLD'S BIGGEST MUSEUM
Hello everyone. Deauville is a legendary place
which was created by the Second Empire,
by the Duke of Morny, around 150 years ago.
He transformed this fishing village into a beach resort.
Like any legend, Deauville has its myths.
First of all, Claude Lelouch's famous film,
A Man and a Woman, which was filmed here in 1965
and awarded a Palme d'or in Cannes in 1966.
What does this tell us? That this is the town of lovers.
A second myth:
the Normandy Hotel, which was founded in 1912.
Now we're going to tell you its story. Off we go!
Hello, are you Gérard? - Correct!
How long have you been head concierge in this hotel?
It'll soon be 26 years.
There are many luxury and prestigious hotels in France.
What makes this one unique? How is it different?
HEAD CONCIERGE
Firstly, it's in Deauville which is a relatively prestigious town.
Has anybody ever settled here long term? - Absolutely.
Not that long ago, we still had a couple here
who rented a suite here for the year
and came here now and again, no more than two months every year.
So, that's your guest book. - Absolutely.
Let's take a look. Come closer.
I've heard about this. It's so elegant.
A small dedication to Gérard signed by Jean Marais.
They're rare pencil drawings. - Indeed.
That's Clint Eastwood, has he been here? - Absolutely.
Look at Sim's autograph!
I've met Jean-Edern Hallier.
Didn't he die in Deauville? - Yes, a few meters away from the hotel.
What were his words to Gérard back then?
"Guardian of my favorite hideout." - Absolutely.
Relatively, that was when he was most famous.
Back when he came down here with Mitterand.
Did he hide out here? - He did indeed.
Do you try to keep a distance from the clients?
Or, after a while, do you become like a godfather figure?
We are a little like confidantes but we keep our distance.
Can I go for a wander now? - Yes.
Access all areas? - Yes.
No closed doors? - Not at all.
See you soon. - Thanks, bye.
We're in the hotel lobby and I'm with Luc Jourquin.
Hello, Luc. - Hello, Eric, welcome.
Thanks for greeting us. You're the manager of this mythical hotel.
In 1912, a regional figure decides to build
a hotel to attract tourists, here opposite the sea.
HOTEL GENERAL MANAGER
Eugène Cornuché, who, back then, was the owner of Maxim's,
an extremely famous Parisian establishment,
decides to build a luxury hotel, the Normandy Hotel,
as well as the town's casino.
Back then this hotel and casino were open in July and August.
The aristocracy would come here with their staff.
With their drivers and maids...
NORMANDY HOTEL ENTRANCE
The maids would look after the ladies, dress them and style their hair.
From 7 pm onwards in this hotel,
everyone wore tuxedos and evening gowns, of course.
Just before World War I, Coco Chanel came here.
Everyone came here.
In 1913, she opened her first store here
and it was a hat store back then.
It went on to evolve with the history of Coco Chanel.
From the end of the 1940s to the early 1950s,
this place becomes the height of fashion again and is reborn.
It has a second flush of youth and is still a major port of call.
At that time we went on to entertain royalty
like King Farouk of Egypt, Aga Khan and Léopold III.
We'll have Colette, Piaf and Pagnol here.
LA FOULE AT THE CASINO
We'll meet them in the corridors and venues.
One major thing in the mythology of this hotel and Deauville
is A Man and a Woman, the Lelouch film from around 1965 or 1966.
There were many films before Lelouch.
For example, Jean Gabin starred in The Baron of the Locks in 1959
and in 1965, Claude Lelouch filmed A Man and a Woman at the Normandy Hotel.
Another defining moment of Deauville and the hotel
is when this American film festival came here in 1975.
That's right. In 1975,
this American film festival was created in alliance with Deauville local council.
After 30 years, it became an unmissable event
for all the American stars.
John Travolta, George Clooney, Nicole Kidman,
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie all came here.
We're very used to accommodating them annually and preparing for their stays.
How do they perceive this place? What does it mean to them?
French luxury, service and know-how.
The sea is on this side so, the suites on this side have a sea view.
Hello, Sandrine. - Hello, pleased to meet you.
Is this it? - Yes, I'll show you around.
I'll let you explore the suite.
So, we're in a family suite.
There are sweeties, candy, a baseball cap...
You can sense that children will be here soon.
Everything is ready for our little three-year-old guest, Axelle.
It's a suite, so there are several rooms.
Let's head towards the bedroom. Come and take a look, folks!
This is the bedroom.
The parents' bed is a king size. There's plenty wiggle room.
How big is it? Two meters? - That's right.
Who are these hardcore Deauville weekend visitors? Are they Parisians?
Are there still English visitors like before?
Many Parisians arrive Friday night and leave Sunday night.
GENERAL HOUSEKEEPER
A two hour drive from Paris, Deauville is well located.
This is a historic place that wants to keep its charm.
Are you involved in the decor?
You could say a general housekeeper is a bit like the lady of the house,
except that I'm responsible for 290 rooms.
She's worth her weight in gold!
So, Sandrine. This is the VIP set up.
You've prepared this little table with champagne.
Watch out for the ice cubes! - And a lovely little rose.
Ready for the guest's arrival.
Ladies and gents, you're in Suites 135 to 136.
We're on the first floor and I love this bathroom.
The bath is steaming hot.
Is there a client arriving? - Yes, the valet is picking him up now.
I was told right away to check the temperature of the bath.
So, we've added floral decorations and lit candles
so that everything is perfect for his arrival, just as he asked.
Who is it? Barack Obama? What's with all the fuss?
Not at all. These are common requests and we're happy to comply.
What talent!
That's what I need at home:
a housekeeper! - Exactly. That's me!
May I offer you a sole goujon?
This is my favorite part.
Sorry to interrupt. - No worries.
Hello. - Welcome.
Laurent Murger, you look after the hotel restaurants.
And here's the chef, André Plunian.
What's this, chef? - Sole goujons with tartar sauce.
May I? - It would be rude not to!
Wow, my friends!
Yes, put it straight on the menu. - I'll taste it too.
Sole goujons and tartar sauce, folks! It's delightful.
Laurent? - I really like it.
The tartar sauce is really good, chef. Really good.
What's that next to it? - A rabbit crumble
with a pomegranate sauce.
That's traditional and this is modern.
That's what we want to be. We need to uphold tradition here.
On the coast, if it's scallop season, we must cook them.
RESTAURANT MANAGER
We can't not have sole on the menu.
We must have sole on the menu.
Chef, I know you weren't around, but when the hotel opened in 1912,
did people dine here like today? I imagine the cuisine wasn't the same.
It was different, but we still have the old classics on the menu.
We work with sole, turbot and jumbo shrimp.
We have high volumes of shellfish, like oysters, etc.
HEAD CHEF
We've been working with that since 1912.
Of course, I wasn't here, but we'll both be here for the centenary.
When you visit somewhere, you must insist
on admiring and studying it from high up.
Now we're on the hotel rooftop to look at what the view has to offer.
That's the sea over there, obviously.
There are clay tennis courts in a beautiful ochre color.
That's Boulevard Cornuché just ahead. It once ran alongside the seafront.
Then there's this famous emblematic courtyard
where people love to bask when it's a lovely day like today.
Look at that cat standing there. He's splendid.
There are roof ornaments everywhere.
I think there's a fish over there and I can see a monkey.
You can see many things from up on the rooftop.
I'm in the hotel and, at the foot of these stairs, you can find the casino.
Come see inside the casino!
I took the small passageway that leads from the hotel to the casino.
And inside the casino, ladies and gents,
let me show you this charming and splendid bijou theater.
Hi, Jocelyne. - Hi, Eric.
So, we're in a theater that adjoins the hotel.
It was built around the same time, between 1911 and 1912.
What was the objective at that time?
Eugène Cornuché wanted to revive the resort in 1910.
THEATER RESERVATIONS MANAGER
He started building a casino and also a theater,
which he wanted to be in an Italian style like the Royal Opera of Versailles.
Back then, he just wanted to prolong the Parisian season.
He wanted those same artists on the bill at the Casino theater.
THEATER ORCHESTRA
Now, almost 100 years later, does the same principle still apply,
the artists perform here?
Yes, indeed. For over 19 years,
the Lucien Barrière Group put on a festival, "Swing in Deauville."
All the big names on the international and French scenes appeared,
like Joe Cocker, Joan Baez, Jean-Jacques Milteau,
Ibrahim Ferrer and also Ray Charles.
Alain Bashung, Jean-Louis Aubert...
Voulzy. - Yes. I forget some of the names.
You don't realize, but we're just a 35 second walk away
from the hotel lobby. We're so close...
Totally. You can leave your hotel room and go straight to watch a show.
It's very impressive, Jocelyne.
How many seats are there? - 400 seats.
This is "the place to be" or rather, "the stage to be!"
Welcome to the bar in what is known as the "21st arrondissement of Paris."
Let me introduce you to Marc, a barman here for over 20 years.
Indeed. I arrived here in 1988, 22 years ago.
BAR MANAGER
There have been many celebrities and legendary people
who've propped up this bar or sat over there.
Some have even been behind the bar. - Who dared to do that?
Oh yes, there was...
One Hollywood giant called Jack Nicholson.
During a festival when activity around the bar was at a maximum,
He was with his friend, Sean Penn.
He asked what whiskies I had and came to look with me behind the bar.
Finding myself behind the bar with Jack Nicholson choosing his whisky
is a memorable occasion.
Who made their mark on the history of this bar?
At the beginning of the century, it was people who, admittedly, I didn't know.
People like André Citroën, Coco Chanel,
Maurice Chevalier...
If walls could speak, they'd tell us incredible stories.
It has been immortalized on a few pictures on the walls around you.
Here's the famous Deauville boardwalk.
It was unthinkable for me not to take a detour here and tread on it.
When architect, Théo Petit, built the hotel in 1912,
the sea used to come right up and lick the clients' feet.
With time and the evolution of the coastline, the sea has retreated.
This was worthy of a lovely witticism from Tristan Bernard:
"The Normandy: so close to Paris and so far from the sea."
Welcome to the hotel's Cour Normande and admire this very distinctive architecture.
It's very much in the Anglo-Norman style, both cozy and chic.
I'm joining Luc Jourquin again. Hello again.
The architect's plan in 1912 was clear:
to build a hotel that's like a house.
A chic house, but Anglo-Norman style.
It doesn't seem like there are 300 rooms.
Théo Petit wanted to build a residence, a bit like a secondary residence.
It really has this Norman feel with the apple trees in this Cour Normande
and you will discover all the roofing dating back to 1912
which is currently being renovated.
You can see that the roof ornaments have Norman features.
They were created in Bavent, just next to Deauville.
HOTEL GENERAL MANAGER
They are ceramic and they can be found all over the roofs.
The roofing is very impressive.
This is real Norman middle-class aristocratic property.
You can imagine the stud farm being not too far away.
By the way, horses are part of the mythology of Deauville.
Horses are a Deauville tradition.
I'LL HASTEN TO COME RUNNING
When it's the yearling auctions, Prince Al Maktoum will stay at the hotel
with his staff for four or five days.
How many rooms does his suite have? - He rents out 35 or 40 rooms.
He has his security service with him and all his usual habits
which we have on file.
Thank you, sir. - Thanks, Eric.
Since it was built in 1912, this place has always attracted celebrities.
Just before World War 1, Coco Chanel wandered the corridors.
Throughout the 20th century, there were hundreds or even thousands of stars
who came here every year for the American film festival.
To keep a record, around 15 years ago, in this gallery, someone came up with
this reminder of all the greats that have been here.
I'm back with Laurent Murger and we're in La Belle Époque restaurant
which, if I've done my homework well, was set up here
as soon as the hotel was built in 1912. - Yes, you've done homework!
Did it have the same paintings, decor and stucco?
It is the original decor, but, in the interim, it changed.
When I first started working here, the dining room was blue and sky blue.
RESTAURANT MANAGER
In 1998, we decided to renovate just the painting
and we noticed that the original colors tended to be greens and oranges
and with our head decorator we decided to redo the room in its original form.
Like it is now.
It's funny because, in 1912, when it was done like it is now,
we're in the thick of the Second Empire.
The Duke of Morny turned up here. - And practically nothing has changed.
THE DUKE OF MORNY
NORMANDY HOTEL RESTURANT DINING ROOM
The surprise is the tartar sauce. It has truffle in it.
It has egg yolk and a little mustard in it.
One grind of salt. - Yes....
A grind of pepper.
It's like making a light mayonnaise.
We end with mustard sauce.
We've been making classic tartar sauce here almost since the hotel opened.
Steak tartar was already on our menu in the 1950s.
It's a mixture of truffle pieces and truffle oil.
May I? - Be my guest. Enjoy!
It's my drug. It's an addiction.
I'm getting hospital treatment for my truffle addiction.
The quality of the meat will always affect the tartar.
We mix it into the beef fillet.
What's different is, we're going to add...
We're going to soak this beef mixture with just...
We just pour truffle oil into it. - OK.
Have you already served this to stars and celebrities?
Just the plain tartar, as the one with truffle hasn't existed for very long.
One great memory is from one of my first seasons during the American film festival.
Clint Eastwood was a guest and he was sat on the Cour Normande patio
and I had the honor of making his steak tartar.
More recently, also during the film festival,
Romane Bohringer was on the judging panel.
I made it for her on the first day and she ate it every day after that.
Would you like to taste it? - I wouldn't say no!
It's world class.
A few French fries with it. - My pleasure.
What are your feelings
when you arrive at this traditional hotel for work every morning?
I've been working here for 18 years.
If you work in a hotel for 18 years, it must really have something.
This hotel goes beyond just a job.
It's a family and a desire to uphold traditions
that I'm personally very attached to
which I've found in this hotel.
That's why I like to be here daily.
So, why are we so attached
to the nostalgic and melancholic ambience of these grand hotels?
What's so appealing about this old-fashioned mindset?
Quite simply, because this hotel and Deauville
remind us of the early 20th century
when the lackadaisical middle-classes
or the carefree aristocracy came here on vacation.
See you next week.
Subtitles: Babel Subtitling - babelSUB.be