37 - The Decline of Madame Augier

THE NEGRESCO, Nice, France

Negresco proprietor Jeanne Augier, three years ago (Le Point photo)

     Jeanne Augier turned 90 this year, and 2013 marks the 100^th birthday of her prize possession, Nice’s Negresco Hotel.

Madame Augier’s presence these last 55 years has always given the Negresco a certain, extra panache.  Her red hair and horn-rimmed glasses have been as much a trademark of the Riviera palace as its distinctive pink dome and art-nouveau entryway.

I first saw her when I stayed there over Christmas of 1982.  She was rushing through the lobby, giving instructions to one of the hotel’s managers, and there was no mistaking who was in charge.

She has always had the last say in all decorating matters, and one of her eccentricities was to pepper the lobby with portraits … of Jeanne Augier!   In addition to paintings of herself, Madame Augier owns an interesting, oddly eclectic collection of art and art objects which is an integral part of the hotel’s decoration.

 

Nikki de Saint Phalle sculpture in main lobby

The spectacular Baccarat crystal chandelier (above photo) in the Royal Lounge was commissioned by Czar Nicholas II, who was unable to take delivery due to the Russian Revolution.   The emblematic verrière (glass roof) is set in a frame designed by Gustave Eiffel.

 Jeanne with Papa vacationing in Nice circa 1933 (Negresco)

Jeanne Augier was an only child, and her father, a self-made millionaire, adored her.  So much so that in 1957 he bought the Negresco for her and her late husband.  It was then not at the top of its form, but the Augiers transformed it into one of France’s most prestigious and best known hotels, consistently attracting heads of state, royal families and assorted film and theatre luminaries for the past six decades. 

In the hotel dining room 50 years ago (Negresco Collection)

When I began returning with Brenda to Nice in 2007, we frequently elected for the Negresco’s Sunday luncheon, an excellent and elegant meal for a bargain price proposed by the Chantecler’s star chef Jean-Denis Rieubland. 

Mme Augier was invariably there at her special little table, usually alone.  She would arrive with her own napkin, and on a number of occasions we observed her putting bits and pieces of lunch into her pocket book.

At a restaurant as elegant as the Chantecler you wouldn’t generally think of asking for a doggy bag, and for the owner it did seem odd to be spiralling away food.  Particularly since she lives in a vast apartment on the top floor of the hotel, and could surely have the kitchen whip up anything she wished at any hour.

 For many years she had a tall, Senegalese butler who seemed to be making it possible for her to slip into old age unobtrusively.  He was omnipresent; everyone knew his face and silhouette in Nice.

Annie and Punjab

Despite the Negresco owner’s advancing years, the sight of her with the imposing butler brought to mind Little Orphan Annie and her faithful Punjab!

Staff worried what would happen to this seemingly devoted domestic if Mme Augier were to go meet her maker, whether he would be generously remembered or not.

They needn’t have bothered, because it was the butler who unexpectedly dropped dead of a heart attack several years ago.  Mme Augier, already well over 80, must have been destabilized by the loss.  But she soon picked herself up and replaced him with the butler’s young neice.

Brenda in the Salon Versailles, 2010

In the last year or so, I haven’t seen much of Mme A.  Her restaurant table is usually empty. 

Then just a few weeks ago,  on the eve of her 90^th birthday, the news hit Nice like a bombshell.  Madame Augier, “suffering from little memory losses” and confined to a wheelchair, had been placed under a judicial guardianship.  At the same time the local courts have appointed a separate guardian to oversee the running of the hotel.

Rumors were rife.  Newspapers speculated on stolen jewels, missing stocks and various shenanigans involving unscrupulous personnel taking advantage of the elderly Negresco owner.  Police were notified by her priest who was reportedly witness to certain “abuses.”

“It’s like swimming in the middle of an Agatha Christie mystery,” the hotel’s managing director recently told the newspaper Nice Matin.

Jeanne Augier has always been a very independent lady with a --shall we say-- strong personality.   One anonymous hotel employee went so far as to tell the Agence France Press that his employer was often “stubborn as a mule …. and not always appreciated by all.”

Business goes on these days almost as usual at the Negresco.  Police have announced the investigation “will take the time it takes.”  The judicial administrator has begun the massive task of studying the hotel’s and Mme Augier’s accounts for the last two years, as well as overseeing the day-to-day running of the hotel.  The Negresco lost over 1.3 million dollars last year.  

Wheelchair bound, Mme Augier remains an imposing figure (Pure-people photo)

For the moment, no one knows what the future holds for the Nice landmark or for its 176 employees.  The only thing for sure is that things will never be quite like before, neither for Jeanne Augier nor for her hotel.

Negresco by night 2012

input is welcomed:  hotel-musings@hotmail.fr

Next Friday:  "Driving to Miami with the Farrells"

[Photos are mine, unless otherwise credited]

CROSS REFERENCING … a look at other postings

The Negresco was also featured in blog No. 17, "Celebrating the Holidays Away From Home" Dec. 21, 2012 (to access, click on highlighted title).