Tatler UK - 10.2019

154 Tatler October 2019 tatler.com

Guests in front

of the Hotel du

Cap in 1976

T R AV E L

BE AUT Y

AS IT TURNS OUT, FEW

things are more fabulous than

being whisked away for 24 hours to

the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc on the

glittering Côte d’Azur. Pulling up

to what F Scott Fitzgerald described

as the ‘large, proud rose-coloured

hotel... a summer resort of notable,

fashionable people’ to mark the

launch of Dior’s latest fragrance, I’m

greeted by an immaculately dressed

butler and waltzed through the

luxurious marble-clad foyer. Scenes

of Liz Taylor and Richard Burton

on honeymoon, Joe Kennedy

standing in a candlelit corner with

Marlene Dietrich, and Rita Hay-

worth sunbathing by the pool all

spring to mind.

Lunch is a lavish Italian spread at

the Eden-Roc restaurant (headed up

by Executive Chef Arnaud Poëtte),

which overlooks the sparkling

Riviera chic

1. Joy Eau de Parfum Intense, £116 for 90ml. 2. Silk
   scarf, £340. 3. Sunglasses, £300. 4. Dior Bronze
   mist, £32. 5. Lip Maximiser in Coral, £28, all by DIOR

Mediterranean waters and art deco-

style pool. Tucking into my second

delicious helping of burrata, aspara-

gus risotto and salt-baked seabass, I

realise that although it’s my du Cap

debut, the immensely glamorous

Cap d’Antibes surroundings are en-

tirely familiar – the hotel is recog-

nisable from myriad Slim Aarons

photographs that have been taken

here, and is one of the world’s most

Instagramable backdrops. Any vis-

iting influencer worth their selfies

will have a grid buzzing with the

property’s famous jasmine-lined

path, or of its distinctive coastline.

Last year Kendall Jenner racked up

over 3.5 million likes for her

pictures posing with friends on the

legendary trapeze that hangs over

the sea front.

I’m here to celebrate the release of

Joy Eau de Parfum Intense, the

sequel to Dior’s much-loved Joy

Eau de Parfum, launched in 2018.

After lunch, I’m shown to one of

the wonderfully chintzy suites with

François Demachy, Dior’s Perfumer-

Creator, for the big fragrance reveal.

The electric-pink perfume has been

intensified in colour and encased in

a cut-crystal-like bottle. As with the

1 2

3

4 5

Lily Worcester is wowed

by Dior’s Joy Eau de Parfum

Intense on Cap d’Antibes

If the Hotel du

Cap f its...

PHOTOGRAPHS: SLIM AARONS/GETTY IMAGES; MEGA AGENCY

NOTES

OF JOY

Top: neroli and

juicy citrus fruits

Middle: rose absolute and

rose essences, jasmine

sambac and jasmine

grandiflorum

Base: sandalwood,

musks, patchouli heart

The hotel’s elevated views

Above, Kendall Jenner at

Eden Roc, 2018

original Joy, notes of rose centifo-

lia, picked from the nearby fields

of Grasse, take centre-stage, while

neroli, Madagascan vanilla and

sandalwood are new to the blend.

The result is very sensual indeed.

The evening festivities would

have done the guests who have

previously dined in these rooms

proud: the Duke and Duchess of

Windsor, Hemingway, Picasso

and Churchill, to name just a few.

Signature peach Bellinis on the

balmy terrace overlooking the sea

are followed by an exquisite four-

course dinner.

As darkness falls, a pianist strikes

up a tune, and as the music reach-

es a triumphant crescendo, the sky

erupts into the most vibrant and

dramatic display of fireworks.

Explosions of joy, no doubt.

oetkercollection.com

The Duke &

Duchess of

Windsor in

the1930s

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