CH’NG Poh Tiong
Jean-Baptiste Mesnage had bought the Negresco because it was the only hotel in Nice to have a lift with wheel-chair access, his wife being paralyzed. He is photographed here in 1933 with their only child Jeanne Augier
In her lifetime, Jeanne Augier collected more than 6,000 pieces of art and furniture which find their home in the Negresco
At the end of the day, the Negresco is about longing.
No more, no less, but everything to Jeanne Augier whose father acquired the hotel in 1957. Jean-Baptiste Mesnage had bought the Negresco because it was the only hotel in Nice to have a lift with wheel-chair access, his wife being paralyzed.
For their only child Jeanne Augier (who had no children herself), the Negresco represented a lifetime of hope and aspirations. She lived in an apartment on the sixth floor.
The most famous hotel in the French Riviera was built by Henri Negrescu and opened in 1913.
A Romanian immigrant, Negrescu was director of the Municipal Casino of Nice and had the idea of owning a hotel that would attract the wealthiest of clients. Unfortunately for the newly minted hotelier, World War I broke out in 1914 and the Negresco was converted into a hospital for the sick and wounded rather than the well-heeled customers Negrescu was hoping for.
Today, the reputation of the Negresco is built entirely around Jeanne Augier.
In her lifetime, the French lady collected more than 6,000 pieces of art and furniture which find their home in the Negresco, including a 16,309-crystal chandelier by Baccarat that had been commissioned by Tsar Nicolas II but who was unable to take its delivery because of the Russian Revolution.
The Salon Royal is dominated by a 16,309-crystal chandelier by Baccarat that had been commissioned by Tsar Nicolas II 
Famous people who have rested their heads at the Negresco include Dali, Picasso, Chagall, Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton, Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner, Marlene Dietrich, Catherine Deneuve, Gina Lollobrigida, James Brown, and the Beatles.
When Bill Gates offered to buy the Negresco, Jeanne Augier famously told him “You cannot afford it”. At the time, Gates was the wealthiest man in the world and if anyone could afford it, he certainly could.
Except, Jeanne Augier reminded us (and Bill Gates) that if something means the world to you, no amount of money could possibly separate us from it. True love is priceless. People who imagine everything has a price can never comprehend that.
When Bill Gates – at the time the wealthiest man in the world – offered to buy the Negresco, Jeanne Augier famously told him “You cannot afford it”
The Negresco’s Versailles Bar has an official portrait of Louis XIV. One of three copies, the other two reside in Versailles and the Louvre. Not to be outdone, Bar 1913 has a 1683 tapestry and original walnut wood panelling from when the Negresco was first opened.
Jeanne Augier passed away 7 January 2019. She was 95. Her beloved Negresco had opened 8 January 1913.
The Negresco remains an independent hotel and is governed and managed by a foundation dedicated to it remaining so, and for the welfare of its staff, the homeless, and animal rights, values that are testament to Jeanne Augier’s legacy.
