The legendary palace on the Basque coast perpetuates a unique savoir-faire in its craftsmen’s workshop, dedicated to maintaining this exceptional heritage.
A palace built in 1854 by Napoleon III for Empress Eugénie, the Hôtel du Palais boasts an immense workshop where cabinetmakers, carpenters, painter-decorators, upholsterers and couturiers work in concert to sublimate this living myth. A team of 7 people work daily to lovingly restore the precious Napoleon III furniture. It’s a meticulous job that demands constant attention. A workshop unique in France!
While cabinetmakers restore Napoleon III furniture and varnish it using special techniques, painters perfect the gilding and upholsterers refurbish chairs and armchairs using traditional methods. It can take up to 16 hours of work to rebuild a single chair, which involves several stages, from seating to strapping and springing. The seamstresses work daily and meticulously to maintain the double curtains, cushions and bedspreads, and to match the fabric patterns, combining the old with the new. The Hôtel du Palais workshop works mainly with embroidered silk, and twice a year welcomes fabric editors to select the finest pieces to enhance the hotel.
This invaluable know-how is cultivated day after day by a team of enthusiasts, true lovers of the Hôtel du Palais, who work to preserve the soul of the establishment and work according to the rules of the Art. Genuine craftsmen in the furniture and garment-making trades are brought together in this workshop, whose know-how has been handed down from generation to generation. The exceptional quality of this work has earned the “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant” label.
Hôtel du Palais***** Palace Imperial Resort & Spa: 1 Avenue de l’Impératrice – 64200 Biarritz 05 59 41 64 00 – www.hotel-du-palais.com
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