A bird’s eye view of the mountains, the proximity to Cannes, an idyllic setting: on paper, Mas Candille, known for decades in the region, has something to entice.
Entrepreneur Jean-Philippe Cartier took over in 2020, partnering with the Courtin-Clarins family to completely rethink the buildings as well as the interior and exterior circulation. This is the brand’s first hotel.
Carried out under the leadership of the rising star of architecture and decoration, Hugo Toro, the work succeeded in giving the whole thing new life. The young man, who signed his first hotel here, draws, paints and creates.
This is the case for the furniture, most of which was custom-designed by this vibrant mind. The rest was found by him or by his mother, Mexican, who passed on to him her taste for shimmering colors: nothing scares him when it comes to the assembly of colors, fabrics, materials.
Two years ago, when Hugo Toro arrived at Mas Candille on the heights of Mougins, something caught his eye: a tall palm tree whose large leaves swayed in the wind. The designer’s imagination sets into motion, and intuitively, he creates his own film scenario: the tree would have been planted by a rich American in love with France, who came to settle there around thirty years ago.
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It therefore holds its narration and the common thread of the atmospheres with which it wants to play. There will therefore be touches inspired by Palm Springs (which he knows from having studied in Los Angeles) intertwined with childhood memories: as a child, he spent his vacations with his grandmother in Saint-Raphaël.
The South will always have for him an image of yellow, seventies curtains, which inspire him with slightly psychedelic patterns.
The hotel’s 41 rooms and six suites play with various codes
Hugo Toro embraces these different ideas: his creations are eclectic, hybrid. The hotel’s 41 rooms and six suites play with various codes. For some, the lower parts have been covered with American-style woodwork, all warmed up with a lime coating, « inspiration you film A Single Man by Tom Ford”, confesses Hugo.
Talent is in the details: pleated leather for the box spring covers, solid wood headboards. The carpet, like the curtains and dyes, is made from drawings by the young man. Those who knew the place before renovation will be surprised by the lush vegetation. Indeed, the architect also has some knowledge in this field, having worked for a landscaper when he was a student.
In the kitchen? Romain Antoine, a local boy trained with Sébastien Broda at the time of Park 45, then at Bruno Oger’s Villa Archange in Le Cannet. This 34-year-old chef is reconnecting with a clientele he loves: lovers of gastronomy, the lucky ones of Mougins, one of the most starred cities in France.
“It’s very pleasant for me!” he admits. It can play on several types of products, the sea, of course, and fine meats for this fan of game from the hinterland. Fruits and vegetables, for their part, come from a short circuit: “Sometimes, I call my Montauroux strawberry producer in the morning for the same evening: he picks them an hour before they are prepared in the kitchen, it’s ultra-fresh.”
He plans to develop menus around aromatic herbs, dear to Clarins. The gourmet restaurant La Table des pins will offer demanding à la carte dishes without being stuffy, to be enjoyed under the trees whose trunks form like a nave.
Further up, the second restaurant around the swimming pool is open to children: the kids club, in the beautiful glass roof, will allow parents to enjoy this sloping 4.5 hectare area, designed as a sort of family home in which they It’s good to live for several days and enjoy the exceptional Clarins spa. Sleeping beauty is wide awake!
Le Mas Candille : 172, bd Clément Rebuffel, 06250, Mougins.
From 490 euros per night. mascandille.com
