The Story Behind The Maybourne Riviera
Design, Architecture & Legacy
High above the shimmering coastline, where the sea kisses the sky and the cliffs fall gently into silence, The Maybourne Riviera emerges not merely as a hotel, but as a dream carved into stone. Here, time stretches, the light shifts. And what once was the discreet Vista Palace is now reborn as a refuge where architecture, emotion and artistry entwine. To arrive is to exhale. To stay is to awaken.
From Vista Palace to Visionary Icon
Before there were sculptural suites and sweeping terraces, there was just a tearoom with a view. One so hypnotic it held its own legend. Perched at 333 metres above the Mediterranean in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. Then, the Vista Palace, one of many well-kept secret, gazing out quietly over Monaco and the curve of the Italian Riviera.
But where others saw a hotel, The Maybourne Group saw a blank canvas, a clifftop stage for a bold architectural symphony. Today, only the original triangle footprint remains, a humble echo of the past. In its place now unfolds a breathtaking contemporary ode to the coastal architecture of the Riviera: 65 luminous rooms and suites, tiered like waves upon the rock, seamlessly woven into 35,000 sqm of Mediterranean gardens and terraces that drift effortlessly between earth and air.
Architecture in Harmony with Nature
To shape a building that belongs not just to the land but to the soul of its landscape requires a certain kind of genius. Enter Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the French master of modern harmony. With a touch both technical and intuitive, he didn’t construct The Maybourne Riviera so much as reveal it, letting the cliff speak, the light dance, the structure breathe.
From the white mineral tones that echo local stone, to the glass-framed panoramas that never intrude but simply unveil, every line and volume serves a singular purpose, to frame the ever-changing theatre of sea and sky.
Some suites are sculpted into the cliff itself, intimate and troglodyte-like, others stretch out like crystalline wings, floating between elements. Everywhere, the light moves with intention, cool and meditative at dawn, golden and cinematic as the sun fades west.
Interior Design and the Creative Visionaries Behind It
A hotel of this standing demanded more than one design voice. The interiors were entrusted to a group of global creatives, each tasked with interpreting the Riviera through their own unique lens, under the guiding eye of Michelle Wu, Maybourne’s Head of Design.
Jean-Michel Wilmotte
His design language flows indoors, ensuring spatial rhythm and restrained elegance. Each passage leads somewhere meaningful, each material speaks softly of its origin.
Bryan O’Sullivan Studio
In the guest suites and the Riviera Restaurant, Bryan O’Sullivan Studio creates an atmosphere where modernist clarity meets understated opulence. Inspired by Le Corbusier’s disciplined lines, the spaces are softened by natural materials, warm textures, and inviting forms. The result is a refined yet welcoming environment, blending precision with intimacy and encouraging guests to linger in comfort and elegance.
Michelle Wu
As the creative conductor, Michelle Wu ensured coherence across the hotel, weaving together the design languages of multiple visionaries into one refined visual narrative. Her discerning eye extended to art sourcing, curating pieces that harmonize with each setting and enrich the guest experience. Under her direction, every corridor, suite, and shared space feels intentional and alive.
Jean Mus
Landscape architect and true poet of gardens, Jean Mus shaped the grounds of the Maybourne Riviera with a rare sensitivity to the Mediterranean spirit. Working with native plants, fragrances, and the shifting play of light and shade, he creates landscapes that speak of the place before they are even seen. Under his hand, each grove becomes a living composition, each path an invitation to wander.
A Living Space of Art, Light and Luxury
To walk through The Maybourne Riviera is to move through sculpture. The hand-trowelled walls. The curved corridors. The custom furnishings that echo the curvature of pine branches, the blue haze of horizon, the weathered texture of cliff.
You won’t find garish opulence or flashy distractions. Instead, there’s luxurious restraint, space for thoughts to settle, for creativity to bloom, for you to feel something. A hotel not made to impress, but to touch.
Here, every angle has intent, every silence is filled with meaning. Art installations invite pause, not spectacle. The air is perfumed by sea salt and citrus. A space not curated but composed.
The Maybourne Riviera as a Design Destination
You don’t just stay at The Maybourne Riviera. You inhabit it. For the endlessly curious, this is a design destination in its own right. One where conversations unfold as easily about Eileen Gray as about wine pairings. Where Le Corbusier’s shadow lingers gently. Where nature and craft co-author each detail.
Here, you are invited not to consume, but to observe. To feel what happens when design doesn’t shout but sings.
Because in this clifftop sanctuary cradled between the grandeur of coastal architecture and the intimacy of soul-led interiors you’ll rediscover something essential.
