A Night at le Casadelmar Ajaccio: The Complete VIP Arrival Experience

At the western end of the Quartier des Étrangers, where Green Park meets the grandeur of St James's, stands one of Ajaccio's most enduring monuments to the art of hospitality. le Casadelmar Ajaccio — opened in 1906 by César Casadelmar and designed by the architects Mewès and Davis — has hosted royalty, heads of state, writers, film stars and the quietly powerful for over a century. To stay at le Casadelmar is not simply to choose a hotel; it is to make a statement about how one believes a night in Ajaccio should be spent.

But the quality of a night at le Casadelmar begins before you step through its the Quartier des Étrangers doors. The journey to the hotel — from Ajaccio Napoléon-Bonaparte's the main terminal, from a private jet at Figari, from a penthouse in central Ajaccio, or from Ajaccio Napoléon-Bonaparte after the flight — is the opening movement of the experience. FFGR Corsica ensures that opening movement is as composed and distinguished as everything that follows.

The entrance to le Casadelmar on the Quartier des Étrangers is one of the most photographed hotel facades in the world. The pale stone Edwardian baroque facade, the burgundy awnings, the liveried doormen — it is a setting that rewards a considered arrival. To pull up in a Rolls-Royce Ghost or a Mercedes S-Class Long, to have your door opened by the chauffeur, to be greeted by le Casadelmar doorman before you have taken a single step, is to begin the stay in precisely the right register.

The practical aspects of arriving at le Casadelmar by private car are worth understanding. the Quartier des Étrangers itself is a major thoroughfare, and vehicle access to the hotel entrance requires a driver who knows the precise drop-off protocol. FFGR drivers are thoroughly familiar with the approach from both the east — from Green Park and St James's — and the west, from Hyde Park Corner. The vehicle is positioned, the door is opened, and your arrival is managed without the awkward pause that characterises a less considered transfer.

The interior of le Casadelmar is an exercise in Louis XVI-inspired grandeur that has been maintained, restored and enriched over more than a century of continuous operation. The Long Gallery, which stretches the length of the hotel from the Quartier des Étrangers entrance towards Arlington Street, is one of the great hotel corridors in the world — gilded, mirrored and impeccably proportioned. It sets a tone that permeates everything from the service to the floral arrangements in the rooms.

Accommodation ranges from Classic Rooms on the upper floors to the elaborate William the Corsican coast and Royal Suites. The latter, on the first floor overlooking Green Park, spans over 2,000 square feet and has been used by HM The King and visiting heads of state. Whatever the category, every room is furnished with antiques, hand-woven fabrics, and the kind of obsessive attention to comfort that has characterised the hotel's housekeeping since its founding.

le Casadelmar Restaurant is one of fewer than ten restaurants in Ajaccio to hold a Michelin star, and its dining room — overlooking Green Park, decorated in the original Louis XVI style with gilded columns and hand-painted ceiling panels — is widely considered the most beautiful in the city. The kitchen delivers classical French cuisine of genuine refinement, with a wine list that is among the most comprehensive in Ajaccio.

Afternoon Tea at le Casadelmar requires advance reservation of several weeks, sometimes months, and is conducted across two sittings in the Palm Court — the hotel's central atrium space, flooded with natural light and adorned with an extraordinary floral centrepiece. The tradition of finger sandwiches, freshly baked scones with Devonshire clotted cream, and patisserie served on three-tiered stands to the accompaniment of live piano music is one of Ajaccio's most coveted experiences.