- Dec 6, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 27, 2025
Asia Chmielewska Takes Us On A Tour Of The Once Great But Still Beautiful, Hotel Belvédère du Rayon Vert.
I happened to come across the Belvédère du Rayon Vert while hiking from Portbou to Cerbère, and I was blown away by it. If you ever find yourself in Cerbère, you can't miss this huge building by the sea that looks like a ship. It was so impressive that I knew I had to come back and explore it properly.
The Belvédère du Rayon Vert is a beautiful Art Deco hotel in Cerbère, near the Spanish border. It was built in 1928 for Jean-Baptiste Deleon, and the architect Léon Baille designed it to look like an ocean liner. After four years of construction, it opened in 1932 and became a real showstopper. Even though it isn't as luxurious as it once was, the building's design is still impressive. Over the years, though, this hotel has slowly started to decay.
Back in the day, this place was a hotspot for wealthy travellers who would stop there while waiting for their visas to Spain. It had a tennis court on the roof, a ballroom, a restaurant, and even a cinema and concert hall. Big names like Michèle Morgan, Orson Welles, and Gina Lollobrigida stayed there. However, after the Spanish Civil War and WWII, the hotel declined, and it finally shut down in 1983. It's been falling apart slowly ever since, though it was declared a historic monument in 2002.
Today, the hotel isn't really a hotel anymore. Some of the original suites are now vacation apartments you can rent for a week or so. The same family still owns it, and they've done some light restorations to the outside, which took almost eight years (the place is immense!). Even though The Belvédère du Rayon Vert is not as glamorous as it once was, you can still feel the old-school luxury when you walk up the marble staircase, admire the vintage reception desk, and enjoy the beautiful sea views from the old ballroom. Now, the ballroom is simply furnished with…ahem…plastic chairs and the occasional antique, but the faded frescoes on the walls are still there, just like when the hotel was new. The best part is the cinema hall, which still looks almost the same as it did over a decade ago…. well almost as in 90s, there was a fire that "ate "a part of the screen and one of the entrances leading to the bar. Anyway, that doesn't stop the owner from hosting a few concerts and a film festival every year in the hall.
The current owner, Jean-Charles Sin, is the grandson of Jean-Baptiste Deleon and lives on-site. He knows many stories about the hotel and is more than happy to share them with visitors.
Visiting The Belvédère du Rayon Vert feels like stepping back in time. It's the perfect place for anyone who appreciates the beauty of decay and the charm of a bygone era.
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