INTERIORS (4)

Rooms

The 150 rooms, all with central heating, were distributed on the four sides of the building. Because of the “step-like manner” façade, the rooms on the sea front went from 60 sqm on the 1st floor to only 20 sqm on the 6th floor. On the others sides, the average room size was 30 sqm except for a serie of 5 bedrooms of 18 sqm each located on the west side facing the garden.

Plan by Alexis Daniel in 1948
for the subdivison in appartments.
The rooms are stiil in their original design
(Archives of the condominium "Le Gallic")

Some rooms could be reunited together to form a suite as follow : two rooms at the end of a corridor, one room on the sea side or on the street side and two other rooms on the garden side (either west or south), all serviced by a large entrance hall closed with a double door. It should be noted that all other rooms on the sea front could not be reunited. On the boulevard a first series of three interconnecting rooms, and a second series of two bedrooms, also communicating, can be reunited when needed.

Circa 1930, room rates written on a postcard of the hotel.
The meaning "garden"covers the rooms
located in the actual courtyard

(private collection)

The room interior decoration, according to few items that remains today, appears to be fairly typical of late 1910s and early 1920s. This period in term of style is still hesitating between modernity and the Louis XVI style “modernized” at the turn of the 20^th century. The rooms at the "Gallic Hotel" are apparently representative of this transition of style, creating yet an up to date hotel in the world of palaces of the time that remained strongly marked by revival decorations.

You have to keep in mind that although modernity is displayed without complex on external architecture of palaces during this period of time, it is never or very little displayed in the inside decoration, (hotel " Latitude 43" to Saint - Tropez 1932 - hotel "Splendid" in Dax -1923 - , are examples of such a modern inside decoration). Most of the time, modernity is only limited to decoration of public areas of the hotel (such as the bar at the "George V" hotel in Paris) and only mainly for commercial reasons.

However, in accordance with the minimalist movement in decoration that became of importance in the late 1920’s, Oudin reduced to a maximum the furnishing of the rooms, equipping them all a clever mirrored wardrobes "fronts" built in the walls thus avoiding the presence of anesthetic and large wardrobes that were cluttering hotel rooms at that time.

Again, to avoid cluttering the rooms, Marcel Oudin had integrated central heating radiators in niches. This explains alternatives windows and French doors, because the radiator is in fact installed under the window. On the sea front, the screen forms by the balcony rail, creates a visual effect of two perfect twin French doors, which in fact is not the case.

The wallpaper of the rooms was of an “Art deco” floral design.

Two models of wallpaper
from the rooms of the Gallic Hotel
(private collection)

As for the furniture, it included, among others, classic beds with a brass frame as in most hotels of that time (again for hygienic concerns), an inlaid vanity dresser “Parisian style" with a mirror and 5 drawers, and a matching table. These two pieces of furniture are very representative of the compromise between art deco and Louis XVI style. They were also characterized by a relatively simple and robust appearance that matched the functionality requirements of hotel furniture.

Inlaid vanity dresser and standard table
for the rooms of the Gallic Hotel.
In its current state
(private collection)

The model of seats remains unknown because no picture of these rooms is available. The few pieces of furniture that are presented above come from a storage of hotel furniture held by the company that decided the transformation of the building in 1949. At that time, this company intended to start an activity of furnished apartments in some of the rooms. This project was not carried out and thus first owners of the building were offered the opportunity to buy furniture from storage. Some of these pieces of furniture are still used today by some of the tenants.

One hundred of these rooms had each their own bathroom and toilets. The 30 rooms of 18 sqm only had a sink, with hot and cold water, without any other comfort.

The bathroom floor, like the rooms, was coated with the same red vitrified cement that was in the public areas still for hygienic reasons. Oriental rugs were used as bath mat.

View of a bathroom of a room
(private collection)