Former Astoria Hotel

Vichy may hide its greatest treasures underground, but it certainly knows how to impress visitors above ground. You’ll find some remarkable buildings here, and the one before you is a perfect example. Located at the corner of Clemenceau and Wilson Street, the former Astoria Hotel stands out with its distinctive wedge-shaped design. The latter, reminiscent of New York’s iconic flatiron buildings, echoes back to Vichy’s luxurious past as a spa town and its high-end hotels and palaces of yesteryear. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Vichy rivaled other European spa destinations, thanks to its top-notch thermal baths. High society flocked here to get pampered, have fun, people-watch and be people-watched. This boom led to the construction of several grand hotels in the area between the Old City and the rapidly developing spa district. Among them was the Astoria. Built in 1910 on the site of an earlier hotel, the Astoria was designed by René Moreau, an architect from the Moulin region who’s also behind the present-day Aletti and Carlton Hotels. The building’s 6 floors were organized as follows: the ground floor housed the Société Générale bank, the reception rooms were on the mezzanine, the restaurant enjoyed the light on the first floor, and the upper floors housed sumptuous guest rooms. Both inside and out, the Astoria embodied the elegance of the Belle Époque, a period of significant social and economic progress spanning the first fifteen or twenty years before World War I. The building’s beautiful Art Nouveau façade is adorned with intricate wrought-iron balconies, pediments on the roofs, and a stunning dome with a pointed finial. As for the luxurious interior, it wowed the hotel’s distinguished guests with its Art Deco paneling and cutting-edge staircases, plus its modern amenities like heating and elevators. During World War II, the Astoria was requisitioned by the Vichy government to house ministries and administrative offices. After the war, it became a hotel once more, but it struggled due to the declining popularity of spa resorts. It closed its doors in January 1977 and was converted into apartments and commercial spaces on the lower floors. The former Astoria Hotel remains a beloved landmark in Vichy and it’s the most photographed private building in town.