The first owner of Villa Belle Rive was Henri Courmont. He was secretary of state under minister Prosper Mérimée for the ministry of culture in the Napolean III period. He also was part of the inner circle of friends of Napoleons niece princes Mathilde Bonaparte. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Prosper Mérimée and Henri Courmont were three influencial people for subjects relating to culture in that period. They were in charge of the Académie des beaux-arts and controled several big projects, such as the renovation of the Notre Dame cathedral. From correspondence between Mérimée and Viollet-le-Duc it can be taken that the latter was the architect for both Courmonts house in Paris and for Villa Belle Rive.
After Henri Courmonts death his widdow sold Villa Belle Rive to François-Henri Lavanchy-Clarke in 1900. Lavanchy-Clarke was known as the man who brought Sunlight Soap and other Lever Brothers (now Unilever) products to the European main land. Lavanchy-Clarke invented a key feature to make chrono-photography possible. A feature that the Lumière Brothers needed to make their Cinématographe possible. In exchange for his patent, Lavanchy-Clarke secured the exclusive rights to use this camera to make films in Switzerland and in Port Sunlight (the Lever Brothers City in the UK). Many of his films were found during renovations in Villa Belle Rive and were donated to the Centre National du Cinéma. Lavanchy-Clarke was also a major force in improving the situation for the blind. As a passionate photographer, Lavanchy-Clarke documented Villa Belle Rive shortly after he became the owner.
As his children were getting older, Lavanchy-Clarke needed more room in Villa Belle Rive. Courmont had already added two wings (on stelts) to the origional house. One of these wings now houses the reception in which you check-in for your stay. Lavanchy added a bedroom on top of each of the wings. These rooms are now known as the East Wing and West Wing. Both provide a fantastic view over our garden, the pool and the sea and each have two generous balconies. The addition to the house was confided to the well-known architect James Warnery.
In those days Cannes la Bocca was the location of choice for the rich. The neighbour to the west was Eduard Fould (one of the founders of the “Banque de Paris”. His Châlet Ligne was build at the same time as Villa Belle Rive. At the east Baron Silvansky build his Villa du Meridien which he loaned from 1904 onward to the Grand-Duc Michal de Russie to use as a clinic for wounded russian officers. Accross the street the rich american familie Vanderbilt constructed their Villa Allegria (now known as the Château Font de Veyre and housing the conservatory). Today Villa Belle Rive and Château Font de Veyre are the only two old villas still existing in the neighborhood.
Lavanchy-Clarke, and after his death his son, continued using Villa Belle Rive as winter residence until WWII. During the war they lived in the UK and did not return after the war ended, but went to Belgium. Only after his retirement in the late 1950s did Henri Clarke-Lavanchy (Lavanchy-Clarkes son) return to Villa Belle Rive. After his death his son, Jack William Lavanchy, made Villa Belle Rive into the PADI European College. A training centre for recreational diving instructors.
At this time in the 1980s the lower part of the villa where to stelts holding the higher floors were was closed in order to create classrooms. The pool was also added at this time. The College completed its mission to establish PADI as a diver training organisation in Europe in the mid ninetees. At that point Daniela and Jan were given the opportunity to take over the excelent infra structure to create the Instructor Training College which remained active until Villa Belle Rive became a guesthouse. By that time the PADI European College and the Instructor Training College provided training for more than 5000 scuba diving instructors.