Villa Duflot, four-star hotel/restaurant in Perpignan (66 - France)

Villa Duflot, weather master with the Wallis&Outdoor® pergola

“Villa Duflot welcomes its guests in a charming decor: the garden and swimming pool offer both calm and serenity,” claims the web site of the high-class Perpignan establishment, undoubtedly the city’s most renowned four-star hotel/restaurant. Emmanuel Stern, its owner for two years, is now proud to add that “A year ago, we had a Profils Systèmes pergola put in” (over three levels), “which means we could make full use of the terrace. With the aluminium mirror infinity pool we created an extremely contemporary outside space, very popular with our customers.” And also very lucrative. This exterior revamp, both ultra modern yet discreet, boosted the sales figures for the summer period by 15%. Nice one.

Enjoying this exceptional setting to the full, customers tend to linger over their aperitif, boosting the average tab by 2.5 euros. This is not all. Thanks to the extension of the terrace, now usable for nine months of the year, an additional thirty-five covers are served on busy days.

Perpignan, with its blazing sun and constant wind blowing off the sea.

However, whether it rains, blows or there is blistering heat, the boss of Villa Duflot can now adapt to any kind of difficulty. With remote control in hand, all he has to do is activate the slant of the bioclimatic slats of his pergola with its wide range of possibilities. The benefit hoped for – being able to take advantage of natural light in all circumstances, at the same time keeping water off the tables in the event of showers. “If there are a few drops of rain, we don’t have to move everyone inside. Before, when the weather was uncertain, we didn’t even put people on the terrace. Customers are no longer disappointed”, commented Mr. Stern, who took all the options available. When the seaside wind blows in gusts of 80 kph, there are no problems, the pergola opens up only slightly to avoid excessive force. At nightfall, no problem - thanks to the integrated lighting system that enables serving hours to be extended.

Multiple options

In addition to these technical arguments, Villa Duflot has given its investment a touch of elegance by merging its pergola into the decor. “Profils Systèmes offered us a wide choice of colours and finishes. So we chose “sand” for our aluminium pergola to match our furniture. It is part of the Terra Cigala range of finishes and comes with a 25-year warranty. This camouflage blends perfectly into the surrounding vegetation,” explained the owner.

Weddings, baptisms, seminars, etc. Villa Duflot is well aware that the people who choose it want to dine out of doors, right by the water. Hence the need for modular spaces with the pergola installed as an extension to the restaurant. “We managed to make a pergola without any pillars, fitting the structure directly onto the beams of the building.” And – the icing on the cake – the Profils Systèmes Wallis&Outdoor pergola has an invisible rainwater evacuation system with the downpipe in one of the outer pillars. The rainwater recovered runs directly into the garden. “As a result, our terrace is always dry,” said Mr. Stern once again, congratulating himself as he manages to constantly postpone winter.

The enthusiastic owner says it himself. Designed for individual homes, collective and professional use, these pergolas undoubtedly reflect a certain art of living. In a decidedly modern style. “It has become our trademark,” concluded Emmanuel Stern.

Manufacturer/installer : Abel Alu – Toulouge (66)

Photos : Richard Sprang