The Saint-Affrique Cap Vert hotel complex closes its doors permanently

C'est la fin d'une histoire à Saint-Affrique. Midi libre – Jean-Marc Cognot

Le complexe hôtelier Cap Vert ferme définitivement ses portes. Personne n'a souhaité réagir ou donner de détails sur la situation de l'étbalissement.

The Cap Vert hotel complex is closing its doors for good today, with the utmost discretion. A notice posted on the establishment's glass doors informs customers. The eight employees are being made redundant for economic reasons. Some had been in the job for nearly a quarter of a century. France Travail offered them a job security contract. The significant drop in activity over the past few months seems to be the cause of this closure.

The establishment includes 72 rooms, a large 200-seat restaurant with kitchen, three meeting rooms and a swimming pool. The buildings belong to Seml Saca, the sole shareholder of SAS Cap Vert. Contacted several times, the latter did not wish to comment.

Managed by Stéphane Camberlin since February 2024

From January 2021 to January 2024, the Cap Vert hotel complex was managed by Yvan Bouat, president of the eponymous SAS and general manager of Soleil Évasion. Since February 1, Stéphane Camberlin, manager and owner of the Combalou hotel-restaurant in Lauras, has chaired the SAS Cap Vert. “Yvan Bouat and his team relaunched the business as soon as they arrived and Covid disrupted the establishment's attendance, explained in our columns at the end of January Jean-Marie Mourgues, president of Seml Saca and deputy mayor. Over the months, Seml participated in the financial effort concerning the rental of the buildings. Finally, the resumption of activity was delayed. We made the decision, in agreement with Yvan Bouat, to find a new manager. We prospected in the department and outside the department with professionals. Three candidates were in the running. Our choice fell on Stéphane Camberlin. Our aim was to find a serious professional and we are lucky that he knows the South Aveyron."

Activity from September 2

Starting Monday, September 2, the Higher Institute for Training in Energy Professions (ISFME), already established on the SemlSaca site, will provide accommodation and catering for its own trainees in training in the premises of the Cap Vert hotel complex. There would be around thirty per week. New employees would be hired. As for the future of the site, doubts still linger.

Jean-Marie Mourgues then announced that Seml Saca would have to invest 1.5 million euros to renovate the entire hotel area so that the rooms would meet three-star standards. The Sud-Aveyron architectural firm Costes Gaubert and a design office have been working on the project for several months.

At the head of several businesses in Sud-Aveyron

Stéphane Camberlin has been the owner-manager of the Le Combalou hotel-restaurant since 2019, which includes twenty rooms, a large car park and a restaurant with 150 to 180 seats. At the start of 2024, he had around ten employees. Since April 1, he has also been in charge of the gourmet space of the Millau viaduct rest area. At the end of January, he declared that he had “accepted the challenge (of managing Cap Vert: Editor's note) with the Roquefort demain project in mind, which is currently being implemented and aims to boost tourism around Roquefort. At Cap Vert, I will bring our know-how with a new professional team in the kitchen and service and a new menu. The aim is to increase my current capacity in the hotel industry and to make our know-how in regional catering known.” On Friday, we were unable to reach Stéphane Camberlin.