The unusual château-style French Renaissance Revival building has been criticised as "dreary" and "gauche", but is believed to be unique in England and demonstrated innovation in its use of double glazing.

[2][7] From the beginning, nuns were used as nurses (the Sisters of St Paul of Chartres were responsible for the home until 1994), and non-French nationals were sometimes accepted as residents; during World War I, British soldiers injured in action were treated there.

[2] Structural alterations since 1907 included an extra wing on the east end in 1914, adding more capacity,[4] and a new rendered façade, larger lift shaft, new internal doors, tiling and the removal of some chimneys.

In the meantime, English Heritage granted Grade II listed status to the building, and instead of being demolished it was converted into fourteen luxury flats under the name "The French Apartments".

[2] The entrance, facing north away from the sea, is set in a gabled recess below a cornice; there is a six-window range with some stained glass, and a double doorway at the top of a balustraded staircase.

[2] Facing the sea on the south side, behind a garden, is a five-bay, three-storey façade with french convalescent home and 1898 in black lettering, a ground-floor round-arched colonnade and small single-storey projections between the outer bays and the four-storey pavilions flanking them.