The Carlton de Cannes, the star hotel, reopens after three years of work

The luxurious establishment at 58 boulevard de la Croisette, classified 5 stars, had closed its doors in December 2020, to begin expansion and renovation work. The hotel, which then extended over 32.000 m2 and seven floors, facing the Mediterranean, added 20.000 m2 to offer a total of 332 rooms including 52 suites and 37 residences.

Nicknamed "the Old Lady", because it was built to accommodate the British on winter vacation on the Côte d'Azur, the Carlton had never before undergone such a renovation, having been born in 1913, by the will of the Grand Duke Michael of Russia, who had financed it almost entirely.

"She is a beautiful lady who needed a facelift but who had a very strong character", "timeless", according to her director, Giuseppe Vincelli. In pastel, beige and ocher tones, the hotel is now more open to the sea: "We have created a communication between the sea and our garden thanks to light".

The parking lot at the back of the hotel has disappeared. Having become underground, it was replaced by a garden and a swimming pool.

In the new wing, it is possible to rent a 500 m2 penthouse with a 500 m2 terrace. In the original building, listed as a historic building and in the "Belle Epoque" style, the most beautiful suites are located on the 7th floor, including the Grace Kelly or Cary Grant suites.

The price of a room with a sea view starts at 1.300 euros, with an offer of 750 euros for the first days of opening.

League of Nations meeting in 1922

Since 2015, the hotel has belonged to the Qatari group Katara Hospitality, which also owns the Royal Monceau and the Peninsula in Paris. The renovation work was led by Vinci Construction, supervised by architect Richard Lavelle and interior designer Tristan Auer.

The amount of the investment was not revealed but reached "several hundred million euros", according to sources familiar with the matter. David Lisnard, the LR mayor of Cannes, who participated in the inauguration, in the presence of the Qatari ambassador Ali Bin Jassim Al Thani, hailed "the biggest hotel investment in recent years in Europe".

Built from 1911 and inaugurated in 1913, the hotel hosted the first major meeting of the League of Nations in 1922, the ancestor of the United Nations Organization (UN), before welcoming many movie stars in 1946. , with the first edition of the Cannes International Film Festival.

Among the 333 local craftsmen called upon to work on the site, Fabienne L'Hostis, a ceramist in Mouans-Sartoux, was commissioned for the Raku ceramics that cover the counter of Bar 58, where you can drink both house cocktails but also "60 different teas", on the advice of a "tea-master".

The Carlton is "a cinematic hotel with different sequences, different intensities, atmospheres and moods", explains Mr. Auer: a hotel, "it's like a film. You enter, there is the credits, then dramatic moments, then more languid and also love scenes".

In fact, the history of this establishment is intimately linked to that of the cinema, Alfred Hitchcock having notably used it as a setting for scenes from "La Main au Collet". And if only three floors reopened on Monday, for "loyal customers eager to return", the hotel will be fully open in May, when the Cannes Film Festival begins (May 16 to 27).

"Since the first edition in 1946, the president of the jury sleeps with us, as well as the biggest stars", rejoices Mr. Vincelli. Stars who will be the first to discover the refinement of the Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Kirk Douglas or Suzanne Lenglen suites.