[category]
[title]
Hotel Le Majestic is red-carpet-ready, set on the fabled Croisette, facing the Palais des Festivals, the hub of Cannes Film Festival. This Art Deco landmark celebrates its centenary this year, marking a century of movie-star glamour with typical nonchalance.
When the Film Festival rolls into town, celebrities roll into the bar before climbing the red-carpet over the road. After paparazzi shots under the palms, it’s back to partying in the penthouse. Luckily, the cinematic glamour lingers on, long after the festival leaves town.
Beyond the swankiness, this legendary spot delivers on substance as well as style, from the chic sea-rooms to the spa, bars and beach clubs. What’s more, Le Majestic is now the only French and family-owned five-star hotel on the Croisette, even if this is less a bijou family brand than a burgeoning casino and hotels empire.
Why stay at Le Majestic?
Location, location is the name of the game, with no city hotel better-placed for posing or people-watching. The scene-stealing location on the Croisette is always at the heart of the action, whatever the season. Come for the Film Festival buzz that lasts long after the movie troupe rolls out of town. Stay for the spa, pool, bars, bistrots and beach clubs, with arguably the best breakfast buffet in town.
Be tempted by two beach clubs, one more yachty and seafood-focused, the other more cosmopolitan and laidback, with Lebanese sharing-plates and DJ sets. With your toes in the sand, relax to the sound of the waves over a Sex on the Beach cocktail. Or stay all day, fuelled by crispy calamari, lamb shank tajine and lashings of Aperol Spritz. Posing, swimming and water-sports are optional.
What are the rooms like at Le Majestic?
Splash out on a sea view to take in the island-spangled bay and Estérel mountains. The recently revamped rooms play on a nautical palette of blue and white, with splashes of gold and orange. My ‘chambre prestige’ had a Juliet balcony, swaying palms, a view of the retro pool, bar and the islands.
Even if the standard rooms are swish enough, the slew of celebrity suites keeps the movie crowd coming back. The Christian Dior Suite, with its dove-grey panelling and parquet floor, was inspired by Dior’s Parisian home. This fashionista penthouse becomes the stars’ dressing room during the Film Festival. Yet the real star is the sumptuously domed Majestic Suite, with a lantern-hung deck and dreamlike views of the Lérins Islands from the plunge pool.
What is the food like at Le Majestic?
Tuck into one of the best breakfasts in town, with the Champagne as plentiful as the seasonal berries, pancakes, eggs benedict and the flakiest of pastries. Breakfast, like lunch, can be poolside but cocktails and dinner are best in people-watching Fouquet’s, with its decadent bar and brasserie. The look is swanky Parisian bistrot meets New York Jazz Age, with dishes resolutely retro, from truffled eggs to flambeed crepe suzette. The hotel rooftops house a herb garden and beehives, with the herbs ending up in cocktails and the home-made honey served at the breakfast buffet.
On the seafront, Ciro’s, the new beach restaurant, boasts a yacht-club vibe and views of the islands. It’s the place to gorge on seafood, go gourmet with oysters and caviar, or stay simple with ‘le fish and chips’. For a cooler scene, try Mademoiselle Gray, the buzzier beach club further along the Croisette. This sister club can take you from lunch on Caesar salad and pineapple carpaccio to decadent cocktails, with interludes for water-skiing and wake-boarding from the private pontoon.
What is the service like at Le Majestic?
For a swanky spot, service is unstuffy but personable, as befits a chic resort hotel. The mood in the main bar and restaurant is all about retro glamour while the beach clubs are ultra relaxed. It’s always rosé o’clock by the bar or beach-beds, with Whispering Angel rosé flowing like water.
Led by the third generation of owners, the hotel prides itself on its French savoir-faire and family touch. The family spirit is still filtered down through staff such as the talented chief concierge, also representing the third generation to serve here.
What are the facilities like at Le Majestic?
All whims are majestically catered for. You’re spoilt for choice, from the superb spa and kids club to water-sports off the pontoon. The Spa Diane is the place for a bespoke massage or for wallowing in the steam-room or sauna. If not temped by the snow-shower or salt-wall, there’s a treadmill on the terrace in summer or water-sports at the beach club, ranging from wake-boarding to towable inflatables.
The star-spotting Fouquet’s bar comes into its own at the witching hour, when the sea turns purple and the pale violet lights blink on, turning the Croisette into a purple-hued promenade.
During the Film Festival, celebrity-stalkers don Grace Kelly cat-eyed shades before joining the models and movie stars over a classic cocktail. If the stars are pretty nonchalant about the attention, it might be because they know their place in the movie pantheon. Le Majestic’s lobby and corridors are lined with 2,500 black-and-white portraits of film legends, all of whom have stayed or partied here.
What’s the area like around Le Majestic?
Cannes is known for its languid lifestyle and cinematic showing off and the location lives upto the hype. In summer, unwind under palm trees and parasols or cross the promenade to the private beach clubs. Whatever the weather, the glittering marina, the cafes and shops of rue d’Antibes and the hilly Old Town are five minutes’ walk away. If feeling lazy, hop on the tourist train, which narrates the hotel history as you chug by designer boutiques on the seafront. Escape consumerist Cannes by visiting the haunting Lérins islands, a short ferry-ride away but an ocean apart from the blingtastic Croisette.
Why you should book a stay at Le Majestic
This Art Deco palace pays tribute to the Roaring Twenties but its cinematic glamour channels Cannes not Vegas. Le Majestic delivers on more fronts than its rivals: regularly revamped, the hotel combines heritage with a cinematic spirit but moves with the times.
Come for slick service, slinky suites, star-spotting bars, the best spa in town, sophisticated or casual dining, a partying private beach and several cool beach clubs. It’s pure cinema. Cannes is a prestigious brand so prices can be majestic, with eyewatering rates for the top suites. That said, there are no bad rooms so, low season, tuck yourself into a superior room. And if you’re joining Leonardo di Caprio in the penthouse, then it’s a case of ‘What happens in Cannes, stays in Cannes.’
DETAILS
Address: Le Majestic: 10 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes
Price per night: superior room for two from €270 a night, suites from €750, with the top two suites from €20,000 a night
Closest transport: Cannes train station