What counts as a boutique hotel in Cannes?

The term has no official definition: the French rating system only knows stars. We use it for hotels of around fifty rooms at most, in a recognisable building or decor, set back from the boulevard. The addresses on this page have between thirty and thirty-five rooms where the hotel publishes the figure.

Which boutique hotel in Cannes has a pool?

According to their official websites, Hôtel Le Canberra (120 rue d'Antibes) and La Villa Cannes Croisette (8 traverse Alexandre III) each have a pool in the garden. La Villa's is described as heated and open in season. Le Cavendish and Hôtel de Provence do not advertise one.

How much is a night in a boutique hotel in Cannes?

The hotels listed do not publish a fixed price list: rates change with the date. As a guide, our hotels page puts a three-star in the centre at €90-180 and a four-star near the Croisette at €180-400 a night for a double room, outside the Film Festival and Cannes Lions, when prices are multiplied by three to six.

Have you tested these hotels?

No. We have not slept there and we do not claim to. This page is a sourced selection: addresses, categories, room counts and facilities come from the hotels' official websites in October 2026. No hotel paid to be listed and we take no commission.

Boutique hotel or Croisette palace: which is better?

For two or three nights as a couple, we would choose the boutique hotel: quieter, smaller, and cheaper for a comparable room category. The palace keeps the edge if you want the hotel's own beach across the road, room service at any hour and the façade on the bay.

Boutique hotels in Cannes: 5 small addresses we'd pick

In Cannes, the words 'boutique hotel' get stuck on almost anything with fewer than a hundred rooms. So the label means nothing unless you give it a definition. Ours comes down to three things you can check: a small scale (fifty rooms or so at most), a building or a point of view you can recognise, and an address set back from the boulevard, where you step out into an actual street.

Our view is firm: for a stay of two or three nights, a thirty-room four-star five minutes' walk from the Croisette is a better buy than a small city-side room in a palace. You lose the name on the bill. You gain quiet, a garden or a pool, and a rate that stays in the middle tiers of our Cannes hotels guide.

A note on method. We have not slept in any of these hotels. What follows is a sourced selection: every address, category and facility was taken from the hotel's official website in October 2026. Where the website is silent, we say so.

Five boutique hotels, checked on their official websites

N° 01

5-star · town centre

Five Seas Hotel, the five-star that is not a palace

1 rue Notre-Dame, one street from rue d'Antibes. The hotel describes itself as a five-star 'a stone's throw from the Croisette and the Palais des Festivals', with a roof terrace called Le Roof, a restaurant, a bar and a spa by Sothys. Categories run from the Superior room to the suite with terrace and jacuzzi. It is the logical choice if you want five-star service without the scale of a three-hundred-room hotel. Worth checking before you book: the opening dates of the roof, which are seasonal in most hotels in town. Official website.

N° 02

4-star · 34 rooms

Le Cavendish, the Belle Époque house on boulevard Carnot

11 boulevard Carnot. Thirty-four rooms in a Belle Époque residence; the hotel highlights the façade, the original parquet floors and the period lift. The detail that sets it apart is stated in black and white: a complimentary aperitif every evening from 6.30pm to 8.30pm, with regional wines, beer and soft drinks. Breakfast is served from 7am to 10.30am. The hotel puts itself about five minutes' walk from the Croisette and the Palais, and points to the Vauban car park two minutes away. No pool is advertised: here you are buying the building and the welcome. Official website.

N° 03

4-star · garden and pool

Hôtel Le Canberra, a garden at the end of rue d'Antibes

120 rue d'Antibes. Thirty-five rooms over four floors, including five suites and seven junior suites, around what the hotel calls a lush garden with a pool, a sunny terrace and a wellness area. It says it is five minutes from the Croisette and the beaches. This is the address to look at if a pool matters more than a view: rue d'Antibes is the town's shopping street, not the seafront. The website does not say whether the pool is heated or when it opens: ask if you are coming outside summer. Official website.

N° 04

4-star · 30 rooms

La Villa Cannes Croisette, the most discreet

8 traverse Alexandre III, on a small street towards the eastern end of the Croisette. Thirty rooms, a garden that some of them overlook, and a heated pool open in season. Some Executive rooms have a terrace with direct garden access. The hotel presents itself as a retreat away from the bustle of the centre, 'just steps' from the Croisette and the beaches. Parking costs €20 a day, by reservation and subject to availability (2026 figure). It is the one we would look at first for a weekend where the main aim is to hear nothing at all. Official website.

N° 05

3-star · inner garden

Hôtel de Provence, the small budget with character

9 rue Molière, next door to the Jardin Croisette we mention in our main guide. Thirty air-conditioned, renovated rooms around an inner garden. Several double rooms have a balcony or terrace over that garden, and a top-floor suite is listed with a sea view. There is also a family room for four, plus independent studios and apartments about a hundred metres away. No pool is advertised. This is a three-star: expect the matching price tier, not four-star facilities. Official website.

What we avoid

What we avoid: trusting a list of 'Cannes boutique hotels' without checking its date. Two addresses that still appear in many round-ups have changed. The website of Hôtel Colette, on place de la Gare, announces that the hotel is closing after twelve years in business. And the Villa Garbo address, 62 boulevard d'Alsace, now leads to an aparthotel of twelve apartments run under a different name. Always check on the hotel's own website, not on a comparison site.

What we also avoid: paying for the word 'boutique' and getting a standard room. In a thirty-room hotel, the gap between the entry category and the room with a balcony or terrace over the garden is often the whole point of the address. If the budget only stretches to the smallest street-side room, a good three-star will give you the same night for less.

And we would not book these addresses for mid-May hoping for a 'small hotel' rate. During the Film Festival and Cannes Lions, the thirty rooms go in one block, often to companies, and prices bear no relation to the rest of the year.

When to book

The right window: April, June outside congress weeks, September and early October. These are the months when a small hotel gives everything it has: a usable garden, the pool open where it is seasonal, and rates that stay within the guide ranges on our hotels page (€90-180 for a three-star in the centre, €180-400 for a four-star near the Croisette, double room, outside Festival weeks).

In winter, several pools and roof terraces are closed: the 'garden and pool' criterion matters less, and location matters more. Ask for opening dates before paying extra for a facility you will not see. And book direct: the hotel's own website is where the advertised perks appear, such as the Canberra's loyalty discount.

Boutique hotels in Cannes: five addresses on a human scale.

An overused word, and three criteria to make it useful