Hôtel Carlton

A Belle Époque legend, reborn

Few buildings embody Cannes like the Carlton. Inaugurated in 1911, its white façade and twin domes — said to be modelled on the silhouette of a famous courtesan of the time — have watched over the Croisette for more than a century.

After a three-year, top-to-bottom restoration completed in 2023, the hotel reopened with 332 rooms and suites, two new garden wings, and a 1,500 m² courtyard with a swimming pool that simply did not exist before. The result keeps the heritage shell and modernises everything behind it.

The Carlton is not a hotel you visit. It is a hotel you return to.

The rooftop bar nobody talks about (enough)

While the lobby draws the Festival crowds, the locals head straight up. The rooftop serves what we consider the best Negroni on the coast, with an unbroken view from the Estérel to the Lérins islands. Go for sunset, around 8:30pm in July, and arrive early — there are no reservations.

Worth knowing before you go

The beach club is open to non-residents by reservation, with a lunch menu that holds its own against the dedicated beach restaurants further along the Croisette. During the Film Festival (mid-May), the entire ground floor is effectively privatised — plan around it.