The five-star built on the site of the former Palais des Festivals: around 260 rooms, a rooftop pool and an 820-seat theatre. The predictable choice on the Croisette, which in a congress week is a quality. A sourced entry, with what we'd check before booking.
JW Marriott Cannes is at 50 boulevard de la Croisette, on the site of the former Palais des Festivals, the one where the Film Festival was held until the current Palais opened in the early 1980s. The hotel took the JW Marriott name in 2011, the brand's first property in France. It was previously called Palais Stéphanie. It is a five-star hotel, without the Palace distinction: in Cannes, only the Hôtel Martinez holds it.
The regional tourist board's listings give it 261 or 262 rooms depending on the page, including around fifty suites. What sets it apart from its neighbours comes down to three things: an outdoor pool on the roof, the Panorama Rooftop facing the bay, and an 820-seat theatre, a legacy of the site, which congresses use. The restaurant listed is Scalini, Italian cooking with a sea-view terrace.
The owner, the Jesta group, announced in 2019 a complete €40 million renovation entrusted to the Moatti-Rivière agency: rooms, lobby, restaurant and beach. In the sources we consulted, the hotel's beach goes by the name Palais Stéphanie Beach.
We have not slept there: this is a sourced notebook entry, not an account of a stay. Our reading: of the four big addresses on the Croisette, this is the one with the least legend attached, and the most predictable. For a congress week, that is a quality. You are in the middle of the boulevard, a few numbers from the Carlton, with a theatre and meeting rooms in the building.
For a leisure stay, the argument is the roof: a pool and a terrace above the bay instead of at pavement level. If you are after a 1911 or 1929 setting, this is not it: look at the Carlton, the Martinez or the Majestic.
Here, you do not look at the bay from the pavement: you look at it from the roof.
Booking it for historic character. The history of the place is that of the Festival, not of the building: the façade is contemporary.
Counting on the roof without checking. The rooftop is seasonal (in 2019, the last evening fell at the end of September) and a booking platform flagged works on the pool from 18 June to 2 July 2026.
Taking the restaurant names for granted. Restaurant, beach and rooftop have changed concept several times since 2011: what you read on an old listing may no longer exist.
We would ask whether the room offered has been renovated, whether it faces the sea or the town, and whether the rooftop pool is open on our dates. We would confirm the name and opening days of the restaurant and the beach, and the price of sunbeds. During the Film Festival or Cannes Lions, we would book months ahead or not at all. The hotel answers on +33 4 92 99 70 00. We will add our verified notes after a visit.