Review: Hotel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes – the grande dame of Cannes

It’s that time of year again. The stars of international cinema have arrived in the Côte d’Azur for the annual Cannes Film Festival. The beautiful and famous are posing on the steps of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, where the festival is held.

Tuxedos are worn tight and thighs are flashed for the photographers. In the evenings, the warm air resonates with the clinking of Champagne glasses and the sound of laughter and music against an elegant French Mediterranean backdrop. So, much like every year, then.

But while with each passing year new actors step onto the red carpet and the names of the award winners change, there is one lady who has been on the scene longer than anyone. She is the grande dame of Cannes, residing next door for almost a century on the glamorous seafront promenade known as La Croissette.

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Her name is Hotel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes, the doyenne of the French Riviera. She is the true star of Cannes and her beauty never fades. By tradition, many celebrities attending the festival stay here while in town and several of the famous faces framed on the walls of the corridors have been guests of the hotel.

As any leading lady of a certain age will tell you, looking good for decades takes constant care and attention – and the odd lick of paint. Architect and interior designer Isabelle Stanislas has overseen the refurbishment of the hotel’s guest rooms and suites in sympathy with Le Majestic’s authentic 1920s Art Deco styling.

She has added blues and oranges to the palette, invoking the sea and the sand that lie just across the Boulevard de la Croisette, facing the hotel. My room, looking back at the sea, was elegant and spacious, with floor-to-ceiling windows that opened fully to admit the breeze.

The black-and-white marble bathroom, just off the corridor leading from the bedroom, was huge for what is an urban hotel, with a separate bath and shower and products by Guerlain.

The guest rooms are certainly comfortable and as for the signature suites, they are as impressive and glamorous as you would expect, with names on the doors including Christian Dior. The latter is the only suite in Europe to have been designed by the Paris fashion house, and if you didn’t know, the brooding black-and-white pictures of Robert Pattinson and Johnny Depp hanging on the walls give it away.

Dior have certainly made themselves at home, which is maybe not surprising given that they occasionally use this considerable, sun-lit space, with its wraparound terrace balcony and sea-view backdrop, for photo shoots.

You could be forgiven for believing you were in the penthouse suite. But for that you need to ascend even higher – to the Majestic Suite, as it is so aptly named. It is palatial, with stairs that take you to your own private rooftop terrace and plunge pool overlooking the Baie de Cannes. It is just calling out for a festival after-party.

An elegant setting for dinner

Le Majestic’s main pool is also outdoors, on the ground floor, and it is heated all year round. It is a haven from the bustle of Cannes and an elegant spot, amid the red parasols and palm trees, in which to dip into your book – or to unwind, perhaps, after a day trip to beautiful Île Sainte-Marguerite, which you can reach by ferry.

It was on this island that the ill-fated Man in the Iron Mask, made famous by Alexandre Dumas, and then Leonardo DiCaprio, was kept in confinement in the 17th century.

Next to the pool is the restaurant Fouquet’s Cannes, named for its famous Parisian sibling. It is a classic, if upmarket, brasserie. But the restaurant I really want to tell you about is Ciro’s Cannes, located next to the beach. It opened as part of the hotel only last month, decked out to resemble the interiors of a vintage luxury yacht.

Seafood is the speciality here, as you might imagine. I enjoyed a lovely starter of fresh, seasonal asparagus, dotted with queen scallops and orange (€27), followed by a fillet of sea bream. That came with roasted artichokes and a light and creamy “sauce silhouette”, made with chives (€38).

Another menu highlight is the whole fish for two, baked in a salt crust and excavated at your table. Ciro’s Cannes really is a sophisticated setting for a top-notch lunch by the sea.

Mademoiselle Gray, situated directly on the beach a little further along from Ciro’s Cannes, is more casual in the way the Cannois only know how – seemingly nonchalant, yet tirelessly en vogue.

This “resto” on the private Plage Barrière actually belongs to Le Majestic’s four-star little sister Le Gray d’Albion and the food is everything you would want from a lunch on the sand, in the sun and next to the shimmering water of the warm Mediterranean.

I recommend the octopus, grilled on the plancha, served with a rouille sauce (€42). It goes just perfectly with a glass or two of chilled wine. La vie en rosé – what could be more Cannes?

Chris was a guest of Hotel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes. From €585 in May.

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