On the catwalk of Cannes that is La Croisette there are designer stores, luxury hotels, beach bars and restaurants where people watching is definitely on the menu.
There is also a very long, very green lawn. Which seems so decadent when space is at such a premium on the hottest strip in this glamorous seaside town.
But a lovely lawn there is, and it leads right from the beach and street up to a rather lovely hotel.
Le Grand Hotel Cannes is one of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World and is a five star, designer hotel where the rooms are full of light and have a bit of a groovy ’60s vibe going on.
Rooms facing the beach have spectacular Côte d’Azur views and when my friend Ronnie and I stepped out onto our balcony we were blown away by how beautiful it was, and may have squealed and jumped up and down a little bit.
A few moments later I caught my breath, and filmed this little look around our room…
As you can see in the clip above, as if the view wasn’t enough, our suite was spacious, stylish, had a lovely large bathroom packed with Bulgari products, including their bath tea bags which I love. There were large super soft robes and I loved their yellow fluffy flip flops which I am wearing right now as I write this post in Berlin.
The hotel’s Michelin starred restaurant, Le Park 45 is downstairs on the terrace, and is a beautiful spot to look out over the lawn and through the palm trees down to the water. It is also where the hotel’s breakfast is served, which brings me to a little Cannes travel tip.
Even if you aren’t able to stay at the hotel, you can still have their champagne breakfasts. This is one of those breakfast buffets that made it very hard to choose which way to go, with delicious pasties and breads, large flavor filled berries, a yummy cheese and cold cuts selection, bacon and eggs and the best breakfast potatoes I’ve ever had cooked with onion, rosemary, and i suspect quite a bit of butter. Delish!
Then there’s the colorful macarons, tasty cakes (for breakfast? Why not, you’re on holiday!) and Ruinart champagne. And all of that, with that view, is 33 Euro. A very good start to the day in my book and again you don’t have to be staying at the hotel to enjoy it.
Guests and non guests can also grab a seat in a retro armchair or out on the lawn to relax over a few drinks and snacks at Le Cercle Bar, or head down to La Plage 45, Le Grand Hotel’s private beach.
Here you’ll find a beach bar with a restaurant area, and a private pontoon where you can lounge on soft day beds under umbrellas. Hotel guests do still have to pay but are offered a 15% discount off the price for everyone else, which ranges from 16 euro for a bed in a row towards the back, up to between 80 and 190 euro, depending on the time of year, for one of the premium beds on the pier.
For Ronnie and I, Le Grand Hotel was so lovely we didn’t really want to be anywhere else. Fortunately we had explored the town the weekend before, as we started and ended a week on the beautiful Star Clippers’ tall ship Star Flyer there.
So while we still wandered through the charming narrow winding streets of the Old Town, Le Suquet, and did stretch our legs along La Croisette it didn’t take long for us to look at each other, ask what we wanted to do that night and decide we just wanted to be back in our hotel.
So that’s exactly what we did. And a perfect end to our holiday it was too.
Amanda Woods stayed as a guest of Le Grand Hotel, one of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, but all thoughts and opinions remain her own.
Thinking of visiting Monaco too? Here’s a little tip about how a Monaco helicopter can cost the same as a taxi from the airport.
And if you love staying in Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties, check out my story on Zurich which includes a look inside the Ambassador a l’Opera.
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