The official partner hotel of Cannes is located steps away from Le Palais des Festivals.
I ’m lounging by a pond as cerulean as theCôte d’Azurto my back . Although a Harlan F. Stone ’s cam stroke away , the ocean is not quite visible , thanks to the palm trees and Mediterranean shrubs that promise seclusion — a necessary precaution if , unlike me , you are one of the many film star that will callHôtel Barrière Le Majestica temporary home come May . My eyes stare up at the M , Art Deco façade , then back down at the red awning ofFouquet ’s . There , at the veranda , a couple engages in a passionate makeout at breakfast . It ’s clearly a piffling raunchy in these parts , but Cannes has never pretended to bede rigueur . For examples , conceive Simone Silva posing topless , the cast ofLa Merditude des Chosesbicycling bare , and Sacha Baron Cohen sporting a lime green mankini .
The hotel , which faces the renowned steps ofLe Palais des Festivals et des Congrèson the storied Boulevard de la Croisette , is a long - standing partner of the Cannes Film Festival . I make a game out of walking down the corridors lined with black - and - white portraits of celebrity guests past — Catherine Deneuve , Robert De Niro , George Clooney , to name a few — testing out which one I agnise . I picture how , next calendar month , during the77th Festival de Cannes , Palme d’Or nominees will deck the gilded vestibule , suitcases in tow , quick to accept external acclaim .
The Cannes Film Festival , primitively prognosticate the International Film Festival , date back to 1939 . After give ear the Venice Film Festival — then call the Venice Mostra — Gallic diplomatist Philippe Erlanger was n’t too happy with the direction the jury seemed to be swayed by national socialist propaganda . He retrieve of set up his own festival in France , one that could be devoid of political influence . The French authorities signed on , select the “ Pearl of the Riviera ” as the setting that would rival sophisticated Venice . But it was unlucky timing : The day the festival was to be inaugurated , Germany invaded Poland .
Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist
It was n’t until 1946 that the International Film Festival took place for the first time , and in 1955 , the Palme d’Or award was founded . Since the fete ’s origin , Le Majestic has always been at the heart of the action . During the month of May , the hotel faculty doubles from 350 employee to 700 . Rooms are in full booked several calendar month in advance , and more than 50 of them are transform into temporary office spaces . The hotel ’s best-loved story has to do with a sure American actor , who turn up at the last moment in 1983 . Lucien Barrière , son of André , made room in otherwise tight quarters by offer up his private apartment at the hotel to none other than Paul Newman . enquire the hotel staff and they ’ll be able to divvy up innumerous other stories about celebrities that had made a lasting impression on them , from Jeff Goldblum and Morgan Freeman , to Gong Li and Sharon Stone .
I take a enlistment of Le Majestic ’s crème de la crème , the glamorous rooms that get rented out by manner houses to dress their selected moving picture star before the festival . Most notable is the Christian Dior Suite , designed in collaboration with Nathalie Ryan , the accredited national decorator of the French couturier . Upon walking through a sliding door that register “ Dior , ” I ’m greeted by a grand dining room that evokes an haute - couture Parisian boutique . Next is the Mélodie Suite , a room inhale by the 1963 Gallic film , Mélodie En Sous Sol ( Any Number Can Win).The movie was partially filmed in this very hotel , and a few stills , marked by the good-looking face of Jean Gabin and Alain Delon , are plastered along the wall . This May , Kering ( Gucci , Balenciaga , Yves Saint Laurent ) will occupy the Majestic Penthouse , whose half - lunar month windowpane pretermit the blue of the ocean and the hullabaloo of the Palais des Festivals .
But the luxury hotel also flourishes in the off - season . Le Majestic boasts its own version of Fouquet ’s , the famed 1899 Parisian brasserie , where Michèle Morgan gather Gabin for the first time , and where New Wave moving picture directors like François Truffaut , Jean - Luc Godard , and Claude Chabrol deal ideas . The cassino - likeBar Fouquet ’s Cannesfeatures a cocktail program created by Emanuele Balestra , who infuse his drinks with a signature , edible scent line . The plant used to create such redolent concoction — from rose geranium and St. Basil the Great to pineapple salvia and fennel flowers — are all grown on Le Majestic ’s rooftop , alongside bee hives that are responsible for the hotel ’s honey .
Photo courtesy of Hotel Barrière Le Majestic
Beyond the gastronomic offerings , there ’s a private beach guild attach , La Plage Barrière Le Majestic , where you could sprawl out on a sunshine lounger or engage in your water system sport of choice : parasailing , body of water skiing , or tube . The Diane Barrière Spafeatures product from cult skin care brand Biologique Recherche , all of which are contain into ruby - carpeting - quick peel and torso treatment . And , of course , there ’s a private movie theater , Cinémathèque Diane , decorate with lackadaisical configuration and the names of stars who have made the Cannes Film Festival what it is today .
I can sure as shooting palpate a sense of absence in pre - festival Cannes , a metropolis that ’s practically built upon spectacle . There are traces of the festival everywhere , from photos of French actress on construction sites to hoarding advertising this yr ’s effect . But it ’s a turn on kind of absence seizure , one that get to you feel like some Chanel - clad starlet might wander into Fouquet ’s at any moment .
Photo courtesy of Hotel Barrière Le Majestic
Photo courtesy of Hotel Barrière Le Majestic
Photo courtesy of Hotel Barrière Le Majestic
