Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel — Hotel in Grasse

A Grand Icon of the Riviera, elevated by world-class service

The Carlton Cannes isn’t just a hotel, it’s an institution. From the moment you walk through its famous doors, you’re reminded what true, old-world luxury feels like: elegant, effortless, and timeless.

The service is exceptional. Every staff member greets you with genuine warmth, somehow, each more gracious than the last. The suites are stunning, with balconies offering some of the most memorable sunsets I’ve ever experienced (the only place that has rivaled them for me is Santorini). The décor strikes that perfect balance between modern comfort and historic charm.

We did, however, encounter a few early hiccups, the air conditioning in our initial room wasn’t working properly, and the shower had some drainage issues. Initially, we were disappointed after speaking to the agent at reception, especially with my wife being pregnant at the time. But as fate would have it, this small mishap turned into the highlight of our stay because it introduced us to Aida, from the hotel’s guest relations team

From the very first moment, Aida handled our concerns with an extraordinary level of care and professionalism. She took the time to listen, empathize, and fully understand our needs, and then executed everything flawlessly. Every detail was addressed quickly and with genuine thoughtfulness. As a business owner myself, I rarely encounter someone who not only resolves a problem but manages to transform the entire guest experience into something unforgettable.

Before meeting Aida, we were considering switching hotels. After meeting her, we not only stayed, we decided that the Carlton Cannes will be our home base in the south of France for years to come. She turned what could have been a frustrating experience into a story of exceptional hospitality.

Aida didn’t just fix our stay; she elevated it. She made us feel truly seen and valued. We left the hotel not only as loyal guests but as genuine admirers of her professionalism and kindness. Thank you Aida, from the bottom of our hearts.

DINING

Riviera, Ruya or the Beach Club. Take your pick. All were excellent. Individual reviews to follow

ROOMS & FACILITIES

The rooms, recently renovated, feel elegant, warm, and modern while keeping their heritage charm. Beds are plush, bathrooms well appointed, and the second room’s air conditioning worked perfectly (the first room’s didn’t, but that was swiftly resolved). Housekeeping went above and beyond, especially after learning about our pregnancy, a thoughtful touch we truly appreciated.

Valet service was fast and reliable. That said, if you don’t need a car, you can save the €90/day parking fee. Cannes is very walkable, and Uber works great for trips to Antibes or a train to Monaco if needed.

The spa was decent and our couples massage was enjoyable though not particularly memorable. As we didn’t use the gym facilities, we can’t comment there.

The hotel’s exterior, of course, speaks for itself. It’s a landmark, so iconic that tourists regularly stop to take photos in front of it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Despite a few minor issues at the start, the Carlton Cannes delivered an unforgettable experience, thanks entirely to the impeccable care of Aida (and the rest of the staff). She turned a small inconvenience into a defining moment of hospitality excellence.

We travel often and have stayed at many world-class properties, but this experience truly stood out. Because of her, we can confidently say: we’ve found our home in Cannes.

A grand hotel made even grander by the...

Before you immediately get caught off guard by the 3-stars, please read the review! To summarise, the hotel has a great foundation to be superb but for this price point and 5* there are several improvements.

In general, the hotels offer what you expect from it. It is a 5* hotel in the heart of Cannes: the location is fantastic, the building is beautiful and the service and people are great. Even better so, I was here to celebrate my engagement and was upgraded to a suite for free (much appreciated!). If you are worried about the quality, don’t be. In that aspect the quality is definitely great and if you don’t care about €€€ you’ll be fine. Just make sure you have your breakfast else where.

So why do I give three stars then? Well, there are two main reasons:

first of all, the breakfast. To quote one of the many other customers I saw complain during my stay about this: ‘this breakfast is an absolute catastrophe’. During my stay we had to wait 15-20’ before we were seated. You wouldn’t get water, nor coffee until you tried for 5’ to flag down one of the waiters. The buffet was the worst I have seen at any 5* hotel and if you managed to order an egg off the menu it would arrive by the time you were done eating (and it would be cold).. If you pay ~6000EUR for 4 nights you expect top quality service.

you will be charged extra across the board for the most basic requests. I love spending money, but I like to do that in my own terms. As mentioned before, we were celebrating our engagement at the Carlton. I asked for flowers, balloons and champagne. Guess what: this was a 200EUR charge (my experience is at hotels in this category that it is a service and an opportunity for the hotel to show their quality - in other words I have never been charged for this before). Moreover, they tried to charge me 85EUR for champagne when it came for free with the room. Then, you can bring three items to the dry-cleaning free of charges (said on a card left in the room) but then they tried to charge us 50EUR (this was deducted after complaining at check-out). Moreover, the Carlton tried to charge us for a breakfast (100EUR) we already paid, making use of the beach beds was not included either (150EUR p/d for 2p) and even a glass of milk for the coffee they tried to charge at 10 EUR. Absolutely speaking it is not a lot of money, but the sneaky way of doing so I have never experienced at such a hotel.

All-in-all: great hotel at a fantastic location with attentive staff. If the breakfast wasn’t so horrible and the hotel wouldn’t make mistakes all over the places for (unnecessary) extra charges it would’ve been perfect. Yes, I also shared this feedback at the reception when we left. I am sure you will have fun and perhaps in the future we will try this...

The hotel is neatly refurbished and it is much prettier than before. The staff are friendly. The service is very very bad for a 5 star hotel, charging 1500 euros per night. First day I arrived it took them 2 hours to bring a luggage rack. The housekeeping took the coffee cups from the room and never returned it back, it took them another 45 minutes to bring an empty cup, after several calls! The most frustrating that a housekeeping incident occured. I left the room and turned the “makeup my room” light on , after I came back from outside nobody came to clean the room after. I called and requested that somebody comes and clean my room, I leave for another hour and nobody came to clean my room. I was extremely frustrated and I literally had to go to the front desk to escalate the complaint because whoever is taking the calls on the phone are not taking me seriously. Keep in mind it was 7pm already, so more than half of the day has been over and nobody cleaned my room. They promised to investigate and to make me happy, I requested that after I get ready for dinner, they send me a housekeeper to clean and they agreed. After I got ready for dinner I called and waited for 15 mins in the room, nobody has arrived to clean. I literally had to go to the front desk all over again and speak to Stephanie the manager herself to call somebody from the housekeeping team to clean the room. This process took Stephanie around another 30 minutes, as I would not leave the hotel until I was sure that my room had been attended to. Also, Charles in the front desk. thinking himself King Charles, he is a very sensitive person that cannot communicate with clients, and he cannot handle their frustration regarding the negative reviews and the long waiting time ( for hours) he kept on saying that he is “ tired today” and gave me an “oooofff!!” and went to the back office! This person specifically should not be on the front desk talking to the guests, if he is having a bad day, I was having a worse one. For that, he should not have come to work or probably he should be promoted to the housekeeping team! The experience is very disappointing and not smooth at all, they truly made my stay very difficult and frustrating. If you are not capable of accommodating this amount of people in your property due to the lack of good labor, then just don’t accommodate and dont sell all the rooms because you are simply incompetent! Attached the time when the housekeeping entered the room,...