THE AIR SHAKES, THE PALM TREES SWING, THE SOUND OF THE WAVES ROLLING IN IS HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND,
THE HEADLIGHTS ARE ON. FANS HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO GATHER AT THE BARRIERS, MAY IS HERE AND IT'S ANOTHER DAY FOR THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, THIS YEAR'S 78TH.

ONCE IN At the time, Cannes was a small, unknown fishing village on the French Riviera. However, it attracted interest for its location and beauty. In the mid-19th century, aristocrats from both England and Russia had found their way here – attracted by the Mediterranean climate and the sea. They built private villas, and in the beginning
of the 20th century also large magnificent hotels, along Promenade de la Croisette, such as Le Majestic and Carlton. Cannes nevertheless attracted writers and artists as well as royalty.

Voyage checking in at Le Majestic, whose full name today is Hotel Barriere Le Majestic Cannes, a sunny morning during the off-season. From the airport it takes no more than half an hour before our Mercedes
turns into the hotel driveway. The hotel's facade is white, decorated in a way that makes me think of white meringue, Art Deco is the style, the windows are arched, the canopies are red. A Pagani and a Ferrari are parked next to the entrance. Making an entrance here is an art form in itself, but something many stars
done over the years – and often in connection with the film festival itself. We'll get to that in a moment.

A COMPETITIVE FESTIVAL
In the early 1920s, plans for Le Majestic began to be drawn up. British businessman Henri Ruhl, who had settled here on the Riviera and purchased land, commissioned architect Théo Petit to design the hotel. Two years later, in 1926, the first wing of the hotel opened. Le Majestic. I step into the lobby, the marble floor is well polished, the chandeliers are impressive and the sofas are velvety. My room is not yet
ready, and the rest of my party is arriving, so I now have to wait a while and soak up the atmosphere.
We look back in time, and find out that during the 1930s the idea of a film festival in Cannes that could compete with the Venice festival was born. A Palais des Festival was to be built. But World War II came in between, and instead of the stars checking in, Le Majestic had to act as a military hospital. But in 1946 it was time to launch Cannes Film Festival, which was initially held in the old casino on Boulevard de la Croisette. The two-kilometer seafront promenade became a catwalk for stars such as Birgitte Bardot, Sophia Loren and Alain Delon. The current Palais des Festival was built in 1982 and became the heart of the festival, while the luxury hotels Le Majestic and Hotel Martinez became legendary for their star-studded parties.

Le Majestic currently has 349 rooms, several of which are unique suites such as the Riviera Suite, the Melodie Suite and the Christian Dior Suite as well as the large and super luxurious Penthouse Suite with a heated pool and a 360 degree view over the city, the mountains and the horizon – even the stairs up to the Palais de Festival can be seen from here. Among the film stars who have checked into the hotel we find, among others: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ariana Grande, Catherine Deneuve, Robert De Niro, George Clooney, Bruce Willis, Robert Pattinson or Queen Latifah. Around the hotel's corridors we find pictures of even more of the stars who have stayed here over the years.

UP ON THE HOTEL ROOF
My party makes its entrance and we head to Le Fouquet's bistro for lunch. I order some oysters and a salad with shrimp, delicious, nice, we toast with champagne. We are five women in the company from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Some of us have been here before, for others it is the first time, together we will enjoy and explore the luxury life here at the hotel. The room is ready, mine is perfectly positioned with a view of the sea, the palm trees and the hotel's driveway. Here I see the luxury cars driving by and the sun almost reaches my comfortable bed. I don't have much time to do more than look for my swimsuit before it is time to head to the hotel's spa, Spa Diane Barrière. A dip in the pool, a moment in the sauna and an hour of massage there. Oh so wonderful. Before dinner we are invited up to the hotel's roof. Herbs, flowers and spices are grown here, we even find some beehives here. All this started nine years ago and is part of the exceptional bar concept that Enamuele Balestra has developed. The ingredients go through the cellar, where they are extracted
and distilled before finally being served in the hotel bar – in glasses from Biot or in ceramic jugs from Vallaurais. To further enhance the drinking experience, the glasses are sprayed with perfume…
We order our drinks, all different. Fabulously beautiful, this is an experience you shouldn't miss even if you're not staying at the hotel. Recently I read the list of the world's 50 best bars and wonder why this particular bar isn't on the list.
“We simply do not qualify based on purely formal requirements. Among other things, we would have needed to have a separate entrance to our bar,” says Guillermo Pittaluga, who is the Bar Manager here.

A DIP IN THE SEA
Before breakfast the next day we head down to the sea for a swim at the hotel's private beach, La Plage Majestic, which also has its own pontoon from which we jump in. We don't drop any bikini tops, and we don't bring the paparazzi to life like the stars at the festival once did – or rather were they
who aspire to become stars and attract attention... During festival time, this is also a hangout for private luxurious parties, a beach club with a party scene with DJs and live performances where the champagne flows until the early hours of the morning. Of course the champagne is also chilled at the breakfast buffet but we are skipping it today. We are actually going to bake with the hotel's pastry chef Nicolas Maugard. Every little cake and dessert is baked at the hotel. A whole team works here and during high season the temperature is high. I find one small detail I don't like, here they work with pre-separated egg yolks and egg whites.

“We bake so much that this particular step simplifies the whole thing for us without compromising on quality,” says Nicolas Maugard. Whisk, stir, laugh and repeat. Baking is fun, there are actually stars who
asks to come down here too. If Cate Blanchett We don't know if she did this, but we do know that she has stayed here several times. Last year, she was also one of the speakers at the Kering Women in Motion Talk, which was held here at the hotel.

THE CHAMPAGNE IS UNCORRED
We leave the kitchen and head up to the magnificent the penthouse suite. Right now it is being refurnished. Everything has been removed, the floors have been freshly sanded and the smell of paint that has not yet fully dried remains. We go out onto the terrace. The large hot tub is steaming, the view, the magic – I close my eyes and dream away. I see jewels, a movie star, a make-up artist and a sea of extras. Somewhere here I realise that we are sniffing at a well-directed dream, a dream of success, of shining and of being at the top. It is not far now, it has started to get warmer. The hotel's outdoor restaurants and bars have opened up. The pool is no longer just decoration, but now people are swimming here again.

We end our visit with a glass Champagne and I am reminded that I read that during the two weeks that the festival is going on, the corks are uncorked 2,000 champagne corks, how many there will be this year remains to be seen. It's time for the spotlights to come on, for the carpet to roll out and for the stars to check in.

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
Ongoing: May 13 – 24, 2025 The cheapest room during these 11 nights is a Deluxe Room City View for 2 people, for 19,739 Euro – if you are interested, hurry up and book, it sells out quickly and prices go up!
Generally, the price of the hotel increases by between 4–5 times during the festival, if you wait until October there are rooms for 261 Euro per night