agjil

Haha thanks!

I guess 5 to 10 euros is better than nothing.

Btw, what would be the best strategy for booking a room at this property for 3 adults using points?
It looks like the base room that points book into only allow 2 adults in it, and if I want a room that accommodates 3 adults then I need to book a higher category room for which points cannot be used.

Would it be possible to book the base room with points and pay cash to upgrade to a room that accommodates 3 adults?
Or should I purchase IHG's Ambassador package and ask the hotel if they can upgrade me into a larger room for 3 adults?
Or is there any other option?

I am planning on staying in this hotel in July, and the regular cash price for rooms is too high for me during the summer months so I will most likely use points and a free night certificate for my stay of 3 nights there.

Thank you-!

Raffles

The hotel is likely to be 100% full on a summer weekend so relying on an upgrade is hugely risky. You would need to negotiate something in advance.

patmcpsu

I just completed a 6 night award stay, and was generally impressed. I was upgraded to a Deluxe Room, which made a big difference for a longer stay. The best amenity in the Deluxe Room is the huge closets that allow you to fully-unpack, and also give you and your roommate your own dedicated closet space. I wish the room's footprint was used more efficiently; there was lots of open space that didn't serve much purpose, and at the same time, hardly any space in the bathroom. The pictures below should explain it better than I did. The room is directly above the hotel bar and across the street from another hotel's outdoor bar. Needless to say, there was noise until midnight every night, and I'm willing to bet that's why this specific room is used for Ambassador upgrades. On the plus side, staying on the 2nd floor gives you reason to use the grand staircases instead of the ordinary elevators.

For early-July, the town was actually pretty quiet during the week. There were still plenty of people, but just not much energy. When the weekend came around, things picked up, and that Cannes je ne sais quoi was present.

We did Carlton Beach for 4 days. It's not cheap, but you can't not do it. The sand is pristine, the water is perfect, the service is good, and the people-watching is entertaining.

Speaking of expensive, the costs at restaurants in Cannes are significantly higher than I found in Nice (and more tourist traps too, even if you're careful). Even with the free hotel rooms, our vacation was expensive just because of the food. Here is my quick reviews of everywhere we ate:

• L'Affable - Possibly the best meal of the trip. Their 45EUR fixed price menu is actually a good value.
• Auberge Provencale da Bouttau - Maybe this place was good back in the day, but it seems phoned-in now. Not worthy of its Michelin recommendation.
• Le Caveau 30 - Awful, awful restaurant. They lost our reservation, so we got a bad table. The service was terrible, the food was bland, and it wasn't exactly cheap. It's a complete tourist trap that I'm shocked Michelin recommends.
• La Toque D'or - Really good cooking and a nice ambiance, but it's not cheap. The 3 coursse tasting menu is 65EUR per person, 4 course = 75EUR and 5 Course is 85EUR.
• Le Maschou - Very unique experience that, although you're basically just getting a small amount of steak and a ton of vegetables, I am glad I paid 45EUR per person on.
• La Table Du Chef - The other contender for best meal of the trip. It's a really small place with only one guy working in a tiny little kitchen. The food is superb and the 45EUR fixed price menu is a great value, although there isn't much flexibility other than for dietary restrictions.
• Vesuvio - I checked it out for lunch based on old posts on this board. I was super-impressed by their pizzas and wound up going there every day for lunch (their tuna pizza is the best). Their personal-sized pizzas are 15-20EUR each, so it's still not exactly cheap.
• Carlton Beach Club - We ate here one day on the beach. The food was good, but way overpriced. It was still a nice treat. Don't confuse the Carlton Beach Club (where you sit on your chaise lounge and eat) with Carlton Beach Restaurant (where you sit at a proper table). The Beach Club is more casual and mostly serves light stuff like sandwiches and salads, whereas Carlton Beach Restaurant has a more extensive menu and is more formal.

Awkwardly cramped toilet



I believe the room style looks better in person



Tons of closet space



Decent view out of the room. Notice that the railing is made out of marble on floors 2 and 4. Floors 3 , 5 and 6 have cast iron railing.



Tight, but nicely decorated bathroom



Floor plan (arrow points to the room I had). The beach would be at the bottom, for reference.

christianj

Are they EVER planning on renovating those rooms? We stayed there back in 2012 and they needed to be renovated then. I know there was talk of them closing a while back to renovated but they evidently got pushed back due to new owners or something.

336

You pay for the facede of the building (and its history that comes with it). Most clients are blind of the inside.

christianj

I think that used to be true for Cannes (and the French Riviera) in general but if I am not mistaken haven't virtually all the other hotels around there completed renovations in the last 2 years or so? Including the Hotel Barriere Le Gray d'Albion, JW Marriott Cannes and Hotel Martinez. I know they don't have the storied past of the IC Carlton Cannes but rooms with chipped dated furniture and worn carpets have to be impacting the hotel in some way.

janwillem

Any experiences with FHR bookings at the Carlton Cannes?

submonte

Indeed a complete renovation cannot be put off forever. Many rooms are dated with furniture, carpets, wallpaper in real need of change (last time we had an - upgraded! - room with furniture like in a cubby or collected from flea market, and a broken TV cupboard with some missing parts), and the sanitary facilities old. I wonder how long they want to delay further, they cannot go on like this forever, one time the splendour will be finally off and the 5th star gone as well. There were plans many years ago to renovate and expand, but nothing happened.

I must admit we did not complain about that room. We were as always happy to stay at Carlton (and on points during high season), enjoyed the fantastic terrace restaurant and its cuisine, the beach and the service there, and the unrivalled Carlton feeling (that's their secret probably, every guest can feel like a star, the room and its condition is a minor matter).

SkyTeam777

I can't believe that...is this still the case in late 2018 for regular rooms?

Is it safe to assume the extension to the building and this redesign were put off yet again?
https://www.boutiquedesign.com/news/...nes-get-revamp

mjbdiamond

Got a stay here coming up, has anyone used AMEX FHR here?

Also, any idea on what occupancy will be like on a weekend in December? Hoping that it isn't busy so I can score a decent upgrade.

Any recommendations appreciated

Atacama40

[QUOTE=SkyTeam777;30314068]I can't believe that...is this still the case in late 2018 for regular rooms?

Please tell me that's a joke!!! :-) Of all the years and thousands of nights across the globe at the very best and some of the worst places, I've never heard of charging for coffee capsules!!!

I play a lame game with myself (only semi seriously) to some day stay at all of the IC's across the globe ... I'm doing rather well on the quiet achieving that bar a few in odd parts of China, but if this is true then on principle basis I'd never go there. Childish on part ... hell yes but low can you go? I'm sure as a cost center it's an IC cash cow (no issue with that) but on a decency level that's got to be wrong.

Damn I'd make sure my Tumi worldwide traveller case came out and a shed load of towels came home! :-)

336

Sure. 5 euro.

If you want ice, you also pay.

Not only for regular rooms.

Atacama40

And do people actually do that? I'm rarely speechless :-)

Flying Lawyer

Atacama40

Oh yes for sure, and have to admit to being a patchy tipper in any territory if I'm honest .... even after all these years it's still too much or too little in my world.

And indeed the absolute sums involved are quite small but (and I hate folks who quote 'the principle') but it is a little bit the principle. 5 euros for a nespresso capule? Think I'd rather they add Ł10 p.d to the room rate and have the coffee and the ice :-)

As you say the business model must vary a good but. Guess I'm just used to the freebie culture in most IC's. Can't think of another in Europe (or indeed anywhere) that does that. I suppose if they can get away with it then so be it. Their model customer must be a site different than most of us on FT :-)

And joking aside, would those same charges be the same as an RA? Seems weird to be able to clear a mini bar but pay 5 euros for ice :-) Strange world