The Hôtel Martinez is still one of the glamorous landmarks of the Cannes Film Festival, the one that graces the pages of the people magazines with its host of stars staying there. To coincide with the 70th edition of the film festival, the Croisette hotel, which became a Grand Hyatt in 2013, is raising the curtain on the first phase of a vast renovation project designed to restore its prestige. Begun last November with a total investment of €150 million, the renovation began with the 120 new rooms in the west wing.
Hyatt and Constellation Hotels Holdings, the owner of the hotel, have chosen to direct this renaissance by choosing Pierre-Yves Rochon. For Alessandro Cresta, General Manager of the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hôtel Martinez, "It is important to envisage a renovation project that preserves the Art Deco soul of this emblematic building. The Pierre-Yves Rochon agency is working to this end, with the aim of creating harmony and coherence in the new interior architecture and exterior spaces of this historic building."
Contemporary and bright, the new décor interprets what has made the hotel such a success since it opened in 1929: its Art Deco spirit, the luxury of the French Riviera of the 1930s. Also inspired by the colours of the Côte d'Azur, the new rooms combine Italian influences, noble materials - leather, white lacquered furniture and Terrazzo floors in the bedrooms, marble and mosaics in the bathrooms - and state-of-the-art home automation. After the summer, work will resume in September to give way to a brand new hotel in spring 2018.
The Martinez now has 409 rooms and suites, including the Penthouse Suite, one of the largest in Europe, 15 modular lounges covering 2,500 m2 for meetings and events, a private beach in season, and a gourmet restaurant that is also a star performer with two Michelin stars. Its name: La Palme d'Or. It has to be.
