Review: the Canopy by Hilton Cannes hotel

This is our review of the Canopy Cannes hotel.

Normally Rob likes to pull rank and do hotel reviews in the South of France, as he did twice last year when he reviewed Carlton Cannes, A Regent Hotel (IHG) and Hyatt Regency Palais de la Mediterranee Nice.

This time, however, with Rob in Berlin at the ITB travel show, I was able to hop on a BA Cityflyer flight from London City to Nice, with the aim of spending a night in Hilton’s recently opened Canopy in Cannes.

I’ve stayed at several of Hilton’s Canopy hotels since my first visit to the Canopy London City, which is on the threshold between the City of London and Whitechapel. I’ve also reviewed the Canopy in Austin and the new Canopy (formerly Virgin Hotels) in San Francisco’s SoMa district.

Canopy hotels vary in terms of design. Some are conversions from other brands (such as the Canopy in San Francisco) whilst others are new builds (London City, Austin).

The hotel website is here. Thanks to Hilton for arranging our stay. HfP paid for my flight and other costs.

Canopy Cannes location

The Canopy by Hilton in Cannes is a full refurbishment of an existing hotel, the former Radisson Blu hotel, in a 1930s building right on the corner of the port/marina:

The location is on the opposite side of the bay to the luxury hotels, including the Carlton. In many ways this is a good thing, as a lot of the local restaurants are less gratuitously priced and you won’t be charged €50 to use a lounger around the hotel’s own pool. The Canopy is also opposite a public beach, whilst the ‘grand dames’ funnel you to their pricey beach clubs.

It is about a 10-15 minute walk from the train station (30 minutes to Nice St Augustine, also within walking distance of the airport) via the recently re-landscaped main square along the promenade.

Inside Canopy by Hilton Cannes

What appears to be the main entrance to the hotel actually opens up to the ground-floor Cafe Creme with lifts up to the rooftop Marea restaurant and bar:

and

To check in, you need to turn left down a few stairs or there is another set of doors on the left of the building, which is where you’ll find the ‘proper’ reception desks:

Rooms at Canopy by Hilton Cannes

In total there are 129 guest rooms and suites, as well as 12 apartments. The majority of rooms are in the main building, but there are a few more buildings behind which are home to some of the apartments as well as the hotel pool and spa.

Room types vary from Standard King Rooms (20sqm) all the way to Premium and Deluxe King/Twin rooms (25sqm), although to be perfectly honest I’m struggling to see the difference on the Hilton website! According to Hilton, “most offer impressive views over the old harbour, La Croisette and the Lérins Islands.”

I was given a Deluxe King Room With Sea View on the top (sixth) floor.

First impressions were good. A custom open wardrobe / mini-bar / desk lines the entire right wall:

There was plenty of space for suitcases and hanging items, and the desk itself was absolutely vast. Two people could easily work here at the same time (with another chair!)

The mini bar was in the centre with a kettle and Nespresso machine, whilst the mini fridge had just two tetrapaks of water and nothing else. There was also an empty glass bottle that you can fill from one of the filtered taps down the corridor on every floor. I like this concept but I do wish housekeeping would fill it up and pop it in the fridge before arrival.

The structure is mirrored on the opposite with the king bed, which features a canopied head-board and lots of brightly coloured artwork:

The bed was very comfortable with very long pillows. There were bedside tables on both sides (the right hand one was modeled after a stack of large photographic books) together with 65W USB-C and European mains electricity on both sides.

This is the first hotel I’ve seen that has ditched USB-A entirely, and I do wonder why new build hotels don’t simply install universal power sockets rather than country-specific outlets.

I have to say this quickly became my favourite Canopy Hotels of those I’ve stayed in. The design feels very warm and welcoming, with just enough detail to make it interesting without being overwhelming. Views like this help of course:

The majority of rooms in the main building face south, towards the Embarcadere. Whilst the hotel is not on the beach front itself – there is a (quiet) road and some parking on the spit – you do get magnificent sea views.

The only compromise the room makes is with the bathroom, and it all comes down to size. There is a proper, separate toilet room and bathroom – not just a cubicle in the bathroom. Whilst this will delight some of you, it does result in a very small bathroom which is really only big enough for one person at a time:

I think knocking down the dividing wall to the toilet would have created a much larger combined space which would have been more flexible. Perhaps that simply wasn’t possible, given the building’s history.

It didn’t help that there weren’t any hand towel rails (!) and the coating on the shower was starting to come off:

Toiletries are the typical uber-lemony ‘thankyou.’ brand. I think last time I reviewed a Canopy I described the scent as ‘like taking a shower in lemon curd’ and I stand by this assessment!

Pool, gym and spa at Canopy Cannes

The Canopy by Hilton Cannes comes with a fairly extensive spa – much larger, frankly, than I was expecting. This is located in a building at the rear, together with the 12 apartments, and can also be accessed via the street. The only catch is that it is not free – it is €20 per person if staying at the hotel.

Getting to it from your room is a bit of a palava, as you head through what seems like an endless maze of corridors and lifts. It’s all worth it once you’re there, however, thanks to the indoor-outdoor pool with stunning sunset views across the bay:

There’s also a jacuzzi which was very popular at sunset. On the lower floor, you’ll find the thermal suite with hammam and sauna as well as a series of treatment rooms.

The gym has some lovely floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the pool. This is about half of it, with the other half featuring dumbbells etc:

Dining and breakfast at Marea

One of the highlights of the Canopy is the Marea rooftop bar and restaurant. This covers virtually the entire roof and I can imagine it will be busy this summer.

At the moment, in the shoulder season, it is partially under cover but a lot of these can be opened when the weather permits.

The focus at Marea is seafood, albeit with a modern and healthy twist. Expect to pay Cannes prices, with starters and salads from €19 whilst mains are €28-€52. If you want carbs, you’ll have to order those as a side.

The same menu is also available for room service, at or near the same price.

I started with the shrimp ceviche, although calling it a ‘ceviche’ is pushing it a little. Whilst delicious, it was more of a yoghurt marinade and didn’t have the acidity of a traditional ceviche.

For my main I went for the semi-cooked tuna with fennel confit, blood orange, radiccio tardivo with balsamic, gremolata sauce:

As a big fan of salads I loved how fresh the dishes were.

Breakfast at Marea

The hotel breakfast is also served at Marea, and what better way to start the day than looking across the bay in the sun and seeing the boats bob in the Marina?

As is typical for Canopy Hotels, the breakfast is less extensive than at some other brands. In this case, they seemed a little understaffed because after waiting to be seated for a couple of minutes the bartender waved me over and took my room number.

It is an exclusively buffet (mostly continental) service, with self-serve coffee machines as well, although I think you can order barista coffee from the bar. There was a small selection of cold cuts, cheese and salmon:

A selection of bread, pastries, rolls and cereals:

Hot items were restricted to scrambled eggs, some sausages and bacon. At the very far end was a completely demolished platter of fruit – clearly the kitchen couldn’t keep up with the demand!

There is definitely scope here to elevate the breakfast offering. Whilst totally adequate, it didn’t quite reflect the stunning setting on the rooftop and staffing issues were clearly hampering the service. I would be interested to know if the breakfast expands in the summer when the hotel is at full occupancy.

Conclusion

There are some quirks, largely as a result of having to accommodate the original structure, and the breakfast could be better, but I loved my stay at the Canopy by Hilton Cannes.

The rooms are well designed and stylish whilst the rooftop restaurant offers stunning views across the Bay of Cannes.

Room rates start from €179 per night, although entry level rooms reach €422 in August. Redemptions are from 49,000 – 80,000 Hilton Honors points per night.

You can find out more, and book, on the hotel website here.

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