Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel

BORN OUT OF A RUSSIAN PASSION
It all started like a Russian novel. In 1909, the Grand Duke Michael of Russia, grandson of the Tsar, moved to Cannes to flee the imperial court and live a forbidden love with Sophie De Meremberg, granddaughter of the writer Alexander Pushkin, a commoner judged a rank lower than his. Banished from Russia, the Grand Duke renounced the title of Tsar for her.

Cannes’ accomodations having neither the desired comfort nor the splendor expected for the receptions he intended to host there, he financed almost all of the hotel’s construction which was named “Carlton”, meaning “free man” in Scandinavian.

Henri Ruhl, famous hotelier and sponsor, and Charles Dalmas, renowned architect, took over the project.

In 1913, the most beautiful hotel that Cannes had ever seen, a monumental building in a neoclassical style with a Belle Époque spirit, opened.

The Carlton's distinctive domes on both seaward corners were reputedly designed to resemble the breasts of Caroline Otero ("La Belle Otero") the most famous courtesan of the French Riviera, during the years surrounding World War I.

The hotel was a central location for the Alfred Hitchcock film To Catch a Thief, starring Grace Kelly and Cary Grant. While staying at the Carlton during the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, Kelly had an arranged meeting and photo shoot with Prince Rainier III of Monaco; they married in 1956.Read more