SPA TREK

 

 

Positioned in the center of the French Riviera, just south of Antibes, Nice and Monte Carlo, you’ll find Cannes. If you’re not invited to the film festival, this year on 12th – 23rd May, don’t worry, there’s a lot more happening than film screenings. There’s people watching, for one thing.

 

Cannes has its own effervescent exuberance that always begins in May, pre-film festival and the arrival of the Mediterranean summer. And besides the beachfront seafood restaurants, garlic wafting through the air and a heady mix of gorgeous people, nightlife, art, luxury boutiques, yachts, a museum in the old quarter and a hilltop church, there is a tranquil spa in the center of it all.

  

This year the iconic Hôtel Le Majestic Barrière, on the Boulevard de la Croisette in the heart of Cannes and facing the Palais des Festivals, is celebrating its one hundredth anniversary with a number of exclusive, spa-connected experiences. More on those below. The hotel, known for its charm and breathtaking views over the Mediterranean, can also celebrate its recent Green Globe Gold Award, earned for demonstrating environmental responsibility and striving to achieve carbon neutrality — due to, among other things, replacing plastics with glass, and incorporating LED lighting, motion sensors, water saving devices, and comprehensive waste management. And they focus on vendors who share this sensibility, and the hotel helps protect biodiversity through pesticide-free landscaping, and rooftop beehives. 

 

That’s right, the hotel has four beehives on its roof, with some 60,000 bees per hive producing honey. Every Sunday during the summer months children can join the hotel’s beekeeper to explore the beehives, learn about the importance of bee conservation, enjoy a honey tasting, and get stung. Haha, we’re kidding about getting stung. Only the adults get stung.

 

 

 

 

An “insect hotel” has also been installed, overlooking an aromatic garden, where fresh herbs are cultivated for the food and cocktails. The insect hotel enhances local biodiversity.

 

Steps away from all the very high glam bustle, the Majestic Spa offers a soothing contrast from sensory overload, a softly lit haven devoted to relaxing you. Each treatment involves such quality vendors as Biologique Recherche, KOS Paris (who are very good at massages), and Balmain Paris for hair. The approach is fully personalized, with therapies designed to release tension, realign the body, and – why not? – elevate your soul. 

 

This season, The Majestic created what they’re calling the Art of Well Being, which is hard to find fault with, through four intimate experiences conceived as sensory escapes. This extends beyond the spa to the golden sand of Ciro’s Cannes beach club, now in its second year. And you don’t have to be staying at the hotel to enjoy these, by the way.

 

In other words, Riviera blue and white striped soft plush loungers with umbrellas at the beach club, cocktails, and a blissful siesta in the afternoon, post massage. I feel relaxed already!

 

 

 

 

 

Beach & Spa

 

Begin with a 50-minute Zen massage by KOS, followed by a visit to Ciro’s for a detox drink and lunch. After that, you get a sunbed set on the sand, looking out at the Mediterranean, for the rest of the day. Bliss. 

 

Price: €205 per person, (until September 23, 2026, excluding school holiday periods, public holidays, and congresses. Since the whole summer is basically a school holiday, we’re not entirely sure what happens for those months, so to be safe, call the hotel and get the most current price…)

 

 

 

Sea View Breakfast & Spa

 

Designed as a morning escape, this begins with a 25-minute massage by KOS, ideal for starting the day gently. In fact, that pretty much defines starting a day gently. Next, a light, continental, seaside brekkie at Ciro’s Cannes. Then back on a sunbed on the sand, or on the pontoon, to linger a little longer. You know, to give you time to think about lunch.

 

Price: €90 per person (July & August 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)

 

 

Love & Chill

 

An escape for two. Begin with a 25-minute massage by KOS, before unwinding — in case, I guess, you were still somehow wound up — on sunbeds on Ciro’s sand. There are culinary delicacies to share and a couple of glasses of R de Ruinart Champagne. Which is very good champagne, FYI.

 

Price: €330 for two people (until September 23, 2026, again with the enigmatic exclusions of school holiday periods, public holidays, and whatever “congresses” are).

 

 

 

 

 

Duo Brunch & Spa

 

An exceptional Sunday ritual, the nattily monikered Duo Brunch & Spa experience begins with the brunch buffet, (with champagne). It continues at the Majestic Spa with a 50-minute bespoke massage or facial treatment, and access to the hammam, sauna, and fitness room. It’s a nice day!

 

Price: €450 for two people (Sundays only, excluding, we are told, holiday periods, public holidays, and these increasingly mysterious congresses… Brunch is sensibly between 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Treatments are available morning or afternoon. We suggest mornings, before you get all full on their gorgeous buffet. After which, well, there have to be a couple of sunbeds free!)

 

Events happening in Cannes this year include: Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (22–26 June 2026); the Cannes Yachting Festival (September 2026); and fireworks festivals and summer concerts on the seafront. 

 

And, apparently, congresses!

 

Le Spa Majestic (by reservation only)

 

+33 (0) 4 92 98 77 49 

 

www.lemajestic-cannes.com