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In May 2018, the iconic Hotel Martinez reopened its doors following 18 months of work, including 4 months in which the establishment was closed to the public. This construction work entailed a true rebirth for this iconic hotel, which has been in service since 1929. A new positioning, new image, new brand: this is an entirely reinvented Martinez that its guests have had the pleasure to discover.
“This is not a renovation; it is a metamorphosis.”
The Martinez 2.0: “Unclassifiable”
A staff team that has been in place for many years (with some employees being there for 35 years), a finely aged history dating back to nearly a centry, a notoriety that is no longer but a whisper… Everything pointed to signs that the renovation of the Hotel Martinez was well overdue.
And yet, it was a new Martinez, entirely reinvented, that opened its doors on May 2018. Far from limiting itself to a banal redecoration, the image and positioning of the hotel were entirely rethought.
It has been a work carried out over a long period. The hotel underwent a rigorous audit, a sort of introspection to define its DNA, its spirit, and differentiate itself from the strong competition already present in Cannes. The result? An iconic hotel, chic but laid back, opening out onto nature..
Situated between tradition and modernity, the Martinez rests above all faithful to its roots, tinted slightly since its origins with the hint of avant-gardism. The Martinez was a precursor of a hotel, avant-garde, one of the first that saw women put on bikinis at the beach in the 1930s. It was also one of the first in the region to stay open throughout the entire year: at the time, one did not visit Cannes in the summer, but in the winter. And it was the Martinez that broke the codes.
Today, this spirit of going against the norms is an element that the hotel wishes to keep: At the Martinez, people are very laid back. There’s no need to put on a vest to go to the restaurant, except for the fine restaurant La Palme d’Or.
To take its new identity to even further heights, the hotel joined the Unbound Collection by Hyatt creatd in 2016. Unbound, by definition, means unclassifiable. In the Unbound Collection, there are no standards, allowing for a certain sense of freedom.
“Reconstruct, not just renovate”
This is not a renovation; it is a metamorphosis.” The cement and the walls—these are all that are left of the former Martinez. The number of rooms also remains unchanged. The rest are brand new. A maximum budget of €150 million was dedicated for this large-scale project.
The interior design was entrusted to Pierre-Yves Rochon, a name linked to the memory of the hotel. After all, it was Rochon who had designed the interior of the hotel’s iconic restaurant La Palme d’Or at the very start of his career. Pierre-Yves Rochon landed with a projet that seduced the entire world. He kept the art deco spirit and reworked it completely. He modernized its codes and colors.
In bright, luminous tones of white, blue and yellow recalling the colors of the Mediterranean, the hotel flaunts a retro style recalling the 1930s, all the while injecting a zappy dose of modern technology.
A promise: “Freedom to be extraordinary”
“Freedom to be extraordinary” is the brand promise of this Martinez 2.0. The aim: startle, touch, leave an incredible memory.
And to do so, the hotel has more than few ammo in its artillery: “Le Jardin” or “The Garden” is a new exterior space opening out on the Croisette, a new private beach that will be revealed in Spring 2019… And of course, let’s not forget the Martinez’s timeless signature, its ‘human capital’: “When the client arrives at the hotel, the luggage man greets him by his name. Moreover, the barmen know all the clients, including the stars. If you want to go to meet a celebrity, ask the barmen: they have their telephone numbers. All of these little experiences, combined together, go toward crafting a memorable stay.
An exceptional gastronomic experience
No surprise that La Palme d’Or the iconic 2-Michelin star restaurant of the Martinez 2.0 remains unchanged. But the resemblance of this new Martinez with the former one ends there. For the rest, the gourmet offering was completely rewritten and based around three new spaces:
- The Original Version. On the menu: flavors inspired by culinary traditions from around the world, revisited with local products from the Mediterranean.
- The Martinez Garden, whose pavé terrace and central fountain creates an allure recalling a village square from somewhere in Provence crowned with cork oak trees, where palm trees create a visual postcard of the Côte d’Azur and where pomelos, myrtles, lemon trees and aromatic plants add a sublime perfume to this unique place. The Garden is a wink to ‘The Original Version,’ with which it shares the menu.
- The Martinez Bar, where barmen dressed in blue fringed velvet, boat shoes, and scarves on their necks, serve bold cocktails.
The Martinez has imbued each of these three spaces with experiential touches: a gin chariot, a Champagne brouette and barge parties add a lively and laid back touch to the gastronomic experience.
The Martinez, a hotel of plurals
Actually, there are two Martinez’s: the Martinez of the summer and the Martinez of the winter.
“One of the underlying elements of the Martinez is the diversity of our clientele,” emphasizes Alessandro Cresta.
In the summer, the hotel welcomes a clientele that tends to be leisure and high-end. During the off-seasons, the hotel comes to life through conferences and seminars. Indeed, the hotel boasts infrastructures of 2,500 m² dedicated to MICE, including 15 flexible meeting rooms.
The force of the Martinez is thus due to its adaptability: “Between the demands of the leisure clients, who are highly demanding, to the conference clients, who tend to be less sophisticated, but adept at rapidity and efficiency, the hotel staff must know how to adapt themselves very rapidly.”
Laurent Delporte, an editor and conference speaker, is a strategic expert in the sector of hotels. A visionary, he brings his unique look on hotels in service to the decision-makers in the industry, whether to enhance the development of new projects or strategic visions.
Laurent has visited and audited over 350 hotels across the world and also participates in mystery visits to provide quality control for the world’s finest hotels.
