The Hôtel Martinez is a famous art deco style Grand Hotel on the Croisette at Cannes. It was opened on 20 February 1929 by its founder-owner Emmanuel Michele Martinez, son of the Baron Giovanni Martinez and Giuseppa Labiso Costanza, from Palermo Sicily, Italy, a noble ancient Italian family of Spanish origins.
In 1927, due to the enormous credit the patronymic "Martinez" obtained in the luxury hotels business around the world thanks to the expertise of Emmanuel Michele Martinez when he was Director Manager in Luxury Hotels in London and Paris, and at the time he was Director of the Cannes Luxury Hotel Association he decided to build his own Hotel Palace, at la Côte d'Azur, in the French Riviera, using the connections his family had with nobility, Mr. Martinez bought the "Villa Marie-Therese on September 22, 1927, from "His Royal Highness Alphose de Bourbon. Emmanuel Michele Martinez named his Hotel after himself, his patronymic last name appears on giant blue neon lights on the top of the hotel at the center of the Croisette.
During World War II, the Hôtel Martinez was occupied repeatedly: by the French Army, by the Italian Army, by the Commission d'armistice, by the German Army, and (after The Liberation) by the U.S.A. Air Force.
During the Cannes Film Festival it houses film-stars and hosts Canal+'s studio for its festival special on its private beach called "Zplage" the Hôtel Martinez is "where action happens in Cannes" considering the key point of the glamour, film stars, directors, producers, and film business in Cannes.
According to the business magazine Forbes in 2009, it declared that a suite in the Hôtel Martinez is the most expensive suite in the world.
The Hôtel Martinez also has an entire floor dedicated to the elegant and luxury Spa Martinez (with two brands: Lancaster and Sothys).
The Hôtel Martinez official website introduce it as follows:
"The Hôtel Martinez is known for stylish living, where comfort and technology have aesthetic overtones, and from its eminent position on the sea front, on the famous boulevard de La Croisette in Cannes, the Hôtel Martinez has established itself over the decades as the flagship hotel on the Riviera. From the outside, its architectural beauty makes it timeless and establishes its elegance and eternal youth. With seven floors that overlook the sea front and a floor area that covers 40,000 square metres, it is one of the top European luxury hotels.
As spacious as it is extravagant, the hotel has an extraordinary infrastructure, both in terms of guest accommodation comprising 412 rooms and suites, and in the services the hotel has to offer. The Martinez has three restaurants, 'La Palme d'Or', a 2 stars Michelin gastronomic restaurant, 'Le Relais Martinez' and the 'Zplage Beach Restaurant'. There is a piano bar, a vast private beach, a heated pool, fifteen meeting rooms and reception lounges that total 2500 square metres; all this puts the Hôtel Martinez just behind the congress centre 'Palais des Festivals' in terms of reception capacity in Cannes. The reception infrastructure is one of the major assets of the hotel, and in all seasons conventions, seminars and other social, festive and professional events, the majority of them international can be hosted."