Famous mainly for its starring role in the annual Cannes International Film Festival and its twin cupolas, the Carlton International Hotel is now a little faded in glamour having suffered from successive owners who have not invested in it.
The latest proprietors, since June 2014, are Qatar’s Katara Hospitality who plan a rolling renovation and improvement programme. A site to the rear of the property is being kept under wraps and could be a new spa and swimming pool complex.
My 30-square-metre, double-room with a sideways sea view cost €605 (Dh2,489) a night. The 210-centimetre bed was very comfortable, but the 60cm shower was a tight fit, and the L’Occitane amenities only included one bar of soap. If you wanted unlimited movie access that was an extra €35.
Workwise, the large desk was adequate although it only had two continental-sized plugs. For internet, be sure to sign up to the Intercontinental Hotel Group frequent guest programme for free access, otherwise you pay from €25 a day for 2MBps to €200 a day for 20MBps.
At the bottom of the stairs is a compact business centre with two Microsoft terminals and a printer that are free for guests. The buffet breakfast on the Carlton terrace is quite a spot for a business meeting with a panoramic view of the bay, although it is €45 for what is a standard intercontinental breakfast buffet.
Perhaps this hotel is still trading on its formidable reputation.
The now 304-bedroom and 39-suite Carlton was originally built in 1909 by British entrepreneur Henri Ruhl, with the financial backing of the exiled Russian Grand Duke Michael, in elegant Bell Epoque style to serve Russian and English aristocrats.
The League of Nations met here in 1922. This is where Prince Rainier of Monaco met the American film star Grace Kelly and also where the Cannes film festival first took off.
q&a a price for everything
Peter Cooper elaborates on what the Carlton International Hotel has to offer the business traveller:
What other facilities were there in the room?
There is a Nespresso machine but capsules cost €1 each, and no tea-making facilities. You also have a large fruit basket, complementary water and two sugary juices.
What about other services?
A visitor commented that five minutes behind the hotel a local restaurant offered a three-course meal for €27, just €7 more than the price of a milkshake in the hotel. Coke or water from the minibar cost €10 and Pringles €9. From the room service a hamburger and chips was €39 and a sandwich €21. Ironing was not cheap either at €12 for a shirt and €13 for a blouse, and 50 per cent more for express service on the same day.
What about for after hours?
Currently the hotel does not have a swimming pool. But it does have the Mediterranean Sea and its own private beach club opposite, but even hotel guests have to pay an extra €58 a day for a sunbed. Apart from the beach, the airy 24-hour gym was adequate with three running, skiing and cycling machines and a multigym.
What about the meeting rooms?
Throughout the year Cannes hosts many conferences and corporate events. It’s the business capital of the Cote d’Azur. To cater for that, the hotel has 10 meeting and banquet rooms.
business@thenational.ae
* The writer was a guest of the hotel.
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West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors
Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Brief scores:
Arsenal 4
Xhaka 25', Lacazette 55', Ramsey 79', Aubameyang 83'
Fulham 1
Kamara 69'
Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
- Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
- 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
- Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Score
Third Test, Day 1
New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
