From its inauguration in the 20s, the Hotel Carlton in Beaulieu-sur-Mer celebrated the true seaside resort spirit.
From the outset, a carefree art of living and Art Deco chic.
To this very day, the charms of the past can be embraced freely: living the good life with confidence.
The Carlton’s façade is a repository of the past, conjuring up alone visions of the long decades that have passed since it first opened, and shaped the soul and spirit of the place. The Riviera’s second golden age began almost a century ago. The Belle Époque had already made Beaulieu-sur-Mer the favourite destination for winter retreats among well-to-do aristocrats from all over the world.
However, in the summer sun, set against a backdrop of bathing and Jazz Age music, the Roaring Twenties reinvented a joy of living that was patently more hedonistic and bohemian. The anything-goes Twenties, when the Côte d’Azur became the destination of highly cultivated summer holidaymakers, was born in Beaulieu-sur-Mer.
The hotel’s very name attests to the effervescent cosmopolitan daring in the wake of the likes of Stravinsky, Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Cole Porter. The name Carlton find its roots in Scandinavia and means ‘Free Man’. As a surname, ‘Carlton’ is resolutely attached to individual freedom: the freedom to take your time with not a care in the world.
Accordingly, the name Carlton was chosen by the hotel’s owner to signify the splendour of joyful idleness and leisure. His establishment welcomed its first guests in Beaulieu-sur-Mer at the same time that the casino, then Villa des Fleurs, was inaugurated.
Almost a hundred years later, although the exuberance and frivolity have abated, the gentle enchantment of the place lives on. As does the ineffable luxury of being free to have a good time.
In keeping with its origins, the Hotel Carlton Beaulieu-sur-Mer is still to this day run by the owner, who is committed to preserving the relaxed refinement of the place.
In keeping with tribute to the Art Deco style, which has been renewed in recent months, the pristine freshness of its identity has been restored. Today, the Hotel Carlton Beaulieu-sur-Mer marries contemporary expectations and aspirations with the poignant patina of yesteryear.
A precious art of living that is nurtured perfectly in every detail, with a true sense of hospitality.
Since the 19th century, Beaulieu-sur-Mer has continued to foster its picture-postcard appeal. It is, therefore, an honour and a privilege to bring this to life for the Carlton’s guests.
As a nod to this photogenic quality, the hotel’s owner has decided to give pride of place to the works of… a free man. Jean Gilletta, who in 1880 founded the eponymous postcard publishing house, bolstered the freedom to explore the Riviera, and the freedom to pioneer a new art form: now known as landscape photography. The hotel’s interiors throughout feature eloquent testaments of the Côte d’Azur of yesteryear, which are still prominent.
Through the ages, the art of contemplation has always been a treasure to be preserved and shared. Accordingly, the Hotel Carlton Beaulieu-sur-Mer has unfailingly upheld this commitment ever since, as nowhere else.