Everyone from Grace Kelly and Cary Grant to Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin once held court at legendary Palm Beach. It’s now back for round deux and more glamorous than ever.
At the tail end of the Roaring Twenties, as the French Riviera transitioned from a winter hideaway to a summer hotspot, Palm Beach Cannes began its century-long reign on the social circuit. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich, and Cary Grant were among the Hollywood elite, royals, world leaders, and celebrities who frequented its casino, cabaret shows, and fireworks-filled galas.
Initially intended to be a temporary structure, Palm Beach became a permanent fixture on the Pointe Croisette and is now as synonymous with the city as the Festival de Cannes’ red carpet. “When you’re tasked with an iconic building, especially one in Cannes that holds personal significance since childhood, the responsibility feels immense,” says architect Jerry Pellerin, half of the duo behind Caprini & Pellerin, the Cannes-based architecture firm known for large-scale projects like Yula Island in the Red Sea. “Designing such projects isn’t just about architecture, it’s about embracing the building’s history and evolution with a profound sense of consciousness.”
During a soft opening in May coinciding with the Cannes Film Festival, Palm Beach Cannes debuted a fresh face following a $273 million, five-year renovation of the original Hispano-Moresque and Art Deco buildings. After multiple transformations, including the result of damage from World War II bombings, artisans revived and restored frescoes, moldings, cornices, and Moorish tower diamonds—all swathed in sandy tones that nod to the Mediterranean shoreline below.
When the casino reopens, it’ll be the finishing touch to the 248,000-square-foot concept, which is anchored by a private members’ club that’s the first of its kind on the Côte d’Azur. Members—whose numbers are currently capped at a few hundred—have exclusive access to the 141-foot saltwater pool overlooking the bay and Lérins Islands, immortalized in the 1960s Alain Delon film Mélodie en sous-sol, plus a private Dior boutique, sea-facing fitness and wellness center designed by Exclusive Fit (complete with cryotherapy and the only snow room on the Riviera), a restaurant concept by Mykonos transplant Nammos, and butler and concierge service.
The entrance to the speakeasy-style Jean-Paul Members’ Bar isn’t marked—like a false wall, it blends seamlessly into the backdrop of the marble-clad gallery, which will soon sport luxury boutiques on par with the Loro Piana and Pucci outposts along the waterfront below at Nammos.
The loungelike bar space is a quiet respite from Palm Beach’s nine other dining venues, which include first-timers in France like Zuma and Tamarin, a St. Barts favorite. Custom-crafted cognac-colored leather armchairs are huddled around midcentury modern-inspired octagonal cocktail tables, and bar stools sheathed in Loro Piana fabrics face the brass bar counter with patinated braided leather front and a statement-making, four-tiered, amber glass chandelier draped overhead.
“Luxury is subjective and until you ask the right questions to understand what a member’s idea of luxury is, it’s hard to get it right,” says members’ club director Nicolas Ollivier, adding that discretion is another pillar of the membership philosophy, so no photos are allowed in member spaces. “If you want a Birkin, we can make that happen. Time is something we can’t offer, therefore we must ensure we give value to members’ time spent at the club by creating a sense of home, like this is an extension of your living room or office—where you never have to wait for anything.”
On a Thursday evening earlier this month, each space was buzzier than the next. The terrace of La Petite Maison was packed with couples and groups dressed in the Riviera’s unofficial uniform of boho-chic resort wear (Missoni, Zimmermann), swaying and singing along as a roving band played pop hits tableside. At late-night Medusa, flipper-clad performers juggled while hanging upside down from the ceiling at a Las Vegas-style show you’d more expect in Paris, the city that birthed cabaret culture, before the shell-shaped space transformed into a nightclub. If Medusa’s 1,200-person wait list is any indication, Palm Beach is poised to help Cannes regain its reputation as a culinary and nightlife capital.
“The European and international aristocracy, the most fashionable actors and artists, and influential politicians—they all met up at Palm Beach,” says Ollivier. “Palm Beach holds deep historical significance in Cannes, and the project aims to meticulously preserve that while renovating this iconic building, which is integral to the city’s landscape and heritage.”
