If you thought trying to book a room at the world’s most famous hotel was tricky just wait until you try to snag one of the 31 fabled — and now refurbished — cabanas. Rosie Paterson takes a sneak peek and rounds up the best of the rest beach and poolside hideaways.
The legendary Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc has announced the refurbishment of its infamous 31 cabanas — just in time for the summer holidays.
The 33, roughly-hewn cabanas were originally erected in the 1930s — since then Marc Chagall has sketched in one and Monica Belluci (it is rumoured) permitted to sleep in another — generating a fierce competitiveness amongst guests to secure their own that shows little sign of abating.
Their new era has been ushered in at the hands of Francis Sultana (in collaboration with Sika Design) — the same interior designer behind sister hotel La Palma on the Italian island of Capri, which opened in 2023. Though indisputably chicer, Mr Sultana has thankfully retained the cabanas’ gloriously laid-back nature.
At the centre of each of the newly reimagined hideaways, there’s now a ceramic-top table — as well as easy-on-the-eye sage green and cream striped, rattan sun beds, matching curtains and cushions, and biscuit-coloured travertine floors. They wouldn’t look out of place as the backdrop to a 1950s film.
Nothing has been overlooked — the fence posts have been painted a matching shade of sage and the ceiling fans (the cabanas are open to the elements and don’t have air-con) updated with wooden blades.
Local artist Gérard Crociani was commissioned to craft decorative plates in shades of blue and green which hang on the interior walls.
Rooms at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Rock from £592 a night. Visit www.oetkercollection.com/hotels/hotel–du–cap-eden-roc for more information.
Best of the rest
The Beverly Hill Hotels, Los Angeles, US
Stripy sun beds and retro-tropical print cabanas line the swimming pool at this celebrity hangout.
Lido Villeggiatura, A Villa Sant’Andrea Beach Club, Taormina, Sicily
Lido Villeggiatura, part of Belmond’s Villa Sant’Andrea hotel, is the first destination beach club of the Belmond portfolio (it opened June 2024). The six, mid-century inspired cabanas are described as ‘personal sanctuaries’ (well, there is dedicated butler service after all) — ask for lunch to be served alfreso underneath the tented veranda.
Château Saint-Martin & Spa, Vence, France
Château Saint-Martin — another Hotel du Cap sister hotel, part of the Oetker Collection — has partnered with Minuty wine on a ‘meticulously decorated’ cabana. The ‘Summertime with Minuty’ package includes cabana rental, a three-course lunch for two people and a bottle of the palest Provençal Château Minuty Rose et Or.
Grand Hotel Son Net, Puigpunyent Valley, Mallorca
The pool-side, forest-green cabanas at Son Net provide a level of privacy that’s usually tricky to achieve at a hotel with more than 10 rooms (there are 31 here, including 16 suites). The best bit? The close-by snack bar serving up cocktails, house wines and tapas.
