Five Seas, Cannes – Napoleon's old stop, now a rooftop retreat

On a quiet street in central Cannes, directly opposite the church of Notre-Dame de Bon Voyage, Five Seas occupies a building with an unusually dramatic past. The hotel stands in the emblematic building of the former Cannes Post Office, and on the night of 1 to 2 March 1815, fresh from his escape from Elba, Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have stopped here, an episode still remembered in the name of the adjoining Rue Bivouac Napoléon. Behind a riveted iron façade that recalls the engineering of the Eiffel workshops, the hotel now holds 45 rooms and suites within the French group Inwood Hotels, founded in 2008 and owned by Jean-Paul Bize. Guests come for the rooftop restaurant Le Roof, led by chef Lori Moreau, the Spa by Sothys, and a heated infinity pool above the rooftops of the old town. The MICHELIN Guide lists Five Seas among its selected hotels in Cannes.

01The house

Five Seas is built into the emblematic building of the former Cannes Post Office, a fact that still surprises first-time guests more than the hotel's design. The street frontage keeps its riveted ironwork, a detail that is reminiscent of Eiffel architecture, with its exposed bolts, while a plaque nearby and the name of the adjoining Rue Bivouac Napoléon recall the night Napoleon is said to have camped there on his march back from Elba in 1815.

The interiors were conceived by the architects and designers Pascal Allaman, Marc Hertrich and Nicolas Adnet, who built the whole hotel around a single idea: a 'voyage immobile', or motionless journey, inspired directly by the name of the church standing opposite, Notre-Dame de Bon Voyage. The result runs through the lobby, the rooms and the spa, mixing references gathered from five continents rather than leaning on any single decorative style.

02Rooms and suites

The hotel has 45 rooms and suites spread over seven floors, with suites accounting for around a third of the total count. Categories run from Superior and Deluxe rooms up through Executive Rooms, Junior Suites, Five Style Suites, and the two top-floor statement suites.

Insider tip

Seasonal hotel, open January to December; book the Sunday brunch at Le Roof ahead.

The Five Style Suites are furnished with large leather trunks, curated artwork and books on design and architecture, each opening onto its own separate living room; some look onto the church of Notre-Dame de Bon Voyage from a private terrace. The Jacuzzi Terrace Suite goes further again, with two bedrooms, a 38 m² terrace and a glass-and-steel jacuzzi built for four guests travelling together. Higher still, reached by a private staircase, the Panoramic Terrace Suite keeps its best surprise for the bathroom: a shower set beneath a glass ceiling, open to the night sky over Cannes.

03Where to eat

Perched on the fifth floor, the panoramic restaurant Le Roof overlooks the historic Suquet district and the Old Port of Cannes, a stretch of rooftops rather than the sea itself. Chef Lori Moreau, trained at École Grégoire-Ferrandi under the star-rated chef Alain Pegouret, runs the kitchen with an inventive, locally rooted menu that moves between French classics and lighter, contemporary dishes.

Lunch is served daily from midday to 2pm and dinner from 7pm to 10pm, with the terrace turning more intimate after dark as it mingles local flavours with far-flung inspirations. On Sundays, Le Roof switches to brunch from noon, built around organic eggs cooked to order, crispy prawns, avocado toast and croque-monsieur with truffle.

04The bar

The Lounge Bar by Le Roof shares the same rooftop and the same wide view, open daily from 11am to half past midnight. It is built for the hour after dinner rather than the hour before it: a spot for aficionados of Cannes' on-trend nightspots in search of the town's loveliest rooftop views, where the bartenders' own cocktail creations matter as much as the skyline behind them.

05Spa and pool

The Spa by Sothys is entirely dedicated to the art of releasing tension, built around four treatment rooms, two saunas and a hammam, with opening hours running from 10am to 8pm between May and September and 10am to 7pm for the rest of the year. Treatments and rituals change with the seasons, from a spring ritual combining hammam access with a green tea and redcurrant massage to a winter version built around warmth and a tailor-made massage.

On the roof terrace itself, a 13-metre heated infinity pool is kept at a constant 28°C all year, edged with loungers for guests who would rather stay horizontal than swim.

06The neighbourhood

Five Seas sits in Cannes' Centre-ville, within walking distance of the Palais des Festivals, La Croisette, Rue d'Antibes, the Old Port and Le Suquet. Directly across the street stands Notre-Dame de Bon Voyage, the church that gave the hotel its guiding idea and that was itself restored between 2018 and 2019, with its stained glass, vaults, columns and monumental chandelier returned to their original state.

For the beach, the hotel works with the nearby Plage du Festival, a private stretch of sand reached in a few minutes on foot, keeping the Croisette's loungers and the hotel's own rooftop within easy reach of each other.

07Making the most of a stay

Five Seas keeps a seasonal rhythm rather than staying open year-round without a break: in 2026 it reopened on 21 January and runs every day through to 6 December, with the Spa by Sothys following a similar calendar and its own short winter closure around the New Year.

Booking the Sunday brunch at Le Roof in advance is worth doing in high season, and asking for a Five Style Suite with a terrace is the way to secure a private view of Notre-Dame de Bon Voyage rather than simply a room with one.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.