The Carlton closes for facelift

The world famous hotel will close its doors for approximately 8 months of renovation works Copyright Aurimas

Between September 2012 and May 2013, the iconic Croisette hotel will undergo a 100 million euro renovation.

The announcement has been long awaited, as financial difficulties prevented works from commencing straight away. In the meantime, major competitors such as the Majestic, The Hilton and the Radisson have all undergone major improvements.

Lebanese businessman and owner of The Carlton, Toufic Aboukhater, bought the world-famous hotel at the beginning of 2011. Mr Aboukhater says he had hoped that the hotel could remain open during the redevelopments, however given the scale of the project, 300 workers will be forced to abandon their jobs. The Ritz hotel in Paris presented a similar situation in October this year, and 450 jobs will be lost there as a result of the 27 month redevelopment.

And while The Carlton remains an iconic symbol of the Côte d’Azur, it will be forced to turn away thousands of customers during the eight month period. It will miss out on custom during the Tax Free World Trade exhibition in October 2012, the Midem music festival in January 2013, and Mipim in March 2013, when demand is particularly high. 

Louise Kirby