Ideal Sejour Hotel

The Ideal Sejour is housed in a two-floor Provencal-style-building that's awash in pale-pink with minty-green shutters. Interiors are thoughtfully decorated, particularly the lobby lounge and breakfast area, with a wall-to-wall bookcase painted in striking red. An equally enticing space is the secluded garden, with flowers, fruit trees, palms, and wicker furniture clustered around tables. Shade umbrellas and throw pillows are salmon-pink, and perfectly contrast against the hotel's exterior. Stark-white, life-size sculptures of people reading on benches and the grounds add an avant-garde touch. The Ideal Sejour attracts leisure travelers, mostly couples, looking for an intimate and romantic atmosphere. The hotel is also known for being exceptionally LGBTQ-friendly. Travelers should note that the hotel will be closed for repairs, with the reopening slated for mid-February 2018. 

The Ideal Sejour is in the Les Vallergues district north of central Cannes, in a quiet residential area. It's about a 15-minute walk to Marche Forville, Casino Barriere, the Vieux Port, and Palais des Festivals, where the Cannes Film Festival is held. Reaching high-end shops along Rue d’Antibes takes about 20 minutes on foot, and slightly longer to the start of Boulevard de la Croisette's promenade and beach. Visitors can catch ferries at the Vieux Port to Saint-Tropez, Saint-Honorat Island (where Lerins Abbey is located), or Sainte-Marguerite Island and Fort Royal (once home to the “Man in the Iron Mask”). Cannes Train Station is about a 15-minute walk, and Nice Côte d'Azur Airport is a 25-minute drive from the hotel. 

The guest rooms at Ideal Sejour are individually decorated, each with a theme. One is a tribute to James Bond, another to Christopher Columbus and the New World, and others have Jules Verne, African safari, cinema, fairy tales, and detective novel themes. The rooms have a hip, funky feel, with modern furniture and paintings or murals on the walls—some 3D—and many sport vivid colors of red, pink, and orange. Windows open to fresh air, and some rooms have some combination of balconies, garden views, and/or partial sea views. Each of the 16 guest rooms comes with air-conditioning, flat-screen TVs with more than 15 channels (including English-language channels), and free Wi-Fi, and some rooms have minibars and safes, but all lack kettles. Bathrooms are modern and stylish, with distinctive circular basin sinks. All come with hairdryers and showers or shower/tub combos, some with hand-held or rainfall showerheads.

The Ideal Sejour has a limited lineup of amenities. The breakfast buffet (larger fee for complete breakfast, smaller fee for limited breakfast) has gotten solid reviews from previous guests for its continental spread of house-made croissants, cakes, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and array of other items. Breakfast is served in a space opposite the lobby lounge, or on garden patio in warm weather. There is no on-site restaurant for lunch and dinner, but several restaurants are within a short walk of the hotel. The Ideal also has a public computer and a library with more than 3,000 books, plus magazines and daily newspapers. The staff is available 24 hours a day and is helpful with tourist information. Limited free parking is on-site, and free Wi-Fi is available throughout the building. There is no elevator at the hotel, but staff can assist with carrying luggage up the stairs.