A couple of months ago I got an email inviting me to experience the Cannes Film Festival and to stay at the newly renovated Hotel Martinez as it reopens as part of Hyatt’s newest brand, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt.

Cannes is a gorgeous seaside town on the French Riviera and Hotel Martinez, with it’s stunning art deco building, is one of the most iconic hotels in Cannes. Opened in 1929 by luxury hotelier Emmanuel Michele Martinez, this building has had a very interesting and colourful past. Before Emmanuel Martinez opened it as the largest hotel in the French Riviera, it had previously served as a home to English aristocrats.

During World War II, the Martinez was occupied successively by the French and Italian armies, by the Commission d’armistice, the German Army, and (after the Liberation) by the USA. Air Force. The hotel was then sold in 2012 and joined the Hyatt chain on April 9, 2013.