CANNES – Hotel Barrière Le Majestic has long been a destination for celebrities who come to Cannes, France, for glamorous events and lavish celebrations.
In the midst of the business of the Cannes Lions Festival 2024 – which attracts many people, including the likes of Queen Latifah, Paris Hilton, Elon Musk and Travis Kelce, among others – Majestic staff spoke exclusively with Page Six to tell us how to visit. A-listers.
Gilles Bastoni, who took his father’s position as head concierge in 2006, told us that the request of every VIP he meets – “unless it’s illegal,” he joked.
“Basically, my job is to meet all the requests of the guests. As long as it’s legal, of course,” he said.
“But it can be from just a reservation for a restaurant to (something that is) sky-the-limit (request). Renting a yacht, finding tickets for an event, a helicopter, a car with a driver, getting a dress for a special event… there are no limits.
Bastoni said the wealthy — who pay more than $4,000 a night for a suite at the hotel — sometimes make wild demands, but Hollywood’s elite usually have “more spice.”
It seems like about ten years ago when actress Marion Cotillard had a fashion emergency before attending the Cannes Film Festival and the hotel was tasked with retrieving her forgotten dress from Paris, a nine-hour car ride from her lodge.
“Getting clothes from Paris for celebrities when they are forgotten and the day they will go up the (Palais) stairs,” Bastoni remembers.
“They really wanted this and in the end I’m not sure if they knew they had been forgotten in Paris,” said the hospitality pro. “Actually, they need it at a certain time in the room to wear it and the company panicked a bit and we had to find a solution and send someone to Paris to take it.”
Even though the job seems arduous, Bastoni insists that he enjoys the “adrenaline rush” that accompanies it – and appreciates seeing the stars’ approving smiles, signaling a job well done.
“We did a big event for Pierce Bronson’s wife (Keely Shaye Smith) a few years ago … and of course somebody knew who the guy was. He’s a big celebrity; he’s James Bond, you know?” Bastoni added, recalling another memorable mission.
“And you’re always trying to push them harder to make them happier, let’s say.”
Executive pastry chef Nicolas Maugard also loves to entertain famous faces.
“I remember Jean Dujardin, the French comedian, last year at the film festival he was at the hotel and he asked me to do a cooking class for him,” says the dessert teacher.
“And, the first time we went to the food market, we bought different things, and after we came back we made a cake and I remember we made strawberry panna cotta with peach-and-orange, yes.”
Maugard also enjoyed making a special chocolate cake for French soccer star Kylian Mbappé.
“He came for the film festival in May and we (made) a special cake for him,” the chef enthuses.
As cocktails go, the hotel’s bar director Emanuele Balestra has carefully created a Majestic-specific drink menu that combines his love for botanicals and fragrances with specific drinks for sips that please all the senses.
While Balestra has served his fair share of stars, he refuses to name them.
“Honestly, as a bartender, I have met a lot of people. You even have celebrities who live in Monaco, I go to their houses to make cocktails but I don’t share their names,” he said.
“Because if you have, (for example), let’s say Chuck Norris, he was my hero when I was young, if he’s sitting in a bar drinking whiskey, it’s not good to say, ‘Oh, this guy drinks.’ It’s good to respect the people who come.”
