A 100% deal on La Croisette
Inwood Hotels has acquired the entire share capital and voting rights of Cannes Beach from Groupe Boucau. The company operates the CBEACH restaurant and private beach at 45 boulevard de la Croisette, a short walk from the Palais des Festivals. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.
The venue operates under a public service concession with the City of Cannes, the model that governs most beach concessions on La Croisette. CBEACH is the first seaside address in the Inwood Hotels portfolio.
An asset that complements the Five Seas
The deal gives the group a second address in Cannes alongside the five-star Five Seas Hotel, acquired in 2024. CBEACH will remain open to outside guests, while also welcoming hotel guests who wish to extend their stay by the sea.
The beach has been operating for 20 years. It combines a private beach, with sun loungers, daybeds and parasols facing the Lérins Islands, with a Mediterranean restaurant serving fresh, local produce from breakfast through to dinner. The venue is available for exclusive hire in its entirety, enabling it to target the business and events market in a city whose calendar is shaped by festivals and international congresses.
Catherine Duvot-Cohen, Managing Director of Inwood Hotels, said that with this acquisition the group was welcoming an iconic Croisette address, with its own identity and development potential. She added that the aim was to grow CBEACH as a lively venue open to all, to develop its events offering and to give Five Seas guests a complementary seaside experience.
Three years of growth on the Côte d’Azur
Inwood Hotels arrived on the Côte d’Azur in 2023 with two acquisitions. La Malmaison in Nice became Le Soleia, and L’Impérial Garoupe on Cap d’Antibes became La Villa Miraé. Its furniture was sold at auction ahead of its renovation. With the Five Seas and now CBEACH, the group is adding beach and restaurant activities to its hotel offering.
Two further milestones are scheduled. In May 2027, La Villa Miraé – a Relais & Châteaux member known for its collaboration with chef Mauro Colagreco – will unveil redesigned gardens and seven new rooms created in the villa’s outbuildings. By 2028, the Five Seas will be repositioned around a new architectural and artistic concept, details of which have yet to be revealed.
Diversifying beyond accommodation
The group presents the deal as a diversification of its activities, bringing together hospitality, gastronomy, wellness and the seaside art of living, with the stated aim of creating venues open to travellers and local customers alike.
LTH Analysis – For an owner-operator, holding a beach on La Croisette makes it possible to capture ancillary spending from hotel guests, diversify revenue towards F&B and events, and strengthen the appeal of the Five Seas, which is not on the seafront. The concession is, however, a public service concession – by nature time-limited and subject to the rules of the granting authority.
Founded in 2008 and owned by Jean-Paul Bize, Inwood Hotels brings together a collection of boutique hotels and luxury and lifestyle addresses under the banner of the French art of living.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
Inwood Hotels buys CBEACH, its first beach club on La Croisette
100% of Cannes Beach acquired from Groupe Boucau, operated under a public service concession with the City of Cannes
Beach club and Mediterranean restaurant, 20 years on La Croisette, fully available for private hire
Complements the group’s five-star Five Seas Hotel in Cannes
May 2027: seven new rooms and redesigned gardens at La Villa Miraé, Cap d’Antibes
2028: Five Seas to reopen under a new architectural and artistic concept
