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HOTEL RENOIR
I checked into the three star Hôtel Cannes Renoir. It's located on a quiet hill next to a police station and just below one of Cannes' busiest streets. It's just two blocks from a major shopping street that leads to Old Town and is a short, five-minute walk to all the action ... beach, shops, marina, La Croissette and Palais des Festivals. Hotel Renoir is small, just 26 rooms and has the tiniest and slowest elevator ever! I didn't even bother with it. Instead, I just walked up two flights of stairs to my room (201). I appreciated the small detail they had considered when they added double doors to prevent hallway noise from traveling through to the rooms. Before I opened my room door, I took a deep breath expecting the room to be miniscule but boy was I wrong. All the rooms here are spacious and mine actually had two contemporary rooms; one with a king sized bed. The other with a couch, desk, table and flat screen TV. The bathroom was on steroids too; it had a separate tub and shower and a private toilet room. I love that for the ultimate privacy! The staff is very friendly and when I asked how to log on to the Internet (guests need a password) the clerk said he would be right up with a ticket that had a passcode. That was the only bummer; 24 hours of Internet time will set you back 30 euro. Ouch! The only thing that needed improving? They might want to consider adding a soap tray in the shower so you don't have to bend down. Breakfast is included in the room rates which begin at 120 euro. Hôtel Cannes Renoir, 7 rue Edith Cavell, Cannes; tel.: 04.92.99.62.62.

DINNER IN OLD TOWN
Next, my friends and I were off to dinner. Along the way, they spotted a Chinese restaurant called Le Chinks. I said there's no way that a restaurant with a name so politically incorrect could be any good. Sure enough, I found out later, it wasn't. But don't get mad at me because I didn't eat there. I was in France, which has one of the four best cuisines of the world, so I was going out for some French food! The majority agreed and we ended up at Auberge Provençale. It's located at the base of Old Town where the streets become alleys and the pavement turns to cobblestone. Auberge Provençale boasts that they are the oldest (1860) restaurant in Cannes. The service and food were good. For starters everyone had a salad with melted goat cheese and then I opted for the cheese ravioli. The others feasted on duck, beef and fish. The volcano cake dessert was the highlight but then again, I'm a dessert kind of guy. Auberge Provençale, 10 rue St Antoine, Cannes; Tel.: 04 92 99 27 17.

DELICATE DESSERT
Not that they're open late but just a couple blocks from the Auberge Provençale restaurant is a chocolate shop called L'Atelier by Jean Luc Pelé. The man sells incredible homemade ice cream and delicate macarons that should not be missed – even if you've (ahem!) just scarfed down a lava cake. What? L'Atelier, 36 rue Meynadier, Cannes; tel.: 04 93 38 06 10.

HOTEL LE CAVENDISH
The next hotel I checked into was Le Cavendish. It's just a couple blocks away from Hotel Renoir and the busy street it was situated on felt like Paris. Le Cavendish is a small boutique property with four floors and 34 rooms. The rotunda ones are the best. A spiral Carrara marble staircase surrounds the 1920s, single-person elevator with cage doors. The French Riviera-inspired rooms are small but comfortable. They have clean bathrooms, free wireless Internet, satellite TV, air conditioning and a balcony. The hotel is quiet so I could only hear a little hallway traffic but I slept well each night. Rates begin at 165 euro a night but that includes a marvelous breakfast, which includes made-to-order eggs and a complimentary open bar from 5pm until 11pm each night. The location is just 10 minutes from the beach where the hotel has partnered with one of the beach operators, so be sure to bring your bathing suit. Hotel Le Cavendish, 11 Boulevard Carnot, Cannes 06400, France.



BEACH IN CANNES
In Cannes, the beaches with lounge chairs and umbrellas are private. There are plenty of public beaches available and everyone is welcome to sunbathe at all the beaches. However, the private ones just demand you pay. Prices vary because it all depends on location ... not only the location of the beach but where your lounge chair is positioned. The front row is naturally most expensive and the back the least. And if the beach club has a pier, you better reach deeper into your pocket for some space. At the Cavendish Hotel's beach, the back row set me back 14 euro a day. Not bad as it came with a chair and umbrella. The hotel provides beach towels and a beach bag but you need to lug them back and forth.

Along the Croisette beaches, you'll find plenty of friendly photographers waiting to pounce on tourists the moment they step into the water. They aren't paparazzi. They're just capitalizing on the rich to get some unique pictures. Then there are the street hawkers that walk up and down, back and forth, selling everything from clothes, hats, knockoff handbags and sunglasses. The most original was a woman who modeled her own bikinis over her swim suit. It was pretty entertaining to watch her don different designs and styles and strut up and down the beach. I gathered that the hawkers aren't legally allowed to go past the first row of beach chairs though some did. If by chance the cops came by, they'd hide by laying on the ground. The only group I supported were the army of Chinese masseuses who charge around a euro a minute, though that price could be negotiated. TIP: Make a reservation for your beach chair. ALL of them are very busy in the summer. TIP 2: To save money, walk down the Croisette to Sofitel. On the right side of their building is a whole strip of beaches – all much more low-key and, more importantly, less expensive.

C-BEACH
Practically every private beach has a restaurant connected to it. I ate at a few of these because they are so convenient and plus, the views and atmosphere are awesome. One of the restaurants was called C-Beach, just two blocks from the Carlton hotel. Tables are under a tent with water gently misting every two minutes from high above. It's a nice reprieve from the high temperatures and doesn't get your food wet. But like many tourist hot spots, the food was just okay. The best part (besides the ice cream with nuts and dried fruit) was the rabbit terrine wrapped with pancetta and cheese in the middle. The spaghetti with vegetables and garlic (17 euro) was bland. Plage Cannes Beach Boulevard de la Croisette.

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