"You have to have a good eye for finding a hotel in August": professional advice for finding a free room

At the counter of the three-star La Place hotel in Antibes, summer is at its peak. "By mid-August, everything is often full," sighs Marwa, an employee at the establishment. All fourteen rooms are already booked for the week, barring any last-minute cancellations. In the streets of Antibes, tourists looking for a bed for the night wander from reception to reception.

"We always try, when possible, to accommodate latecomers," admit Laurence and Jean-Marie, who run the Modern Hotel, a two-star hotel in the city center and one of the cheapest in the city at 78 to 99 euros a night.

But there too, not a single room left, for the moment, out of the seventeen normally available. "Arriving with a flower in your gun is risky. You have to have a good eye to find a hotel in August," they say.

On the booking site Booking.com, the message is clear: more than 90% of "establishments are not available on our site for your dates" – from August 18 to 24 – 97% in Antibes, 94% in Grasse and 92% in Cannes.

“To find out, call the hotels directly.”

In Juan-les-Pins, the very high season leaves little availability until Sunday, with tension real around addresses close to the beaches. In the three-star and "good deals" register, several names stand out above the crowd – Le Petit Castel, Le Maestria, Best Western Journel, SoBlue –, with "starting from" frequently observed between 180 and 220 euros per night depending on the day selected and the category. In the city of the ramparts, the Le Collier hotel stands out with lower prices at the time of the survey: around 160 euros per night – but is currently full.

"To book, it's better to call hotels directly rather than go through platforms ," advises Henry Mathey, president of Umih 06, who is pleased with a good season. "It's often more reliable, because the staff provides real-time updates."

This year, the school year also starts earlier, on September 1st. "There's a chance that rooms will become available sooner than expected. Hotels are already seeing a drop in bookings for the last week of August," he predicts.

In Cannes and Grasse?

As of today, Cannes, for its part, remains bookable, even if availability is dwindling rapidly. The Staybridge Suites – Cannes Centre and the Yelo Belle Époque are offering nights ranging from €140 to €190. On average, you should expect to pay between €100 and €300 per night, sometimes less at La Bocca, which has no stars.

Grasse also has some affordable options: the Best Western PLUS Elixir, on the outskirts of the city, starts at 180 euros per night, while the Panorama Hotel costs around 100 euros. But during peak season, prices and availability fluctuate very quickly...