The quay, the building, the floor: what to say on the phone
At Cannes-Marina and around the harbour of La Napoule, one road serves several gated residences, and you reach the flat from a footbridge or a quay rather than from the street. Give the name of the residence, the letter or number of the building, the quay and the floor: without that we circle for a long time between two pontoons. Many blocks keep only one pedestrian gate unlocked, and it is not always the one facing the road.
In old La Napoule, in the lanes around the château and down towards the beach, the car stops before the doorstep. The houses are terraced, tall and narrow, the landings tiny. Say how many steps separate the door from the last place a vehicle can pull in: that walk decides what equipment comes up with us.
At Capitou, Les Termes and on the Minelle slopes, the obstacle arrives before the door. There is a shared private lane, usually a communal gate, then your own. Give the name shown on the gate, say whether there is a keypad, and how steep the drive is: some of these accesses end on foot.
What we check before opening, from the marina quays to the Capitou lanes
No door is opened on someone's word. Proof of occupancy is asked for: an identity document showing the address, a rent receipt, an energy bill, a home insurance certificate. In the marina residences, where a caretaker is not always on site, written confirmation from the managing agent or a neighbour on the landing stands in when the papers are shut inside.
The town houses a great many short-stay occupants: weekly tenants in summer, second-home owners who reopen in February for the mimosa festival, crews staying near a boat moored at the foot of the building. A rental agreement or a booking email in your name serves as proof; failing that, we go through the owner or the agency that handed over the keys.
The method is never chosen over the phone. The assessment happens at the door: the family of lock, the play in the frame, the thickness of the leaf, the state of a cylinder that has spent years in sea spray. A detailed quote comes before the work and an itemised invoice at the end. Until then, force nothing: a card slid into an old rebate snaps off inside it.
How does this service work?
Techniques, typical situations, standards and things to watch out for: it is all on our door opening page. This page focuses on what the service involves in Mandelieu-la-Napoule.