“You were never told that Saint-Tropez is paradise?” Karl Lagerfeld once asked the French musician Jean-Roch. The two were standing in the clouds in a bemusing music video also featuring Snoop Dogg, and the question was rhetorical because, well, everyone knows it is. Since Brigitte Bardot put Saint-Tropez on the map with her explosive film And God Created Women, the French Riviera town has been fuel for wanderlust fantasies, a place where one day, you can sip rosé surrounded by fabulous people while being fabulous yourself. It’s so iconic that Dior named a signature tote “The Riviera,” Slim Aarons turned his signature lens on its boucheries and its beaches, and everyone from Grace Kelly to Audrey Hepburn holidayed on yachts anchored in the Bay of Pampelonne.
Yet such a reputation also has its downsides—how can you plan a trip that lives up to such lofty expectations? We’re here to help: Below, we round up the Saint Tropez hotels that’ll fulfill your French Riviera fantasies. Just don’t forget to rent a Moke.
Hotel Lou Pinet
Hotel Lou Pinet is a five-star property without pretense. The reception desk feels like it’s in a foyer, while beyond it lies an earth-tone living room where warm cream couches are accented with colorful textile pillows and backgammon boards sit on tabletops. You’ll want a stay awhile—a bar serves up fresh lemonade and rosé as you roll the dice away—but not too long. Outside, the property’s sprawling grounds await, along with a pool whose pleasant temperature is both welcoming and refreshing.
Guest rooms are housed in Provençal-style villas, nestled within a Tropezenian garden designed by landscape architect Jean Mus. Meanwhile, the decor has a 1960s, bohemian feel, with abstract painted headboards, ceramic glazed lamps by Charles Zana, rattan lamps, and crisp white linens. Upon check-in, you’re greeted with a bottle of rosé and an olive oil cake stuffed with blueberries. (Little touches like this pop up throughout your stay: once, when this writer returned to her room at Lou Pinet, she noticed the staff had left a bookmark on her copy of Lessons in Chemistry.)
And while other hotel restaurants in the area can be sleepy at night, Beef Bar is a buzzy destination in its own right: the Riccardo Giraudi-helmed restaurant focuses on the finest cuts of meat (think Japanese Kobe beef) all infused with Mediterranean flavors.
Amenities: pool, Tata Harper spa, gym, on-site restaurant and bar, shuttle to town
Château de la Messardière
Château de la Messardière was originally given to Henry Brisson de la Messardière and his wife, Louise Dupuy D'Angeac, on their wedding day. In 1904, it became a hotel—and the destination du jour for French aristocrats. Over 100 years later, it’s gone through several renovations and generations of clientele. Yet its elegant essence, somehow, remains the same. As you wander its 30 hilltop acres, with expansive views of both the Bay of Pampelonne and the gulf of Saint-Tropez, you feel almost like an anachronism yourself—even the gym is housed in a historic villa, set upon a manicured lawn, with a stone statue within view of the treadmill.
The pool, whose bottom is painted with the hotel’s emblem, serves as the hotel’s heart. On any given afternoon, it’s pulsating with lovey-dovey couples, chic families, and thirty-something friends looking for a calm respite from the night before. Off in a quiet yet scenic corner is the sushi restaurant Matsuhisa. On the grounds is also quite the impressive kid’s club, complete with an arcade, movie theater, treehouse, and a trampoline. (It was the latter amenity that was emphatically “the best!” according to a friend’s child that this Vogue writer interviewed.) The property also has a fleet of Rolls Royces that’ll take you to and from town as well as to their beach club, Jardin Tropézina.
Amenities: multiple pools, spas, gym, on-site restaurants and bar, shuttle to town, beach club, kids club, boutique
Hôtel Byblos
If the answer to the question “Are you fun?” is a resounding yes, then Hôtel Byblos is the place for you. It’s smack dab in the middle of Saint-Tropez (the de facto center of town, Place de Lices, is a mere 30-second walk away). It’s got a hookah club and a restaurant, Cucina Byblos, by Alain Ducasse. The pool features a giant mosaic depicting the myth of Europa and the bull. And then there’s the party pièce de resistance: its onsite club, Caves du Roy, which has been around since the 1960s.
New this year is also an impressive holistic wellness program within their renovated Sisley Spa: in addition to standard offerings like massages and facials, there are lessons in breathwork as well as full-day restorative sessions they call “Epic Journeys” that include treatments as well as specialty cuisine. Upon request, they can also craft a tailored three-day weekend for you and your guests. Their beach club, a mere 15-minute shuttle drive, is an idyllic locale to spend a leisurely yet lively lunch.
Amenities: pool, Sisley spa, gym, on-site restaurants and bar, nightclub, beach club, and an on-site boutique
Villa Marie
Tucked away in the hills of nearby Ramatuelle is Villa Marie, a charming boutique hotel where the staff knows your name even before you check in. The interiors exude an antique romantic ambiance—in one green-hued space, there’s a table completely covered in urns of several different sizes—and outside you can pick at a fresh fruit plate while appreciating the sprawling landscape that unfurls beyond you.
With only 45 rooms, this is the sort of place where you’ll end up recognizing all of your fellow guests—and maybe even making friends with them.
Amenities: pool, spa, gym, on-site restaurant and bar, shuttle to town
Cheval Blanc
The Cheval Blanc Saint Tropez is a place of stealth extravagance: you won’t find any see-and-be-scene, DJ-booth-pumping beach clubs here, nor will you find a clientele hell-bent on broadcasting every vacation picture on social media. Interiors by Jean-Michel Wilmotte, are adorned in a Riveria blue and white, and Provençal art dots the wall. Meanwhile, at the beach, an ambassadeur will cater to your every need.
A visit to their three Michelin-starred restaurant, La Vague d’Or by chef Arnaud Donckele, is a must. If you stop by their more casual restaurant, La Terrasse, always ask about the catch of the day.
Amenities: pool, spa, gym, on-site restaurant and bar, beach club, shuttle to town
La Ponche
There’s something so quintessentially French about La Ponche, a boutique hotel with just 21 rooms in the heart of St. Tropez town. Its history dates back to 1938, when it began as a local bar for those who anchored their pontoons in the nearby cove. As St. Tropez transformed from a sleepy fishing town to a sun-drenched vacation hotspot, La Ponche became the hotel for the artists and Hollywood stars that began to flock there: Brigitte Bardot, Pablo Picasso, and more have all been guests at La Ponche.
Today, it’s been reborn as an in-the-know hotel: it may not have a beach club or a pool, but it does have a quiet, Tropezian elegance that’s impossible to replicate. Enjoy an espresso on their terrace overlooking the cobblestone streets and the cove—there may even be a busker who will sing to you in French—or, if it’s late enough, a glass of Sancerre. Afterwards, meander into town for some shopping or ice cream.
Amenities: spa, gym, on-site restaurant and bar
Arev
Arev is a St. Tropez newcomer: it quietly opened this past spring a mere five-minute walk from the town center. The interiors by Luis Bustamante resemble that of a colorful riva, or houseboat: there are light woods as well as nautical navy blues and reds. Outside is the Strand Restaurant, a St. Tropez dining institution that can now be found at the hotel, as well as a pristine pool dotted with striped cabanas. (There are plenty of other amenities, too: including a state-of-the-art gym with Pelotons, padel courts, as well as an in-house spa.)
Guest rooms are colorful and make a statement: some have bold striped wallpaper, while others have beds with toile canopies. The lively interiors are met with lively exteriors: during the day, Arev often has a D.J. to foster a festive mood.
Amenities: spa, gym, on-site restaurant and bar, pool, padel courts, on-site boutique
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