St.-Tropez: A Serene Getaway on the Côte d’Azur

For decades, St.-Tropez has been the flashy epicenter of the French Riviera, a town where rock stars and Hollywood celebrities arrive on mega-yachts to dance the night away. However, that glamorous façade is now giving way to something more relaxed.

Dépayssement—the French term for a disorienting but refreshing change of scenery. Usually, it’s drastic, like the feeling of waking up in a foreign country after a full day and night of travel. But sometimes it can describe something closer to home.

St.-Tropez, it turns out, today gives new meaning to dépayssement. As a Parisienne who regularly travels around France, I had long observed how all those champagne parties and late nights on the beach had taken their toll on the landscape. Change was long overdue. The application of the Loi Littoral, a coastal-protection law introduced in 2019, forced surf-side restaurants, beach clubs, and boutiques to reapply for their permits and rebuild their structures using sustainable materials. Businesses closest to the water now have to be entirely dismantled at the end of each season.

This law has resulted in the closure of some long-running favorite restaurants, such as La Plage des Jumeaux and Tabou. Nonetheless, it has allowed luxury hotels, such as La Réserve and Byblos Beach, to open their own establishments on the beach for the first time—a step away from the loud beach clubs of the past toward an experience more in tune with the natural environment.

These efforts signify a return to the area’s roots. St.-Tropez first entered the popular imagination through dreamlike images of nature when painters Paul Signac and Henri Matisse brought widespread attention to the sleepy fishing village on the Côte d’Azur and its soft Mediterranean palette. Their canvases instilled desire among early-20th-century European and American travelers, but it was the popularity of the 1956 Brigitte Bardot film And God Created Woman that really put the region and its Pampelonne Beach on the map. Since the sixties, jet-setters, especially Americans and Russians, have made this tiny seaside spot their playground, returning yearly for that uniquely tropézienne mix of sun and fête, beach and booze.

The atmosphere of extravagance and excess is precisely why I did not want to come back after my first trip in 2015, which left me feeling underwhelmed and out of place—I prefer a laid-back wine bar over a brassy discotheque. I was disappointed by the careless regard for the natural environment I witnessed, noting the way majestic stretches of the coastline were littered with trash and cigarettes.

My latest trip was entirely different. Aside from observing a newfound respect for the environment, I noticed more about the guests while hotel-hopping. On my first night at Lily of the Valley hotel, I sipped a glass of Côtes de Provence from the nearby Château Saint-Maur winery and scanned my fellow diners on the patio. Everyone was ogling the bubblegum sunset.

Occasionally, I heard snippets of hushed conversations about hiking, biking, and swimming plans for the following day. The crowd consisted of sharply dressed yet unpretentious Europeans (due to COVID-19, there were few non-EU guests). Their ages spanned from thirties to seventies, and they evidently shared my motivations for coming to the hotel—a good meal with a spectacular backdrop and an opportunity to reconnect with the dramatic natural beauty of the Côte d’Azur.

For some in town, the positive outcomes of this reshuffle extend beyond the environment and the new crowd—they represent a much-needed rebirth. “St.-Tropez was becoming outdated,” said Lucie Weill, the co-founder (along with her father, Alain) of Lily of the Valley. “Dining had become pricey and mediocre while the spirit of excess was falling flat for travelers who were looking for a balance of rest and play. Now there’s new energy.”

There is an increased emphasis among restaurant owners and hoteliers to highlight local products and flavors. Chef Eric Frechon, known from his Michelin-starred restaurant at Le Bristol in Paris, was brought in to develop Mediterranean-style menus at La Petite Plage and L’Italien, both overlooking the harbor, while Pharrell Williams and chef Jean Imbert chose St.-Tropez for ToShare, their second culinary collaboration after Swan in Miami.

Additionally, new hotels are also hitting all the right notes—from standout gastronomy and thoughtful design to restorative wellness and outdoor experiences. These places are drawing a younger, more local, and noticeably more discreet clientele. Today, it is the gentler side of St.-Tropez that makes it worth a visit—and these three new properties are the best spots to experience it all.

Lily of the Valley

Alain and Lucie Weill opened their hotel in 2019, and it is unlike any other in the area. For one, its location on the southern coast of the peninsula is remote and wild, a 20-minute drive from the heart of St.-Tropez. The property sits at the top of a winding private drive in the small town of La Croix-Valmer, known for its dramatic headlands and hiking trails. It overlooks the Plage de Gigaro, a three-mile stretch of unspoiled beach that I could easily access on foot, thanks to a shuttle and available electric bikes. If Pampelonne is for festive beachgoers, Gigaro is where locals go to connect with nature and take in the raw beauty of the Côte d’Azur.

That distinctive setting is why Alain Weill knew La Croix-Valmer was the right place for his restorative-hospitality concept. A prominent media mogul in France, he has frequented this under-the-radar section of the peninsula for more than 50 years and was convinced of its potential.

However, the new build needed to fold into the landscape, rather than stand out from it. The rustic-modernist result consists of 44 rooms and suites, an open-plan restaurant, a pool, and a wellness center that all face the Mediterranean from a canopy of olive bushes, ancient umbrella pines, and tumbling vines. Wide-open spaces and cleverly designed perspectives ensure the water’s horizon or the electric-green hillsides are always in view—I saw them even when participating in a group yoga session.

With the usual glitz at a refreshing remove, designer Philippe Starck focused on the coastline, creating spaces that recall breezy California villas and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. He utilized earthy tones, textures, and materials—lots of tropical woods, tiger marble, thatched lampshades, and Provençal ceramics.

Another feature that makes this a game-changing spot is that it is open year-round. Well into the off-season, the hotel’s energy is sustained by those seeking self-care.

Blurring the limits of outdoors and indoors are guest rooms with private terraces that resemble wild gardens. Each comes outfitted with a plush double daybed, a full-length mirror, and sparkling bay views. Surrealist cushions by the artist Ara Starck, the designer’s daughter, add warmth and pops of color, while stylish fireplaces in Le Vista, the property’s main restaurant, provide comfort during cooler summer nights and winter afternoons.

Hôtel Lou Pinet

The family that founded the Maisons Pariente hotel group—which includes Crillon Le Brave in Mont Ventoux and Le Coucou in Méribel—has a long history in St.-Tropez. Patrick Pariente and his daughters, Kimberley Cohen and Leslie Kouhana, spent every summer there until the excess of the 80s and 90s deterred them from returning. Fast-forward to what the family now recognizes as “St.-Tropez’s renaissance,” and they are celebrating by leaving their personal mark on the region.

The 34-room property looks straight out of a Slim Aarons photograph. The trio enlisted Parisian interior architect Charles Zana, whose years of experience designing private villas in the area made him an ideal choice, to transform what was the lackluster Benkirai Hotel & Restaurant. The brief: re-create the golden age of Riviera chic. Zana’s design, emphasizing a mix of textures typical of the region, such as linen, stone, cane, and ceramics, is a playful homage to vintage St.-Tropez before lavish boat parties overshadowed simpler pleasures.

The 34-room property looks straight out of a Slim Aarons photograph, tucked away from the crowds of Place des Lices, creating what feels like a secluded private residence. Rooms are arranged in stone and terra-cotta-roofed villas around a central pool shaded by two historic pines. I spent afternoons sipping pastis beneath candy-colored parasols beside the turquoise-tiled pool or strolling through gardens filled with aromatic plants and flowers arranged by French landscape artist Jean Mus. Sculptures by Tony Cragg and Ugo Rondinone are scattered throughout the outdoor spaces.

Indoors, rooms are spacious and bright. White walls and linen curtains are warmed by creamy wood furnishings, sunny poufs and banquettes, tapestry headboards featuring abstract motifs, and decorative pieces sourced at antiques markets by the Pariente family. I found the most striking and destination-appropriate splash of color in the restaurant, Beefbar (despite its name, it also serves excellent grilled fish and ceviche), which was conceived by Monaco-based restaurateur Riccardo Giraudi: a vibrant fresco by contemporary artist Alexandre Benjamin Navet depicting a retro St.-Tropez, spanning the bar’s entire length.

However, it is the lighthearted sensuality of the location—from vintage chess and backgammon boards in the lounge to the art-collector crowd I noticed sipping cocktails at sundown—that inspired me to skip the old town and linger on-property to see who I might meet. The wellness aspect deserves mention, too.

A Tata Harper spa with two treatment rooms and a fitness center is located at the edge of the garden—guests descend a few stairs into a grotto (the owners prioritize discretion). What the operation lacks in capacity, it compensates with highly competent personal coaches, available upon request for morning yoga sessions under the pines and apéro-hour games of pétanque.

Cheval Blanc St.-Tropez

The fourth property from LVMH’s Cheval Blanc brand boasts an ideal location, less than a 15-minute walk from the harbor, perfect for those wanting to be close (but not too close) to the heart of St.-Tropez. Aside from the blush-pink façade of the balustraded 1930s mansion and original works by ceramist Roger Capron (located in the stairwell leading to guest rooms), few stylistic features of its prior identity as the Résidence de la Pinède remain.

The owners reduced the number of guest rooms to 30 and added an exquisite Guerlain spa, where my favorite detail was a collection of vintage perfume bottles, available to take home as genuinely luxurious souvenirs—priced anywhere from $250 to over $12,000.

What has been carried over, however, is an elegant, multigenerational, and multilingual clientele (accompanied by what appeared to be some of the best-looking dogs in Europe) and the sterling reputation of La Vague d’Or. Helmed by Arnaud Donckele, it is not only the peninsula’s sole Michelin three-starred restaurant; it is also one of the country’s premier culinary institutions.

Beyond that, the interiors were completely renovated by designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte, known for his work on Hôtel Lutetia and the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. The aesthetic leans nautical: rooms and suites, including two duplexes, are adorned in crisp ivory and beige, accented in the rich Riviera blue found in the rugs (designed based on sketches by Capron), the staff uniforms, and the Bentley parked out front that ferries guests to and from town. Gio Ponti lights and furnishings, bathrobes designed in the spirit of Dior tulip dresses, and contemporary works by Carlos Cruz-Diez infuse character into an otherwise sober design.

Among the hotel’s most rarefied features is the sliver of sandy Bouillabaisse Beach reserved for guests (it is the only St.-Tropez property sitting directly on the seafront). At the edge of the patio, la plage is neatly lined with 60 loungers and umbrellas—plus accommodating staff that took care of my every need while I watched the boats drift by. Beach service included visits from a massage therapist, who applied my SPF 50 (an absurdly decadent amenity I’ve never encountered anywhere else).

The concierges—the hotel refers to them as “alchemists”—will arrange golf outings, kitesurfing sessions, private shopping experiences, and tables at any of the hard-to-book restaurants on the peninsula.

But, really, all I wanted to do was enjoy the hotel. On my final day, as the live music kicked off beneath the pines while the sun dipped beyond the horizon, it felt to me as if St.-Tropez had finally rediscovered its true nature. chevalblanc.com; doubles from $4,571.

A version of this story first appeared in the August 2021 issue of iBestTravel under the headline A New Wave.