The New Riviera: Saint-Tropez to Cannes, the Hotels Rewriting the Cote d’Azur
FROM NEW GLAMOUR TO OLD CHARM. Belle Epoque palaces, Philippe Starck wellness cliffs, LVMH beach clubs and a long-awaited COMO opening. The French Riviera is back, and this time it has something to say about design.
There is a version of the Cote d’Azur that still exists in the imagination: Bardot on a Pampelonne lounger, Picasso at a cafe in Antibes, the white light of the Mediterranean doing something impossible to the colour of the stone. That version has always competed with a louder one: mega-yachts, champagne theatre, the social performance of summer. What is interesting about 2026 is that a third version is arriving: a Riviera that takes design seriously, that asks its architects and chefs and wellness directors to bring genuine ideas, and that rewards the guest who knows the difference between a considered room and an expensive one.
From COMO’s reopening of a 1914 Belle Epoque palace on the Gulf of Saint-Tropez to LVMH’s quietly perfect Cheval Blanc and Philippe Starck’s clifftop wellness resort in a protected nature reserve, the stretch between Saint-Tropez and Cannes is producing the most compelling hotel edit it has offered in a generation.
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AREV St-Tropez — The Strand
Photography, AREV St-Tropez.
AREV is one of Saint-Tropez's more quietly compelling addresses — a Relais & Chateaux property currently in the running for the Conde Nast Traveller 2026 Awards, which signals something about the level of attention it is receiving. The Strand, its signature restaurant, is the real reason to come. Led by executive chefs Rocco Seminara and Manon Santini and executed daily by head chef Mohamed Abdereman and sous chef Marco Volpi — alumni of the Bagatelle Group and Cedric Grolet's teams — the kitchen operates on an ethos of seasonal Mediterranean produce, daily-caught seafood and herbs grown in AREV's own garden. The menu is bright and of-the-place: refined interpretations of regional classics, nothing overwrought. In summer, The Strand moves outdoors to Place des Oliviers for its al fresco setting, where dinner under ancient olive trees and umbrella pines is accompanied by live musicians who stay well into the night. For those wanting to go deeper, Culinary Mastery Classes with the chefs are available on request.
8 Chemin des Vendanges, 83990 Saint-Tropez, France
COMO Le Beauvallon
GULF OF SAINT-TROPEZ · COMO HOTELS
Photography, COMO Le Beauvallon St Tropez.
The most significant Riviera opening of the year, and possibly the most interesting COMO property in Europe. Le Beauvallon was built in 1914 and has been dormant for years: COMO’s restoration returns it to the Gulf of Saint-Tropez with 42 sea-facing rooms and suites arranged across ten acres of terraces and gardens, the whole thing immaculate in that specific COMO register: restrained, materials-led, never showy. Yannick Alleno, who holds 17 Michelin stars globally, heads the culinary programme — a guarantee of seriousness that very few hotels on the Riviera can offer. The 25m pool sits above a private pontoon for yacht tenders, and a complimentary 8-minute boat transfer to Saint-Tropez port is included for all guests. COMO Shambhala wellness and a beach club complete the offering. For anyone who wants the full Saint-Tropez story without being in Saint-Tropez itself, this is the answer.
Chemin du Baron, 83120 Sainte-Maxime, France
Cheval Blanc St-Tropez
SAINT-TROPEZ · LVMH · CHEVAL BLANC
Photography, Cheval Blanc, St Tropez, France.
Thirty rooms in deep blues and stark whites, framed by century-old pines and a yacht-dotted bay that looks exactly as it should. Cheval Blanc does not need to announce itself: its reputation is built on a single extraordinary fact. La Vague d’Or, led by chef Arnaud Donckele, holds three Michelin stars and is consistently regarded as one of the finest restaurants in France. The private beach is staffed by dedicated Ambassadeurs; bespoke Bentley transfers and custom sea excursions are arranged with the matter-of-fact ease that defines the Cheval Blanc approach. A living art gallery runs throughout the property. This is LVMH’s most considered Riviera address, and it earns that position through understated precision rather than scale.
Port de Saint-Tropez, 83990 Saint-Tropez, France.
La Bastide de Saint-Tropez
La Bastide occupies four Provencal mas arranged around an elegant manor house within a lush, exotic-planted park — a setting that feels genuinely removed from the performance of central Saint-Tropez, despite sitting minutes from it. The property operates two distinct dining experiences under the same roof. La Trattoria, the pool-side restaurant, is led by chef Luca Binaschi and takes northern Italian tradition as its reference: fresh pasta, antipasti, daily-caught fish, local produce handled with the confidence of somewhere that does not need to try too hard. Le Jardin de la Bastide is the serious gastronomic proposition: an intimate dinner under a glass ceiling, structured around a five or seven-course menu titled "Essenza e Impronta" — an ode to the Mediterranean in the fullest sense. The spa, delivered in partnership with French beauty brand Holidermie, takes a holistic approach rooted in personalised rituals and clean, antioxidant-led treatments. A five-star Relais & Chateaux property with genuine character and two very different reasons to eat there.
25 Route des Carles, 83990 Saint-Tropez, France
RAMATUELLE, NEAR SAINT-TROPEZ · Private Villas
Photography, La Reserve Rrmatuelle, Near St Tropez, France.
Jean-Michel Wilmotte’s crescent-shaped roofline emerges from lavender and pine in a private Ramatuelle neighbourhood, and the whole property operates in a register of deliberate, earned calm. Nine rooms, 19 suites and 14 private villas, each with Mediterranean views of genuine breadth, face a landscape that makes the idea of going anywhere else feel unnecessary. The 11-treatment-room spa is built around personalised fitness and longevity programmes rather than standard luxury spa treatments: a distinction that signals a genuine philosophy rather than a hospitality checkbox. The beach club on Pampelonne, La Reserve a la Plage, brings the same Philippe Starck-designed aesthetic to the sand. For guests who want zero scene and maximum beauty, this is the Riviera’s most intelligent option.
Chemin de la Quessine, 83350 Ramatuelle, France, Between the Headlands
Lily of the Valley
LA CROIX-VALMER, 20 MIN FROM SAINT-TROPEZ · PHILIPPE STARCK DESIGN
Philippe Starck designed this clifftop resort into a protected nature reserve overlooking the Mediterranean, and the result is a property that feels genuinely different from the Riviera’s prevailing aesthetic: softer, more grounded, with 44 rooms that blend into the landscape rather than commanding it. The wellness village is the serious proposition here: seven spa cabins, aerial yoga, Biologique Recherche therapies, a sauna and snow-shower, all operating with the intensity of a dedicated retreat rather than a hotel add-on. Gigaro Beach is steps below. Two pools, open year-round. The rare Riviera address for guests whose trip is as much about restoration as it is about location.
Route de Gigaro, 83420 La Croix-Valmer, France, Les Roches Rouges.
Les Roches Rouges
SAINT-RAPHAEL · BEAUMIER COLLECTION
Photography, Les Roches Rouges.
The most editorial mid-Riviera address, and perhaps the least-discussed great hotel between Saint-Tropez and Cannes. The building is 1950s modernist, positioned between the fiery red cliffs of the Esterel massif and the Mediterranean: a colour contrast that makes the architecture feel site-specific in a way no other Riviera property achieves. The natural seawater pool is carved directly into the rock. A second heated lane pool, direct private beach, two restaurants, three bars, spa and a full watersports programme complete the offer. 68 rooms with sea-view balconies throughout. The Beaumier Collection has an instinct for finding buildings with genuine soul, and this is its strongest expression.
2 Boulevard du Dramont, 83530 Saint-Raphael, France, Cannes.
Mondrian Cannes
CANNES, FRENCH RIVIERA · ENNISMORE · MONDRIAN
Ennismore’s Mondrian brand on the Croisette brings a design-hotel sensibility to a stretch of boulevard more accustomed to grand palace hotels. Art-focused, culturally programmed and reliably well-curated in its food and drink offering, Mondrian Cannes operates as the younger, design-literate counterpart to the palaces that flank it. The Film Festival in May makes it the most celebrity-trafficked address on the Riviera for a concentrated fortnight; outside that window, it holds its own through the strength of its programming and the credibility of the Mondrian name. For those who want Cannes without the formality of a palace, this is the right call.
ennismore.com/hotels/mondrian-cannes
1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France
What to Know: The Cote d’Azur hotel season runs May to October, with July and August at peak demand and pricing — book three to six months ahead for the properties above. COMO Le Beauvallon opened April 2026 on the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and offers a complimentary boat transfer to Saint-Tropez port for all guests. Cheval Blanc and La Reserve Ramatuelle both sit in or near Saint-Tropez itself; Les Roches Rouges and Lily of the Valley offer a quieter mid-Riviera base between the two cities. Mondrian Cannes is the strongest design option in Cannes proper.
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