Château de la Messardière – a fairy-tale castle above Saint-Tropez

On a pine-covered hilltop above Saint-Tropez, Château de La Messardière looks like something imagined rather than built: fortified towers and red-tile roofs rising above a park of umbrella pines, cypress and vineyard-fringed gardens, with the whole Gulf of Saint-Tropez spread below. Built in the 19th century as a wedding present from cognac merchant Gabriel Dupuy d'Angeac to his daughter Louise and her husband, cavalry officer Henry Brisson de La Messardière, the house later became a hotel and a magnet for Parisian society through the Roaring Twenties, before decades of neglect. Rebuilt in 1989 by Jean-Claude Rochette, chief architect of France's Historic Monuments, and reborn again under the Airelles collection in 2021, it is today one of the Riviera's grandest addresses, with 86 rooms and suites, restaurants running from Nobu's Matsuhisa to pastry chef Cédric Grolet's counter, and a MICHELIN Guide rating of Two Keys for an exceptional stay.

01The house

The château was built in the 19th century as a wedding present from Gabriel Dupuy d'Angeac, a wealthy cognac merchant, to his daughter Louise and her new husband. Following Henry's untimely passing, Louise transformed the château into a luxurious hotel, which became a sought-after destination for Parisian aristocracy during the Roaring Twenties.

Decades of neglect followed before the property was meticulously restored in 1989 by Jean-Claude Rochette, architect of France's Historic Monuments, blending Anglo-Moorish, Oriental, Mediterranean, Florentine and Provençal influences into one building. The Gibier family acquired it in 1992 and it became an icon of luxury in Saint-Tropez, renowned for its semi-circular swimming pool overlooking the Bay of Pampelonne. Airelles took over the estate in 2019; following an extensive renovation led by designer Christophe Tollemer, the château celebrated its grand reopening in July 2021 and today carries France's official Palace distinction alongside its MICHELIN Two Keys.

02Rooms and suites

The 86 rooms and suites are spread between the original château and villas around the park, ranging from Superior Rooms to the two-storey Louise and Victoire suites and a 4-Bedroom Residence. All rooms have their own terrace or balcony, yet the decor is different in each, and some bathrooms come with a bath, a separate shower and double sinks. The largest accommodations have four bedrooms, fully equipped kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms and their own swimming pools, while the Three-Bedroom Residence spreads over two storeys with its own pool.

Insider tip

Currently closed for renovation; the official website lists reopening on 28 April 2027.

On the official site, named categories such as the Junior Suite Belvédère, Junior Suite Plunge Pool and the garden-facing La Bastide hint at a layout designed around view and privacy rather than uniform size, with the best rooms looking over the vineyards of Ramatuelle or straight down to the sea.

03Where to eat

Dining unfolds across several distinct addresses rather than one grand room. La Table de La Messardière opens for breakfast and Mediterranean buffets on the terrace, with viennoiseries and pastries by Cédric Grolet, who also runs his own on-site boutique. Matsuhisa Saint-Tropez brings chef Nobu's Japanese-Peruvian fusion to the hilltop, and in the kitchen garden, Les Tables du Jardin offers intimate evenings among the vegetable beds.

In the evening, Palladio serves Mediterranean softness under open skies, with Italian classics reimagined by the chef — beef carpaccio, spaghettone alle vongole, milanese-style veal cutlet and the house's own eggplant parmigiana, plus a bluefin tuna tartare prepared tableside and a Grolet-made tiramisu to finish; it is open nightly from 7pm to 10.30pm. Down at the shore, Jardin Tropezina pairs chef Jean-François Piège's Mediterranean cooking with feet-in-the-sand views of Pampelonne Bay.

04The bar

Bar 1904 takes its cocktail list from cultural history rather than fashion, with drinks paying tribute to figures from F. Scott Fitzgerald's favourite gin to Picasso's taste for absinthe — a fitting note for a hilltop house whose own story runs through the same roaring decades.

05Spa

The Airelles Spa covers around 1,000 square metres overlooking Pampelonne Bay, built in partnership with the Swiss skincare house Valmont and the treatment specialists Laboratoires Botanique Avancée. Set among cypress trees and umbrella pines, it holds an indoor adults-only pool, nine treatment rooms, a hammam, sauna and fitness centre, with massages also offered on a private terrace beneath the pines and olive trees.

For something more particular, the Louise Suite has its own hammam and sauna alongside a seawater flotation bath, and the spa's Iyashi Dôme — a Japanese infrared sauna — is used for detox sessions.

06The neighbourhood

The château sits in the Maneby district, on the hills above Saint-Tropez, overlooking the Bay of Pampelonne and within easy reach of the Place des Lices and the old port. Guests reach the hotel's private beach, Jardin Tropézina, by one of the estate's Mini-Mokes or a Rolls-Royce Cullinan — a short, deliberately theatrical descent to the sand.

The setting has not gone unnoticed by film crews either: in 2026 the château became a filming location for the next season of the television series The White Lotus, shot in the south of France between late April and October, giving the show a Riviera backdrop in place of its earlier settings.

07Making the most of a stay

The château's own website currently lists a reopening date of 28 April 2027, meaning the property is closed for a period of renovation — worth checking directly before planning a trip. Once open, the hotel has historically run a seasonal calendar typical of Saint-Tropez palaces, built around the long Riviera summer rather than a year-round programme.

For a first visit, plan around the two ends of the day: breakfast on a private terrace with the pine-covered park and the gulf below, and dinner either at Palladio under the stars or down at Jardin Tropezina with the sand still warm underfoot.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.