Hôtel Byblos in Saint-Tropez – a village of pastel houses since 1967

Brigitte Bardot and Mireille Darc were godmothers when Byblos was inaugurated with three days of celebration in May 1967. Beneath the pool lies Les Caves du Roy, and the Floirat family have owned the house for four generations.

On 27 May 1967, Hôtel Byblos in Saint-Tropez was inaugurated with three days of celebration. The godmothers were Brigitte Bardot and Mireille Darc, and more than 700 guests attended. In July the same year, the nightclub Les Caves du Roy opened in the basement beneath the pool. Both still exist, and they have since been part of Saint-Tropez's own legend.

Byblos is located at the foot of the citadel, a stone's throw from Place des Lices and the harbour. The hotel is built like a small village of interconnected houses in pastel colours, covering a total of 5,500 square metres, and it has 91 rooms, of which 50 are suites.

01Jean-Prosper Gay-Para's dream

Byblos was the Lebanese businessman Jean-Prosper Gay-Para's project. According to Le Temps, he wanted to build a palace from One Thousand and One Nights, and according to legend, he dreamt of a palace for Brigitte Bardot. The hotel was named after the port city of Byblos in Lebanon, and construction began in 1965.

Gay-Para did not get to keep it for long. After the Six-Day War in 1967, he returned to Beirut, and the hotel was sold to the businessman Sylvain Floirat, whom he had met at a party.

02The Floirat family across four generations

Since then, Byblos has remained in the family. Antoine Chevanne, Floirat's great-grandson and the fourth-generation owner, has led the family group since 2006. His mother Mireille was for many years the house's principal designer and painted the buildings in the Provençal pastel colours they have today.

In 1997, a major renovation began. Ahead of the 50th anniversary in 2017, Missoni Home decorated the largest suite, measuring 180 square metres, and Les Caves du Roy received a new interior design. In August 2024, the Parisian designer Laura Gonzalez unveiled the first four rooms and suites in an extensive renewal, inspired by a traditional Tropezian home.

03The guests and the 1971 wedding

According to Elite Traveler, Mick Jagger and Bianca Pérez Mora-Macías stayed at Byblos when they married in Saint-Tropez in 1971. Grace Jones has posed on the hotel's ceramic staircase, and Le Temps mentions Charles Aznavour, Liza Minnelli and Elton John among those who have passed through Les Caves du Roy.

The hotel was awarded Palace status on 28 June 2012. It lost the status in 2025 and is no longer on Atout France's list of palaces, but it retains its five stars.

04Rivea, the spa and the beach

The restaurant Rivea was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Citterio. The spa is run by Sisley and was recently renovated, and the hotel has also opened Byblos Beach. The pool is located in the centre of the village, surrounded by the houses.

05Saint-Tropez and the peninsula

From Byblos, it is a few minutes' walk to the harbour and Place des Lices. The beaches of Ramatuelle and Pampelonne are a short drive away, and the town in the quiet months is in our Saint-Tropez out of season. More about the coast can be found in VERA PI's guide to the French Riviera, and more Riviera destinations are at metromode.co.

06How to make the most of a stay at Byblos

Byblos is open from April to October – check the season's dates with the hotel. Book early for July and August, ask for one of the new rooms from Laura Gonzalez's renovation, and round off the evening in Les Caves du Roy.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.