Hôtel de Paris Saint-Tropez – the village's first lighthouse since 1931

At the entrance to Saint-Tropez, where the lanes of the old fishing village meet the square that still bears the gendarmerie's pink clock, Hôtel de Paris Saint-Tropez has stood since 1931. Built by the Aubour family on a plot facing their own Bar du Littoral, it became the village's first true luxury address, a favourite of Colette, Jean Cocteau, Coco Chanel and Brigitte Bardot, and later of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés crowd around Juliette Gréco and Boris Vian. It closed in 1992 and stood empty for two decades before the Dray family bought it and, with architect François Vieillecroze and designer Sybille de Margerie, reopened it in 2013 as a 90-room, five-star hotel wrapped around a tree-lined patio. The MICHELIN Guide has selected Hôtel de Paris Saint-Tropez among its recommended addresses, a rare rooftop-pool hotel inside the village itself rather than out on the peninsula.

01The house

The story begins with Augustine and Marcelin Aubour, a young Tropezian couple who in 1925 took over the Bar du Littoral at the village entrance. Augustine saw the plot of land opposite and decided to build a hotel there; building work started in 1930, at a time when Parisian tourists were beginning to discover the peninsula, which is why the new establishment was named Hôtel de Paris. In the 1950s an extra floor was added, taking the hotel to seventy rooms and giving the village its first air-conditioned bedrooms. For decades it stayed at the centre of Tropezian life, hosting Jean Cocteau, Sacha Guitry, Joseph Kessel and Coco Chanel as regulars, with the painter Dunoyer de Segonzac living there permanently and the restaurant Leï Mouscardins serving a Grand Marnier soufflé that became part of local legend under chef Louis Lions.

By the early 1970s the mood had shifted, and the hotel slid into decline; it closed its doors for good in 1992 and sat empty and deteriorating for the best part of twenty years. In 2001 the businessman Claude Dray bought the building to bring it back to life, and its complete metamorphosis, overseen by Saint-Tropez architect François Vieillecroze with interior designer Sybille de Margerie, was unveiled in February 2013. The lobby now opens beneath a chandelier of 3,500 shimmering ivory aluminium petals, and the hotel has become an active patron of the village's cultural life, hosting a monthly literary salon and, since 2022, its own Best Title literary prize.

02Rooms and suites

The hotel counts 52 rooms and 38 suites across its six floors, their decoration built around the colours of the Mediterranean, the Sixties and the art of Saint-Tropez, with wide stripes, floral explosions and furniture that nods to Florence Knoll and Vladimir Kagan alongside golden ring lamps and rattan armchairs. The entry-level Classic Room measures 22 square metres and looks onto the village's narrow lanes or the new harbour, its mosaic-tiled shower stocked with Clarins amenities. Patio Terrace Rooms, one with a round bed, open onto a ten-square-metre terrace over the hotel's landscaped patio, their walk-in rain showers finished in warm orange and plum mosaic.

Insider tip

Seasonal hotel; closed over winter, reopening spring 2027. No private beach; pool guests-only.

Among the suites, the top-floor Deluxe Suite (40 sqm) pairs a bedroom with a separate living room and a bathtub stocked with Clarins amenities, while the Village Suite (35 sqm) looks over the lanes from its living room and over the patio from its bedroom. The Marina and Terrace Junior Suites (both 34 sqm) overlook the marina with Sixties gingham, tweed and velvet furnishings and pearlescent mosaic rain showers, and the Prestige Suite (43 sqm), with its sofa bed and village views, is built for families of up to two adults and two children.

03Where to eat

Les Toits, the rooftop restaurant, is the only such venue in Saint-Tropez, serving Mediterranean cooking by day and night with the village roofs and the sea as a backdrop; its adjoining bar-lounge brings sunset cocktails and live music to the same terrace. In the hotel's lush patio, Le Pationata serves Sicilian-inspired dishes by chef David Ignoffo in an intimate, softly lit setting through the summer season. Both restaurants, along with the rest of the hotel, close for winter and are due to reopen for a new season in spring 2027.

04The bar

L'Atrium, in the heart of the hotel's arty lobby, is conceived as a true champagne bar with a Parisian spirit, an intimate setting for both impromptu drinks and special occasions. Upstairs, Les Toits' bar-lounge takes over the rooftop by night with music programming that has included a recurring Sunday sunset jazz session, La Vie en Rose, under the stars.

05Spa and pool

The Spa by Clarins occupies its own wing with treatment rooms, hammam, sauna, nail salon and boutique, and offers the brand's signature massages alongside "new technology" treatments such as Indiba ONA facials, pressotherapy and Cellu M6 Alliance LPG body work. Dr Olivier Courtin-Clarins worked with the hotel's chef to design a wellness menu, with lunch served at Les Toits overlooking the village. On the roof, the heated outdoor pool measures 8 by 10 metres and is kept at 27°C year-round, open daily from 8am to 8pm for hotel guests, with a fitness centre and personal trainer available from 7am to 10pm.

06The neighbourhood

The hotel stands on what locals still call Place Blanqui, better known as Place de la Gendarmerie, the square made famous by the Louis de Funès gendarme films and now also home to a Chanel boutique and a small cinema museum. From the front door it is a short walk to the mythical old port, the lively Place des Lices and the village's narrow stone lanes, and the hotel sits fifty metres from the bus station serving Nice, Cannes, Saint-Raphaël and Toulon, with a ferry terminal nearby for crossings to Sainte-Maxime and Cannes. The hotel has no private beach of its own but points guests toward La Serena on Pampelonne bay in Ramatuelle.

07Making the most of a stay

Hôtel de Paris Saint-Tropez operates seasonally, closing its restaurants, bar and spa over winter and preparing to reopen for a new season in spring 2027, so stays should be planned around the village's warm months rather than the off-season. Given its position right on the square, rooms facing the patio or marina trade a little street noise for terraces scented with lemon trees and jasmine, while the rooftop pool and Les Toits remain the easiest way to see the Mediterranean without leaving the building.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.