Mareluna in Théoule-sur-Mer – an Italian chef in a 1630 soap factory

At the Château de Théoule, a 17th-century soap works turned five-star hotel on the edge of the Estérel, the Italian chef Francesco Fezza serves one-star tasting menus looking out over the Bay of Cannes.

Théoule-sur-Mer is where the Riviera turns red: the last village before the porphyry cliffs of the Estérel, ten minutes west of Cannes. At its edge, right on the water, stands the Château de Théoule, built around 1630 as a seaside soap factory and reopened in spring 2024 as a five-star hotel. Its gastronomic restaurant, Mareluna, won a MICHELIN star in the 2025 guide, and the 2026 guide keeps it.

This is what to expect: the house and its terrace, the chef and his menus, and what to know before you book.

01From soap works to five-star hotel

The soap factory drew its wealth from the surrounding olive groves and from the sea trade, turning imported soda into a soap of some reputation. When the business faded, the building became a residence: a Lyon industrialist, Prosper Ferrouillat, gave it a more elegant face at the end of the 19th century, a British aristocrat made it a romantic holiday house in 1913, and in 1964 it passed to Henri Varnet, a designer at Citroën. The BMF group bought the property in December 2021 and restored it between 2022 and 2024, adding discreet extensions in a neo-Art Deco style.

Today the hotel has 44 rooms and suites, a spa and a private beach, belongs to The Leading Hotels of the World and holds a MICHELIN Key. Mareluna's dining room is all mosaics, gilded candelabra and velvet chairs, and its terrace looks straight across the Bay of Cannes. The inspectors list the view, the terrace, valet parking and wheelchair access among its features.

02Francesco Fezza

Born in Italy, Francesco Fezza learned the cooking of his own country in two starred restaurants there, Le Trabe and I Portici, before moving to Paris in 2016. He worked at Patio Opéra and then at Le Meurice Alain Ducasse, and refined his knowledge of Japanese cooking with the chef Ryuji Teshima at Pages. He has led the kitchen at Mareluna since March 2024; the star followed a year later. Desserts are the work of the pastry chef Kevin Daraud.

Insider tip

Dinner only, Tuesday to Sunday. The six- and eight-course menus cannot be mixed at one table.

The hotel describes the food as Mediterranean with Italian, French and Japanese influences. The MICHELIN Guide calls it creative, built on Italian and local produce with small Asian touches – asparagus with yuzukosho alongside matured yellowtail killed by the ikejime method, for example. When the star was announced, the travel magazine Yonder picked out squid tagliatelle, carabinero prawns with a citrus emulsion and a poached oyster with green apple, crisp celery and a hint of ginger beer.

03Three menus, all at dinner

Mareluna serves tasting menus only. Terra Mia, six courses, costs €145; Yes I Know My Way, also six courses, costs €175; and Je So Pazz, eight courses, costs €210 – all three share their names with an album and songs by the Neapolitan singer Pino Daniele. The six- and eight-course menus cannot be served at the same table. Prices are net, including tax and service, and the meat is French. An allergen menu is available on request.

The restaurant welcomes children from the age of 12. For something simpler, the hotel's beach restaurant, La Plage Blanche, and the bar of the Salon du Château, open from 10.00 to 23.00, sit on the same property.

04Opening hours and booking

Mareluna is open for dinner only, from Tuesday to Sunday, 19.00 to 21.00, according to the MICHELIN Guide, and is closed on Mondays. The hotel's website does not publish seasonal closing dates, so check when you book. Tables can be reserved online through the hotel's website or by telephone, and the hotel sells gift vouchers for the restaurant.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.