Hôtel Sezz Saint-Tropez ★★★★★

Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean Cocteau… At last, they may rest easy where they lie; Saint-Tropez has reclaimed its spirit of elegance and discretion, of nature and light; a loss it had felt keenly since international jetsetters made it their night-time playground. And it owes everything to Shahé Kalaidjian and his prodigious duo of Christophes: interior designer Christophe Pillet and landscape architect Christophe Ponceau. In perfect consonance, these three have fashioned a hotel that is the very antithesis of Saint-Tropez excess: the Sezz. This is a bold move in a town as extravagant as this, where each flamboyant newcomer must outdo the last. Yet Sezz will appeal to true admirers of the Saint-Tropez of yesteryear, with a recipe honed to perfection by its adept owner, who has already earned his stripes at the Sezz in Paris. Convinced he could show Saint-Tropez another kind of luxury, he brought his exclusive formula here.

The location came first. He needed somewhere away from the chintz and glitz of the port and the showy beaches of Ramatuelle. Tucked behind a natural screen of greenery that feels like it’s part of the landscape sits this honeypot for hedonists, an intimate meeting place, where I set down my bags and find the real Saint-Tropez. The park is astounding. There are 11,000 hectares planted with laurels, pine trees, mimosa, eucalyptus, palm trees… landscape gardener and scenographer Cristophe Ponceau has tamed these trees and composed his garden with an ease that can only stem from pure talent.

The result is sublime, spectacular in its precision and the purity of its lines. At its heart is a geometric pool surrounded by sumptuous greenery, and dotted here and there are the “rooms”. I lose all sense of time and space, rocked by the mellow music overlaid with the hypnotic hum of cicadas, assuaged by the sweet smell of eucalyptus and the captivating aftertaste of the welcome drink.

It occurs to me, suddenly, that this outdoor perfection is surely balanced by a superlative interior. Kicking off my heels, as only seems right, I walk the sand pathway that leads to my “room”. My expectations could not be higher. This is the masterpiece of Cristophe Pillet after all, the darling of the interior design community. I am still blown away.

What can I say about the bungalow-suite-bedrooms? First of all, they’re not rooms. More like houses with the instant aura of a luxury holiday home. This is the stuff of dreams moulded by a remarkable architect. I adore the lofty curve of the ceilings that culminates at a height of five metres. The furnishings, on the other hand, sit low to the ground, creating even more space. Space, space and more space billows out of the floor-to-ceiling window that replaces an entire wall and opens onto a private garden. This room is called “Cocoon” and if this is a cocoon, I’ll happily stay a caterpillar for eternity. Except that I know that outside, a private patio, a pool and outdoor shower await me.

Payot Spa, Dom Perignon Bar, Colette Restaurant… Enough talk! It’s high time for me to sneak away and enjoy the other delights of this unrivalled hotel. If you want to know more, you’ll just have to come and see for yourself…