Lou Pinet, France Hotel

France

A five-star farmhouse with old-world charm in FRANCE allows modern travellers to rediscover the Saint-Tropez of the golden era, when Bardot and the beau monde made the Riviera town a world hotspot.

Once the hangout of Bardot and Birkin, Saint-Tropez continues to attract a fashionable set and there are few better places to embrace the ‘scene’ than at Lou Pinet. The family-run hotel provides five-star luxury bang in the centre of town – equidistant from the beaches and the main square. Its casual elegance channels the Riviera’s golden age: a shuttered farmhouse with Matisse-inspired art and restrained splashes of mustard and moss. Naturally, the pool is at the heart of the action, providing a beautiful setting for the beau monde to bask in. Days begin with a breakfast sumptuous enough to lure guests from their light- dappled rooms: fresh fruit, richly laminated viennoiserie, à la carte pancakes. Days might unfurl in the private garden space that comes with each of the 34 rooms and suites – perhaps with a treatment at Tata Harper Spa, a walk in the Tropezian grounds fragrant with jasmine and mature pine, or a light lunch of grilled octopus at La Terrasse restaurant.

Should guests wish to venture further afield, a concierge team is well-placed to arrange anything from a private cruise along the coast to the hire of a vintage Citroën 2CV. More spontaneously, there’s a regular shuttle service whisking guests to the nearby Place des Lices and Tahiti beach, good launchpads for discovering coastal paths, drinking in the charm of the cobbled old town or people-spotting among the harbour’s mega-yachts.

As night falls, a new crowd arrives, thanks to The Beefbar, a fixture on the fashionable local scene. No doubt, the exceptional sourcing and exquisite cooking of kobe and wagyu is a lure – but the secret is to go light on mains and leave plenty of room for one of the sharing ice cream sundaes or signature soufflés. Doubles from £365.

Words by Rachel Walker.

This review was taken from the August/September 2024 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe today, click here.