To mingle convincingly with the international set on the French Riviera, particularly in and around Saint-Tropez, one must arrive properly equipped.
A white linen blazer is essential. Nightfall blue is useful after sunset. Add a few Brunello Cucinelli separates, a Luca Faloni shirt, Prada flats, Hermès sandals, a Gucci swimsuit, an excellent pair of sunglasses and enough SPF 50 to survive lunch at Pampelonne without acquiring the complexion of a Provençal roof tile.
A gold watch helps. So does a floppy hat purchased at the hotel boutique.
On the Côte d’Azur, after all, one must look the part. More importantly, one must book it.
The most useful accessory, however, is neither wearable nor available from a boutique on the Rue François Sibilli. It is a private pontoon.
Every serious visitor to Saint-Tropez should have one.
COMO Le Beauvallon does.
Set across the bay from Saint-Tropez, the newly restored hotel occupies 10 acres of palm-filled gardens between Sainte-Maxime and Port Grimaud. From its private jetty, guests can cross the Golfe de Saint-Tropez by hotel speedboat in approximately seven minutes, neatly avoiding the traffic, the parking and the indignity of arriving late for lunch.
That alone may qualify as quiet glamour.
The hotel occupies a Belle Époque palace dating to 1914, once reportedly purchased by a millionaire as a birthday gift for his wife. Closed since 2008, it has now been revived as part of COMO Hotels and Resorts, the discreet hospitality group founded by Singaporean businesswoman Christina Ong.
COMO began in London in 1991 with The Halkin before expanding to destinations including the Maldives, Turks and Caicos, Bali, Bhutan, Tuscany and Thailand. Its hotels are known for something increasingly rare in luxury hospitality: restraint.
There are no gold-plated theatrics here. No chandeliers attempting to compete with the sunset. The approach is quieter, more assured and considerably more difficult to imitate.
At Le Beauvallon, French designer Dorothée Delaye has drawn on the carefree elegance of the 1950s Riviera without reducing the hotel to nostalgia. Wrought-iron curves, maritime marquetry, Riviera stripes, clean whites and flashes of sunlit yellow bring lightness to the interiors. The rotunda, open-air lounge and rooftop terrace feel intended for linen, conversation and long drinks rather than ceremony.
Outside, an 82-foot mosaic swimming pool stretches through the grounds. Beyond it lies the Mediterranean, blue enough to make every superlative seem inadequate.
The hotel has 42 rooms and 26 suites, some with the sort of details that once belonged exclusively to eccentric aristocrats and very successful film producers: glass bathtubs, telescopes and views that make leaving the room feel like poor judgment.
Le Beauvallon has long attracted illustrious guests. Audrey Hepburn, Colette, Winston Churchill and F. Scott Fitzgerald are all associated with the property. Its latest incarnation adds contemporary art, polished service and the sort of privacy now more desirable than spectacle.
Saint-Tropez, of course, remains temptingly close.
The hotel boat delivers guests directly across the bay, where they can wander through the fish market at Place aux Herbes, explore the Tuesday and Saturday market at Place des Lices or take a red chair beneath the equally red awning at Sénéquier.
There are crêpes to order, nougat to sample and yachts to inspect with the practised indifference of someone who may own a larger one.
Farther along the coast are the beaches of Pampelonne and Les Salins, the Provençal villages of Gassin and Ramatuelle, and vineyards including Château Minuty. The hotel can arrange tastings, excursions and the full Riviera programme.
Yet the appeal of COMO Le Beauvallon lies partly in how easily it makes that programme unnecessary.
The return journey across the gulf is particularly persuasive. From the water, Saint-Tropez appears in layers: the old town’s ochre façades, the church tower rising above the harbour, the citadel on the hillside and the Massif des Maures beyond.
The speedboat glides back toward the hotel’s exclusive pontoon, where guests can step ashore and proceed almost directly to the beach club and Sur Mer restaurant.
The food retains the Riviera’s instinct for indulgence but looks farther east for inspiration. Asian-accented dishes may include sea bream ceviche, yellowtail tartare, sea bass crudo, green papaya and a Peking-style flame-grilled rib-eye. Provençal traditions remain present in pissaladière, the region’s onion and olive tart, while an extravagant seafood platter provides the correct response to anyone asking whether lunch might be kept light.
Afterward, the private pontoon, hotel speedboat and enticing bustle of Saint-Tropez begin to lose their urgency.
A shaded lounger becomes more appealing. So does the pool. Then perhaps the spa. Eventually, remaining horizontal with one’s eyes closed and making no movement beyond raising a chilled glass becomes the day’s principal ambition.
This is the particular pleasure of COMO Le Beauvallon. It offers access to one of Europe’s most glamorous destinations while providing every possible reason not to leave.
The Riviera has always understood display. COMO understands something subtler.
True luxury is not merely arriving by private boat.
It is knowing that you do not need to go anywhere at all.
