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It’s not for nothing that the Côte d’Azur has been attracting lovers of sun, beach and a languorous, pleasurable way of life since the 19th century. Charming hotels, luxury hotels, palaces, boutique hotels, Relais & Châteaux, 5-star hotels, we unveil you the best places to be!
Tiara Miramar Beach Hotel & Spa, Théoule-sur-Mer | A 5-star hotel with its feet in the water
The hotel? With the Estérel massif as a backdrop, nestled in a small private cove, the Miramar's seven floors slope gently towards the Mediterranean. No chance of encountering hordes of tourists here. The small bay, accessible by boat from the private jetty, has offered total privacy since this Côte d'Azur hotel was built in the 1930s. You'll fall under the spell of its pink-grey façade and terraced gardens surrounded by pine and holm oak trees. The nearest village, Théoule-sur-Mer, is a five-minute walk away.
A total of 60 rooms and suites, including a 170 m² private villa with three bedrooms and an oriental décor: warm hues, inlaid furniture, precious textiles, marble bathrooms... The views from the daybeds on the terraces are incredible.
The second floor features a Sothys spa with fitness room, hammam and Finnish sauna. Here, pause for the signature “Complete” treatment, during which you indulge in a body cleansing and exfoliation, a relaxing facial massage, the application of a mask and a cream adapted to your skin type. On the first floor, sip a drink at the bar before dining at MoYa Beach, which serves market and Mediterranean cuisine with Provencal influences throughout the Côte d'Azur's (mild) winters. A stone's throw away, at Tiara's second address, Yaktsa, you can sample the Michelin-starred cuisine of chef Alain Montigny.
What makes the difference? The hotel's private beach, an idyllic cove where you can take a dip and indulge in all kinds of water sports. Or enjoy the pleasures of the table at the MoYa beach restaurant - open from April to October - lying back on a bench on its shaded terrace, with the Grande Bleue on the horizon...
Tiara Miramar Beach Hotel & Spa
60 rooms and suites. From €215 per night
47 Avenue de Miramar, 06590 Théoule-sur-Mer
The Carlton Cannes | Renaissance of an icon
The must-visit hotel on the Croisette has undergone a facelift in 2023, unveiling new interiors behind its Art Deco façade. The 5-star hotel, overlooking the Bay of Cannes, has increased its surface area by 20,000 m², from 32,000 to 52,000 m². At the helm? Architect Richard Lavette and designer Tristan Auer, who freed up space to create an Italian garden, an infinity pool and a 900 m² Fitness & Spa complex in the hotel's former courtyard, as well as new signature suites on the 7th floor of the building, whose façade, lobby, Grand Salon and staircases are listed historic monuments. In terms of gastronomy, the hotel's 332 rooms and suites - 72 of which have sea views - are home to three restaurants: Le Riviera, with its traditional French dishes, Rüya, with its Anatolian cuisine, and the Carlton Beach Club - which borders the Croisette - for fresh dishes to be enjoyed under the sun with your feet in the sand.
What makes the difference? Its new walled garden, planted around a peristyle, which is a veritable haven of peace populated by Mediterranean essences.
Carlton Cannes
369 keys, from €1,200 per night
58, Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes
Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Monaco | The Principality's legendary hotel
Built on a field of olive and lemon trees at the end of the 19th century in Monaco, opposite the mythical Casino de Monte-Carlo, the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo laid the foundations for the concept of resorts on the Riviera. Adjacent to the splendid Thermes Marins de Monaco, the establishment's magnificent Belle Époque façade has seen the likes of Alexandre Dumas, Winston Churchill, Maria Callas and Salvador Dali pass through its walls. At a time when it could have fallen into disuse, the hotel has successfully metamorphosed and preserved its image as a legendary palace. Four years of pharaonic renovation and hundreds of millions of euros were invested to create a new open-air patio, a rotunda housing luxurious family apartments, and 208 keys (60% of which are suites) where noble materials, white marble, chandeliers and Murano chandeliers reign supreme... And of course, if you choose one of the right rooms, you'll enjoy a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean.
What makes the difference? Its gastronomic offering. The Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo is home to the Louis XV, where Alain Ducasse first won three Michelin stars in 1990. Even today, the Monegasque palace remains the flagship of the multi-starred chef's gastronomic empire. Also on the menu are Le Grill perched on the eighth floor (starlit Côte d'Azur cuisine and breathtaking views), and Em Sherif and Taera that take you respectively to Lebanon and Venezuela.
Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo
207 rooms and suites. From €470 per night
Place du Casino, 98000 Monaco
Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes | The great lady of Cap d'Antibes
This Napoleon III-style establishment was founded in 1870 by the historic founder of Le Figaro newspaper. Perched at the very tip of Cap d'Antibes, this legendary hotel has seen the likes of Picasso, Chagall and Scott Fitzgerald, and over the years has become a must-see resort for American film stars. The jewel in the crown of the very select Oetker Collection (Le Bristol, Château Saint-Martin, Eden Rock St-Barths...), the villa-like palace overlooks a luxuriant private bay, and houses 111 rooms - including 3 villas - with a classic decor that will delight fans of the genre: floral drapes, Louis XVI armchairs, crystal chandeliers... Not to mention no less than three restaurants overseen by Executive Chef Sébastien Broda and six bars, jet-setting oblige!
What makes the difference? An exceptional seawater swimming pool, heated and dug right into the rock, and beautiful private cabins on the water's edge.
Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc (Oetker Collection)
118 rooms and villas. From €800 per night
167-165 Boulevard J.-F. Kennedy, 06160 Antibes
Hôtel Byblos | The Saint-Tropez icon
Among legendary hotels, the Byblos undoubtedly occupies a special place. One of the few officially "Palace" hotels still owned by a French family, it welcomes back a loyal clientele of regulars every year in Saint-Tropez. Located just a stone's throw from Place des Lices, the hotel's astonishing neo-Provençal architecture is surrounded by small gardens, fountains, antiques, mosaics... A colourful, extravagant atmosphere that can be found throughout the hotel, right down to the spa, where the Lebanese salon has been transposed piece by piece from a 16th-century Beirut palace.In all, 90 keys, including some 50 suites with colorful patterns and fabrics, all different, but all sharing an abundance of precious motifs and textiles. By the pool, you can sample Mediterranean cuisine at Arcadia, the hotel's latest restaurant, before treating yourself to a treatment at the Spa Sisley, in the gentle fumes of the Orient.
What makes the difference? The bohemian chic atmosphere of the place, which can be found at Byblos Beach, the private beach the hotel has treated itself to in summer 2019, in Pampelonne.
Hôtel Byblos Saint-Tropez
90 rooms and suites. From €845 per night
20 Avenue Paul Signac, 83990 Saint-Tropez
La Réserve de Beaulieu | The palace spirit at Beaulieu-sur-Mer
A 5-star hotel resembling a Florentine villa located just a stone's throw from Nice, La Réserve de Beaulieu paradoxically cultivates a very Parisian palace spirit behind its pink façade - no doubt due to the decor designed by interior architect Richard Martinet (Hôtel de Crillon, The Peninsula Paris...). The immense 39 rooms, suites and villas are immediately seductive, with contemporary lines and a masterly blend of modernity and classicism: antique furniture and bourgeois bedding sit side by side with gilding and chandeliers, in a hushed atmosphere that can only be found in exceptional places. Outside, swoon on one of the most beautiful terraces on the Côte d'Azur before dining in the impressive dining room of the Restaurant des Rois, with its 180° view of the Mediterranean. Not to mention a 29°C seawater pool of almost imperial dimensions.
What makes the difference? The arrival, in September 2019, of double-starred chef Julien Roucheteau, who came up through the kitchens of the Lancaster Hotel in Paris, and who is now making the place shine as one of the Côte d'Azur's new gastronomic hot spots.
La Réserve de Beaulieu
39 rooms and suites. From €310 per night
5 Boulevard du Maréchal Leclerc, 06310 Beaulieu-sur-Mer
Le Negresco, Nice | The legendary address on the Promenade des Anglais
For more than a century, Le Negresco has been part of the select clique of legendary hotels on the Côte d'Azur. Located on the Promenade des Anglais, the hotel has seen many illustrious personalities of the 20th century pass through its doors, from Dali to the Beatles to Louis Armstrong. As soon as you enter the lobby, you are greeted by a skilful blend of classicism and impertinence, with Niki de Saint-Phalle's Nana Jaune... in the Salon Royal. This spirit of contradiction is echoed in each of the hotel's 102 rooms and 26 suites, where Louis XIII furnishings and modern art influences meet.
Good to know? Like any self-respecting fine establishment, Le Negresco is also home to a Michelin-starred gourmet restaurant, Le Chantecler, where talented Michelin-starred chef Virginie Basselot, formerly of the Saint James, a luxury hotel in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, and La Réserve in Geneva, has been officiating since 2018.
Hôtel Le Negresco
125 rooms and suites. From €200 per night
37, Promenade des Anglais, 06000 Nice
All locations are independently selected by our specialist journalists. If you make a reservation, we may receive an affiliate commission.