COMO Le Beauvallon, St Tropez: An Icon Reborn – Hotel Review
By Kevin Pilley, July 2026
To mingle with the international jet set on the French Riviera, and to fit in at the highest social levels in and around Saint-Tropez, a few basic accessories are required.
The trappings are essential.
At least one white and one nightfall-blue linen blazer should make the journey, along with two spare pairs of Brunello Cucinelli pleated linen culottes, a selection of cool Hackett and Luca Faloni summer shirts, Prada flats, a Loewe Petal Anagram bag, Jimmy Choo Theia wedges, Oran sandals and the chicest espadrilles available.
Then there is the Gucci bikini, some back-up Pain de Sucre swimwear, a couple of cropped Miu Miu pieces, RED Carpet Manicure’s antifungal toenail treatment and Dior Solar Protective Cream SPF 50.
An ample collection of silk prêt-à-porter shirts is also advisable, accompanied by the obligatory Massimo Dutti midi dress, a gold Rolex, some Cartier-esque decoration, a pair of the latest Dolce & Gabbana aviators, Hermès wraparound sunglasses, Sperry boat shoes for the evening and Aurélien footwear for alfresco lunches and brunches.
Above all, however, access to an 18-Michelin-starred chef, a nearby golf course and a private pontoon is needed.
Every visitor to Saint-Tropez should really have an exclusive jetty.
A glass bathtub and a telescope in the suite are two further prerequisites for making the most of the Côte d’Azur. A chic floppy hat or straw fedora can always be acquired from the hotel shop.
“Palms and umbrella pines”
On the French Riviera, one has to look and book the part.
It helps, too, to have stayed with COMO Hotels and Resorts, which has added one of southern France’s most storied hotels to its luxury portfolio.
Following nearly two decades in which it was used primarily as an exclusive events venue, COMO Le Beauvallon reopened for individual hotel stays on 24 April 2026.
Among its amenities is a chauffeured, centre-console speedboat.
Set within ten acres of landscaped gardens filled with palms and umbrella pines, the magnificent Mediterranean hotel is an eight-minute boat ride from the port of Saint-Tropez and a 20-minute helicopter flight from Nice Airport.
It stands near Sainte-Maxime and Port Grimaud, the canal-side development known as the “Venice of Provence”. Designed by architect François Spoerry, Port Grimaud was principally constructed between 1966 and 1972.
COMO Le Beauvallon itself began life in 1914 as Le Golf Hôtel, a 100-room Belle Époque palace designed by Swiss architect Julien Flegenheimer. During both world wars, it was requisitioned by the French government and used as a military hospital.
The hotel has now been restored to become, once again, a favoured haunt of celebrities and the fortunate few who are accustomed to the best things in life.
COMO Hotels and Resorts forms part of the Singapore-based COMO Group, founded by Christina Ong. The wider group encompasses hotels, fashion, wellness, dining and other lifestyle businesses.
“Fresh and luminous”
COMO opened its first luxury hotel, The Halkin in London, in 1991. Its portfolio has since expanded to include properties in destinations such as the Turks and Caicos, the Maldives, Tuscany, the Dolomites, Bali, Bhutan, Phuket, Bangkok and Singapore.
Its European collection also includes COMO Castello Del Nero and Podere San Filippo in Tuscany, COMO Le Montrachet in Burgundy and COMO Cordeillan-Bages in Bordeaux.
The iconic Le Beauvallon has been reimagined by French interior designer Dorothée Delaye, whose fresh and luminous vision bridges Belle Époque refinement with a contemporary spirit inspired by the carefree glamour of the 1950s Côte d’Azur.
Fluid wrought-iron curves, yacht-like marquetry, crisp whites, Riviera stripes and sunny yellows animate the property. The design extends from the rotunda and open-air lounge to the rooftop terrace and 25-metre mosaic swimming pool.
Colette, Winston Churchill and F. Scott Fitzgerald all stayed at the hotel. During the 1960s, it also provided a filming location for Two for the Road, starring Audrey Hepburn, and for the popular Gendarmes of Saint-Tropez film series.
The hotel now contains 42 individually designed rooms and suites, alongside a contemporary collection of more than 300 artworks and installations.
Tours can be arranged around Provençal villages such as Gassin and Ramatuelle, while wine-tasting experiences are available at celebrated local estates including Château Minuty.
For anyone unwilling to charter a yacht, the hotel’s complimentary shuttle boat crosses the bay to Saint-Tropez.
Once there, visitors can wander through the fish market at Place aux Herbes or browse the Place des Lices market, traditionally held on Tuesday and Saturday mornings.
“Synonymous with film stars”
There is also the famous Gorille snack bar on Quai de Suffren, while white nougat or crêpes Suzette can be enjoyed from the red chairs beneath the equally red canopy of Sénéquier.
From there, the journey might continue to the iconic Pampelonne Beach or Les Salins, where flowering Posidonia seagrass sometimes washes ashore.
Long before Saint-Tropez became synonymous with film stars, superyachts and oversized sunglasses, the area was known as the Greek trading post of Athenopolis and later by the Roman name Heraclea.
According to local legend, the town took its modern name from Torpes, a Christian officer who was beheaded in Pisa on the orders of Emperor Nero in AD 68. His body was placed in a boat with a rooster and a dog and set adrift.
Rather than devouring him, as the story says they were intended to do, the animals left his body untouched. The boat was carried by the Ligurian current until it reached the coast near the future Saint-Tropez.
Boats have been coming ashore ever since.
Returning aboard the hotel’s bespoke navette, guests approach COMO Le Beauvallon’s private pontoon while looking back towards Saint-Tropez. The town’s 16th-century citadel rises above the Var coastline, overlooking the warm façades of the old town, its ochre-and-sienna church tower and the distant Massif des Maures.
Back at the hotel, guests can step almost directly into Beauvallon Sur Mer by Yannick Alléno, its restaurant and beach club overlooking the gulf.
“Ultimate luxury”
Alléno, whose restaurants collectively hold 18 Michelin stars, oversees the hotel’s culinary direction alongside Executive Chef Adel Mannai.
Their menus combine the lightness of Mediterranean cooking with bold Asian flavours. Dishes might include sea-bream ceviche, yellowtail tartare, Thai basil ice cream, sea-bass crudo marinated in baijiu, Peking-style flame-grilled ribeye, pissaladière and an extravagant 32-piece fruits de mer platter.
After that, the jetty and another crossing of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez will be the last things on anyone’s mind.
So, too, will anything as exhausting as Dior-ising one’s toenails.
Being horizontal, closing the eyes and declining to move for the remainder of the day suddenly becomes the ultimate luxury adventure.
It is also, perhaps, the definitive COMO activity.
And by far the best way to experience quiet glamour
More info: comohotels.com
Flights from easyjet.com
Kevin Pilley is a former professional cricketer and the ex-chief staff writer of PUNCH magazine. His humour, travel, lifestyle and food & drink work appears worldwide. He has been published by over 600 titles.
