Wednesday, September 1, 2010

New St. Tropez Hotel Scores with Michelin Three-Star Chef




Love Pierre Gagnaire's food?  You're in luck: The Paris-based Michelin-three star chef is in charge of the kitchen at the 37-room Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez, which opened in mid July. In the 60-seat restaurant called Colette, Gagnaire says he has “gone back to his roots with simple Mediterranean dishes such as freshly caught fish, grilled steaks, and barbecues” but there’s no shortage of lobster and truffles on the menu either. To handle the day-to-day cooking, Gagnaire chose Jérôme Roy, who worked with him at the Pierre Gagnaire restaurant in Seoul, Korea. So don't worry--the food will be superb whether the Loire-born chef is actually in the house or not; Gagnaire is currently involved in eleven restaurants worldwide.

Located in a wooded area a few minutes from the famous port (with shuttle service to town), the eco-friendly Hotel Sezz is a complex of contemporary buildings around a central pool area—“like a small Provencale village,” says owner Shahé Kalaidjian, who also has the Sezz in Paris. Kalaidjian says he asked architect Jean Jacques Ory and designer Christophe Pillet to create “a place full of grace and tranquility…a hideaway full of light, air and wind.”    

Huge glass walls and oversized windows flood the public buildings with light, while guestrooms are done up in soft white, light grey, dark brown, light blue and saffron. (A press release calls this “the 1950s colour code.”) Hotel Sezz offers three room categories: bungalows (30m²), cocoons (40m²) and villas (90m², with private pools). 

The closest beach is Plage de Canebiers, a 200-meter walk. For those who want to go to Plage de Pampelonne, the hotel offers shuttles twice a day and fully equipped picnic baskets on request. In addition to the restaurant Colette, the hotel Sezz also has a bar by Dom Perignon and a spa. The hotel’s general manager is Ani Kojayan Marcault, who’s been at the Hotel Pavillon (Paris) for the last 12 years. 

To reach Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez, the nearest airports are Toulon Hyères (55 km), Nice (98 km) and La Mole (26 km) away. Saint Raphaël Valescure is the nearest train station, 40 km from the hotel.

The hotel is a member of Design Hotels, representing 190-plus independent properties in more than 40 countries. Rooms begin at 450€. 

Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez
Route des Salins
83990 Saint-Tropez
+33 (0)4 94 55 31 55
For the Hotel Sezz website, click here.
For the Design Hotels site, click here.

5 comments:

  1. I love Pierre Gagnaire! What a fabulous hotel...beautiful design, great food. I hope that the service is good.

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  2. This looks fabulous! and I can imagine the food superb!! I've been told Julie that the superlatives used to describe food in France are very precise { eg: beautiful,lovely etc, are not used to describe food} is this correct and if so what are the most common french expressions used when describing food?
    ~Dianne~

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  3. Julie, what a great hotel tip this new hotel looks to be. On my last trip there I had mentally noted "La Maison Blanche", a beautiful building right off the Place des Lices, but I think that location could be a bit too central; your recommendation here looks more private and restful.
    Gorgeous!
    All the best,
    Michael

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  4. I love Gagnaire . I didn't know about this hotel. After your post, I want to go to St Tropez. I didn't have time to go this summer

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  5. quel hotel somptueux ! et gagnaire en prime, alors il faut vite y aller, merci pour ce partage :-)

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