Hotel Sezz

Sometimes, it’s better to be near the icon than on top of it. And that’s what this hotel’s many repeat guests agree on—as they live it up a hushed reprieve from the suntanned St. Tropez hordes. Each room is fitted with private terraces and al fresco showers, plus furniture and fixtures by design maestro Christophe Pillet. Bonus: each is tricked out with Nespresso machines, iPod speakers, bespoke Sezz Saint-Tropez candles and even a "Time to Tease" mini bar, which is exactly what it sounds like (hint: “lucky love dice” are one thing you’ll find inside). We love that the design of each room could hold its own Architectural Digest feature, thanks to floor-to-ceiling French terrace doors that reveal the exuberant surrounding greenery like it’s art itself.

A lush and leafy modernist 37-room hideaway with a mimosa and palm tree-flanked heated outdoor pool and Payot spa.

On the beach. But the hotel’s own shuttles will whir you to the Pampelonne beaches and downtown Saint-Tropez at your leisure.

The hotel has a poolside Dom Perignon Bar for all your bubbly needs—but plenty of stiff cocktails on offer, too, including the best Charlie Chaplin (Plymouth Sloe Gin, Apricot Brandy and Jus de Citron Vert) you could imagine.

The unmistakable scent of woodsmoke fills the air at Colette, the hotel’s poolside restaurant. At twilight, you watch birds swoop and waiters swoop as if in tandem—and are entranced not just by them, but the menu before you. Your order: summer truffle cream risotto and Galician prime rib steak. Diet starts when you get home. Tonight: you’re in St. Tropez, and you’re living large.

Restaurant Colette - Combines the savoir-vivre of French cuisine with the freshest ingredients from the region Le Bar by Dom Perignon - A little escape situated inside and outside the hotel and overlooking the pool