St Tropez Beaches
Summer 2009
Frank's view 
'take lots of money and a sense of humour'
“All Drinks - €29,” said the list on the wall outside Cave du Roy.
“That’s expensive,” you might think, but this is St Tropez. €29 will buy you a Coke or a glass of water, perhaps a beer.
Unfortunately spending €29 on a drink in Cave du Roy will result in you being treated like the owner of a pedalo, in a port where a 100ft yacht is the equivalent of a terraced house. You need champagne to have any sort of credibility at Cave du Roy, St Tropez’s notorious night club, where a bottle of house champagne will set you back €690.
Don’t despair. It’s not all like this, but St Tropez is ludicrous, and after a period in the shade, the legendary port has found its glitz and opulence once again. Over the last few years a number of new hotels, bars and restaurants have been opened, alongside the old well established favourites.
St Tropez is one big traffic jam during July and August. The best time to visit is late June or early September, but even then, beware of when you drive in and out of the port. There is only one road into town, which runs from the ‘Geant’ hypermarket roundabout. Travelling from Nice airport, it's best to take the A8 and exit at junction 36, signed Draguignan / Le Muy / St Tropez. However, if you are driving at peak times it's worth going on to the next junction and coming off at La Garde Freniet. In distance it’s longer but it can take several hours to drive from Le Muy to St Tropez, a journey which should normally take 45 minutes or so. The secret is to drive in and out of St Tropez late at night or early in the morning.
You will probably spend most of your days on Pampelone beach and go into town in the evening, therefore where you stay can have a huge impact on ease of travel. As you approach St Tropez, a turning to the right signed ‘Les Plages’, by a petrol station, takes you towards Pamplelone and some good hotels.
Probably the best hotel in the area is Villa Marie which sits in the hills, very conveniently positioned to enable you to move between hotel, beach and town at any time of day or night without joining the masses in the St Tropez car park. Other hotels in this vicinity include La Bastide de St Tropez, which is close enough to town to walk, and the increasingly Russian occupied ‘Disneyesque’ Chateau de la Messardiere.
Should you choose to be nearer town, just beyond the turning to Les Plages, there is the well established but obscenely over priced ‘Hotel Residence De La Pinede” and a little further down, on the right, “Hotel Pastis”, another of our favourites.
In town you will find many hotels including Byblos, which is looking tired and dated, the sparkling new Pan Dei, and a host of others. The problem with staying in town is parking and getting in and out during peak season.
Tuesday and Saturday are particularly chaotic as Place des Lices, the main square, is taken over by a huge, bustling market.
Parking is best in the vast ‘Parking du Port’, which is on the left as you drive into town. However, despite being the size of a small airport, there is often nowhere to abandon your vehicle and we have, in the past, driven round and round for an eternity before finally leaving in despair.
It’s not all doom and gloom but it’s a good idea to quickly learn your way around unless you have a codependent relationship with your car.
Pamplelone beach was introduced to the rest of the planet in 1955 when Roger Vadim made the movie ‘And God Created Woman’ with Bridgette Bardot. The small house on the beach, where they dined, went on to become the world famous Club 55, otherwise known as 'The Ivy by Sea', and is absolutely worth a visit or ten. The people watching is the best anywhere but booking in advance is absolutely essential. Book for 1pm. If you book a later table, a long wait is almost guaranteed and where you are seated is a lottery.
There are many restaurants lined along the beach, all fronted by loungers and masses of frazzled human flesh. The beach includes several areas where even the most miniscule thong can be discarded. It’s curious how only the lardy take their clothes off.
Moving along the shore, away from St Tropez, look for large white flags set back from the beach. This is Nikki Beach and is located behind La Plage des Jumeaux. This nightclub in the sun has a reputation, which I fear is fading fast.
Further along still is Les Palmiers. Good luck getting in there. Last year this Camel was kicked out, as was a global music star’s manager, looking for a venue for his artist’s party. Maybe, this year, they’ve realised that foolhardy guest selection creates an empty restaurant and delights the competition.
It is perhaps surprising that it is impossible to find top quality cuisine in St Tropez, but I guess that the world’s finest chefs would not be attracted to a market which has such a short season. The closest the port gets to a celebrity chef is Spoon at Byblos which carries the name of Alain Ducasse. Has he ever visited the restaurant? I doubt it. If he had I can't believe he would tolerate the pretentious but ordinary cuisine they serve. If you are tempted to part with your money at Spoon you could go for broke and order a bottle of Petrus 1990 at €2800.
St Tropez is very gloomy in the winter. Indeed, it is only between the end of May and late September that many hotels and restaurants are open. One open all year round is the disappointing Café de Paris.
In July and August, if you haven’t pre-booked a restaurant table for an evening meal, you will most likely look slimmer in your bikini or speedos the next day. It is generally viable to book the day before so choose the following evening’s dining when you’re out on the town each night.
Caprice des Deux is a restaurant highly regarded by the locals, but the food is heavy (duck, steak etc). Ask for a table outside.
Pan Dei opened in 2007 and has one of the best restaurants in town.
Over the last few years a local entrepreneur has opened two restaurants and a bar, all modestly named ‘Joseph’. Le Grand Joseph is set back from the port near the town hall, whereas Joseph L’Escale is on the port. Expensive seafood platters are their thing but we’ve found the service, at times, to be awful.
Le Strand is tucked up the hill to the left of the port. It is a sister venue of Nikki Beach, but much more subdued, and one of the better dining options in St Tropez.
Other options include Salama, a Moroccan restaurant serving lumps of animal to satisfy a caveman appetite, and Bahn Hoi, a Thai street diner in a movie studio setting.
The top hotels all boast cordon bleu cuisine, but the only one we’ve found to be worth a visit is the restaurant at La Bastide de St Tropez.
Avoid eating at La Pinede and Le Messardiere unless you have aspirations to compete with men with belly sized wallets, accompanied by tiny totty from Eastern Europe.
In an ideal day this Camel would check in at Villa Marie (Hotel Pastis, if Marie is fully booked), spend the morning by the hotel pool then drive down to the valet parking at Club 55 around midday. Take a stroll along the beach, then back to the bar at Club 55 for a glass of rose before lunch around 1.30 – 1.45, onto the Club 55 beach for a snooze until 5.00, then back to Marie for a shower. Into town on the Marie shuttle at about 7.00, a cocktail at Pan Dei, and perhaps one around the corner at Maison Blanche, dinner at Caprice des Deux and back to Joseph Le Quai, for music and an aperitif. A call to Villa Marie and within 10 minutes the shuttle (a Mercedes) arrives at Place des Lices to whisk us back to bed.
Doesn’t sound too painful, does it?
“That’s expensive,” you might think, but this is St Tropez. €29 will buy you a Coke or a glass of water, perhaps a beer.
Unfortunately spending €29 on a drink in Cave du Roy will result in you being treated like the owner of a pedalo, in a port where a 100ft yacht is the equivalent of a terraced house. You need champagne to have any sort of credibility at Cave du Roy, St Tropez’s notorious night club, where a bottle of house champagne will set you back €690.
Don’t despair. It’s not all like this, but St Tropez is ludicrous, and after a period in the shade, the legendary port has found its glitz and opulence once again. Over the last few years a number of new hotels, bars and restaurants have been opened, alongside the old well established favourites.
St Tropez is one big traffic jam during July and August. The best time to visit is late June or early September, but even then, beware of when you drive in and out of the port. There is only one road into town, which runs from the ‘Geant’ hypermarket roundabout. Travelling from Nice airport, it's best to take the A8 and exit at junction 36, signed Draguignan / Le Muy / St Tropez. However, if you are driving at peak times it's worth going on to the next junction and coming off at La Garde Freniet. In distance it’s longer but it can take several hours to drive from Le Muy to St Tropez, a journey which should normally take 45 minutes or so. The secret is to drive in and out of St Tropez late at night or early in the morning.
You will probably spend most of your days on Pampelone beach and go into town in the evening, therefore where you stay can have a huge impact on ease of travel. As you approach St Tropez, a turning to the right signed ‘Les Plages’, by a petrol station, takes you towards Pamplelone and some good hotels.
Probably the best hotel in the area is Villa Marie which sits in the hills, very conveniently positioned to enable you to move between hotel, beach and town at any time of day or night without joining the masses in the St Tropez car park. Other hotels in this vicinity include La Bastide de St Tropez, which is close enough to town to walk, and the increasingly Russian occupied ‘Disneyesque’ Chateau de la Messardiere.
Should you choose to be nearer town, just beyond the turning to Les Plages, there is the well established but obscenely over priced ‘Hotel Residence De La Pinede” and a little further down, on the right, “Hotel Pastis”, another of our favourites.
In town you will find many hotels including Byblos, which is looking tired and dated, the sparkling new Pan Dei, and a host of others. The problem with staying in town is parking and getting in and out during peak season.
Tuesday and Saturday are particularly chaotic as Place des Lices, the main square, is taken over by a huge, bustling market.
Parking is best in the vast ‘Parking du Port’, which is on the left as you drive into town. However, despite being the size of a small airport, there is often nowhere to abandon your vehicle and we have, in the past, driven round and round for an eternity before finally leaving in despair.
It’s not all doom and gloom but it’s a good idea to quickly learn your way around unless you have a codependent relationship with your car.
Pamplelone beach was introduced to the rest of the planet in 1955 when Roger Vadim made the movie ‘And God Created Woman’ with Bridgette Bardot. The small house on the beach, where they dined, went on to become the world famous Club 55, otherwise known as 'The Ivy by Sea', and is absolutely worth a visit or ten. The people watching is the best anywhere but booking in advance is absolutely essential. Book for 1pm. If you book a later table, a long wait is almost guaranteed and where you are seated is a lottery.
There are many restaurants lined along the beach, all fronted by loungers and masses of frazzled human flesh. The beach includes several areas where even the most miniscule thong can be discarded. It’s curious how only the lardy take their clothes off.
Moving along the shore, away from St Tropez, look for large white flags set back from the beach. This is Nikki Beach and is located behind La Plage des Jumeaux. This nightclub in the sun has a reputation, which I fear is fading fast.
Further along still is Les Palmiers. Good luck getting in there. Last year this Camel was kicked out, as was a global music star’s manager, looking for a venue for his artist’s party. Maybe, this year, they’ve realised that foolhardy guest selection creates an empty restaurant and delights the competition.
It is perhaps surprising that it is impossible to find top quality cuisine in St Tropez, but I guess that the world’s finest chefs would not be attracted to a market which has such a short season. The closest the port gets to a celebrity chef is Spoon at Byblos which carries the name of Alain Ducasse. Has he ever visited the restaurant? I doubt it. If he had I can't believe he would tolerate the pretentious but ordinary cuisine they serve. If you are tempted to part with your money at Spoon you could go for broke and order a bottle of Petrus 1990 at €2800.
St Tropez is very gloomy in the winter. Indeed, it is only between the end of May and late September that many hotels and restaurants are open. One open all year round is the disappointing Café de Paris.
In July and August, if you haven’t pre-booked a restaurant table for an evening meal, you will most likely look slimmer in your bikini or speedos the next day. It is generally viable to book the day before so choose the following evening’s dining when you’re out on the town each night.
Caprice des Deux is a restaurant highly regarded by the locals, but the food is heavy (duck, steak etc). Ask for a table outside.
Pan Dei opened in 2007 and has one of the best restaurants in town.
Over the last few years a local entrepreneur has opened two restaurants and a bar, all modestly named ‘Joseph’. Le Grand Joseph is set back from the port near the town hall, whereas Joseph L’Escale is on the port. Expensive seafood platters are their thing but we’ve found the service, at times, to be awful.
Le Strand is tucked up the hill to the left of the port. It is a sister venue of Nikki Beach, but much more subdued, and one of the better dining options in St Tropez.
Other options include Salama, a Moroccan restaurant serving lumps of animal to satisfy a caveman appetite, and Bahn Hoi, a Thai street diner in a movie studio setting.
The top hotels all boast cordon bleu cuisine, but the only one we’ve found to be worth a visit is the restaurant at La Bastide de St Tropez.
Avoid eating at La Pinede and Le Messardiere unless you have aspirations to compete with men with belly sized wallets, accompanied by tiny totty from Eastern Europe.
In an ideal day this Camel would check in at Villa Marie (Hotel Pastis, if Marie is fully booked), spend the morning by the hotel pool then drive down to the valet parking at Club 55 around midday. Take a stroll along the beach, then back to the bar at Club 55 for a glass of rose before lunch around 1.30 – 1.45, onto the Club 55 beach for a snooze until 5.00, then back to Marie for a shower. Into town on the Marie shuttle at about 7.00, a cocktail at Pan Dei, and perhaps one around the corner at Maison Blanche, dinner at Caprice des Deux and back to Joseph Le Quai, for music and an aperitif. A call to Villa Marie and within 10 minutes the shuttle (a Mercedes) arrives at Place des Lices to whisk us back to bed.
Doesn’t sound too painful, does it?
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
