Saint-Tropez has reopened for the season, and Hôtel Lou Pinet has reclaimed its place as one of the town’s most loved addresses. Just steps from Place des Lices, on the road towards Pointe des Salins, the hotel carries the same bohemian charm that once captivated Françoise Sagan, Boris Vian, Picasso, and Juliette Gréco.

Wrapped in pine trees and Mediterranean garden, the boho-chic property from the Maisons Pariente collection has spent the weeks since its reopening, welcoming guests back into its pool, its restaurants, and its newly enriched grounds. This summer brings new additions including a season-long sculpture residency by Laurent Dufour, staged with Paris gallery Aurélien Gendras, that turns a walk through the garden into a private exhibition.

Lou Pinet sits just minutes from the market stalls and people-watching of Place des Lices, offering guests the rare luxury of true seclusion in the centre of Saint-Tropez. Mature pines shade the property, while lavender, jasmine, and aromatic herbs scent the air across the grounds, creating a private world of its own behind the gate.

The gardens are one of the hotel’s great luxuries. Shaded pathways, secluded corners, and a centrally placed pool create a setting as considered as any interior. Guests settle quickly into long lunches, slow afternoons by the water, and evenings that stretch comfortably into the night, all within the grounds.

Rooms & Suites in St Tropez Style

All 34 rooms and suites open straight onto a private garden, so the first sight each morning is green leaves and dappled light. The rooms are spacious and airy, with high ceilings and tall windows that draw in soft southern light throughout the day. Underfoot, warm terracotta tiles meet woven rugs, while beds are dressed in linen.

Furniture designed by architect Charles Zana brings a richness to each room, with low, curved sofas upholstered in natural fabric and wooden tables shaped by hand. Original artworks and carefully chosen vintage pieces sit alongside them, each with its own story.

Rope detailing, raw lime walls, and hand-glazed ceramics add texture and warmth to the room, while small luxuries appear throughout, from fresh flowers and soft lighting to beds are dressed in cotton sateen sheets from Garnier Thiébaut, and bathrooms stocked with Diptyque amenities.

New Art Addition

This summer’s headline addition is a series of glazed stoneware sculptures by Laurent Dufour, dotted around the gardens as part of a residency with gallery Aurélien Gendras. The gallery has been a fixture at the Marché Paul Bert in Saint-Ouen since 2015, and it’s built a strong reputation for treating ceramics as proper sculpture rather than craft, championing both new names and rediscovered twentieth-century studios.

Dufour’s work sits naturally among the trees and pathways, almost as if it grew there alongside the garden. His pieces, which include a series of sculptural fireplaces, strike up a real conversation with the architecture around them. There’s no set route to follow, so guests can discover each piece as they wander, the grounds.

Dining at Lou Pinet

Wherever the day takes guests, whether that’s lounging by the pool, stretched out on the sand along Saint-Tropez’s beaches, or wandering the cobbled streets of the old town, it always seems to lead back to the hotel come mealtime.

La Terrasse

La Terrasse runs all day, tucked away from the busier parts of town. The menu leans Mediterranean and covers plenty of ground, from grilled seabass and octopus to prawn and beef carpaccios, salmon and black angus tartars, and a spread of Provençal vegetables.

Burrata with fresh vegetables, roasted aubergine, and rocket pesto with clams round out a menu that suits vegetarian, meat, and seafood preferences equally well.

Set beside one of the largest hotel pools in Saint-Tropez, La Terrasse works just as well for guests staying at the hotel as it does for those visiting on a day pass. It has a relaxed, sociable feel, the kind of place that is a natural extension of that Tropezian spirit, ideal for an aperitif, a catch-up with friends, or simply a quiet moment with a good view.

Beefbar

Beefbar creates it’s own take of a classic steakhouse formula, and has become one of the unmissable stop-off points in the Bay of Saint-Tropez for that reason. From American Black Angus Prime, Australian Wagyu WX, and certified Japanese Kobe beef, every palate finds something to love come dinner.

The kitchen moves between grill and street food, reworking familiar dishes into something more exciting. On the menu you can find Bao Buns with Kobe beef, quesadillas with braised Wagyu and black truffle, Black Angus classics, Cinzano-marinated chicken fried in Kobe butter, smash burgers, and plenty more.

Lou Pinet carries a welcoming take on Provence that feels true to Saint-Tropez at its best. Close enough to catch the sea spray and the song of the cicadas, the dining experience leans on excellent local produce, all set within lush greenery.

The bar

The bar at Lou Pinet works for almost any moment, whether that’s an aperitif shared with friends, a catch-up with family, or simply a quiet pause in a setting that feels distinctly Tropezian. It’s an easy place to drift towards throughout the day, particularly after a morning spent out at the surrounding beaches and coves.

The Bar is light and airy with natural light pouring in making a perfect spot for reading, unwinding, or settling in for a game of cards or backgammon, cocktail or pastis in hand. Outside, the bar runs the full length of the restaurant and takes on a more maritime feel, with old crab cages repurposed as hanging baskets and wooden canisses overhead.

Come evening, the mood shifts. Glasses catch the light and glow in shimmering colour as the barmen work through their signature cocktails, and the bar settles into the kind of relaxed buzz that carries guests into dinner.

The Lou Pinet Spa

The spa keeps things deliberately small, with two treatment rooms, one of them set up for couples, plus a hammam for guests who want to properly slow down. It’s built entirely around the idea of finally taking the time to breathe, away from phones, plans, and everything else. Tucked into the hotel garden, it feels like its own little world, shaded by pine trees with cicadas singing overhead and the sea just close enough to catch on the breeze.

Whatever guests are after, whether that’s something soft and soothing or a bit more energising, there’s a treatment to match. This season brings an exclusive addition to the menu: a new range of Tata Harper facials, designed around a more personal approach to skincare. The standout is the Supreme treatment, a full 360-degree ritual focused on long-term skin health and a proper glow. Each Tata Harper treatment pairs deep relaxation with a real sense of revitalisation, making for a complete moment of wellbeing, whether booked as a treat for someone else or, just as often, for yourself.

Hair gets its own treatment too, with the Head Spa by Leonor Greyl. It combines relaxing massage with warm steam and natural products for a proper reset, gently cleansing and stimulating the scalp while leaving hair feeling lighter, stronger, and noticeably shinier. It’s a treatment with real care behind it, blending natural ingredients with a genuinely elegant touch, and it tends to become the one everyone wants to book again before they’ve even checked out.

Curated Concierge Service

At Lou Pinet, the concierge team dedicates their time to curate each stay around how guests actually want to spend their time. A morning might start with a wander through the market at Place des Lices, picking up things to take home, or a private tasting with a local winemaker for those who’d rather slow things down further. A Champagne picnic among the vines is another favourite, ideal for an easy, indulgent afternoon away from the hotel.

For days on the water, a boat trip opens up hidden coves and shallow turquoise bays along the coast, while bicycles, electric cars, and horses make it easy to explore the pine forests and coastline at a similarly relaxed pace. A helicopter flight over the gulf and peninsula rounds things off nicely, offering a sweeping view of the area before returning to the calm of the hotel.

Whatever the choice, every experience is built around the same idea: take it slow, make it personal, and let the beauty of the place do the rest.