La Ponche
Old Riviera glamour, deliberately understated. Provençal palette — terracotta tiles, cream walls, antique furniture — with rooms named after famous guests. The bar's original black-and-white chequered floor is still there. This is a place for people who want Saint-Tropez without the scene.
Book the Prestige Tropezian Suite — Bardot's former room — for the terrace with citadel views. It's worth the premium.
Why It Matters
One of the most historically significant small hotels on the French Riviera. Roger Vadim filmed 'Et Dieu... créa la femme' here in 1956. Françoise Sagan wrote from her room overlooking the sea. The bar dates to 1949, when Boris Vian expanded the original fishermen's bar into the Saint-Germain-des-Prés–La Ponche salon. Designer Fabrizio Casiraghi's renovation restored rather than reinvented it.
La Ponche started in 1938 as a fishermen's bar run by the parents of Simone Duckstein. By the 1950s it had become the unofficial headquarters of the French intelligentsia and cinema world — Bardot, Picasso, Sartre, Boris Vian all passed through. Today, after a meticulous renovation by designer Fabrizio Casiraghi, it's a 5-star boutique hotel with 21 rooms and a handful of apartments, sitting directly above the small La Ponche cove. The hotel has no pool, but a private pontoon acts as one. Rates run from around €350 in low season to €5,000 per night at the top end in summer.
Where You'll Stay
12 room types available
Apartment Danièle Thompson
A private 72m² apartment with full sea view, sleeping up to 4 (one bedroom plus large sofa bed). Five windows in a row face the water. Fully equipped kitchen opening onto the living room, two independent bathrooms. Good for couples or small families who want to feel like they live in Saint-Tropez rather than just passing through.
72 sqm
Apartment Jack Nicholson
Two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, in 86m² with a fully equipped kitchen and separate living room. Sleeps up to 4. Direct view over La Ponche beach.
86 sqm
Apartment Pablo Picasso
The largest of the apartments: 170m² over two floors, three bedrooms with three bathrooms, sleeping up to 6. Large open-plan kitchen and living room open onto a 45m² sea-view terrace. Fireplace. Best value for a family or group.
170 sqmClassic Room
Overlooks the pedestrian streets or the patio — bright, quiet, and done in the warm beige and terracotta palette of a Provençal home. Rainfall showerhead. One of these rooms is dedicated to Simone Duckstein, the hotel's soul and longtime keeper, and was also where Boris Vian often stayed.
Deluxe Room – Terrace with Sea View
Same sea-facing orientation as the standard Deluxe, but with a private terrace. A step up for those who want to have morning coffee looking directly out at the bay.
Deluxe Room with Sea View
Nearly 30m², sea-facing, bathed in light. Some have a terrace. The pink-tiled bougainvillea houses in the foreground, the open Mediterranean behind. Maurice Ronet was photographed on one of these terraces during the filming of La Piscine.
30 sqmDeluxe Suite
More than 40m², designed for longer stays. Furnished living room with a convertible sofa, writing desk, and windows that open onto the lively pedestrian rue des Remparts. A favourite of fashion world regulars including Inès de la Fressange and Kenzo.
40 sqmJunior Suite with Sea View
Set in a house directly overlooking La Ponche beach. Lounge area, full sea view, and a large bathroom with both a bathtub and a rainfall shower. Françoise Sagan lived here and wrote: 'I got up from my bed, I opened the shutters, and the sea and the sky threw in my face the same blue, the same pink, the same happiness.'
La Maison
A standalone 240m² holiday home in the heart of the La Ponche quarter, completely private. Four bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. Sleeps up to 8. The most discreet option at La Ponche — more of a private residence than a hotel room.
240 sqmPrestige Tropezian Sea View Terrace
One of the most sought-after rooms in the hotel. A large private terrace takes in the village, the bell tower, the citadel, and the sea in one sweep. The room has kept the secrets of Romy Schneider and many others. Sensual, sun-filled, and deeply Tropezian.
Prestige Tropezian Suite with Sea View
The two most famous rooms in the hotel — former favourites of Brigitte Bardot, Annabel, and Bernard Buffet. Large private terrace overlooking the sea and the citadel with deckchairs for sunbathing out of sight. Private living room, independent bathroom. Equal parts love nest and serious retreat.
Superior Room
A large room with high ceilings in white and beige — calm and deliberate. Overlooks the patio. There's a desk, a wardrobe, and the kind of space that makes you want to actually use both. Louis de Funès stayed here during the filming of Les Gendarmes de Saint-Tropez.
The Property
Eat & Drink
2 venues on property
Restaurant
Spa & Wellness
Treatment Menu
On Property
How you'll actually spend your days.
Full-day motorboat rental with a skipper, bookable through the concierge. Chef Simon Pinault can prepare a personalised picnic basket to take along.
The La Ponche concierge handles restaurant reservations, yacht and car rentals, private tours, museum privatisations, personalised picnics, transfers, massage bookings, and more. Reachable at conciergerie@laponche.fr.
Designed by Chef Simon Pinault on request — gazpacho, hummus, Niçoise salad, burrata. For boat trips, inland drives, or a day on the beach.
Daily in summer, 7:30–8:30am (except market days). Classes are held on the hotel's pontoon directly above La Ponche cove. Open to non-guests. Limited to 15 participants.
The hotel's iconic three-wheeled Piaggio Ape Calessino — a vintage Vespa derivative born 70 years ago — shuttles guests between the private garage and the hotel door. On request it can drop you anywhere in Saint-Tropez.
Amenities & Practical Info
The details that matter for planning.
The hotel's pontoon sits directly above the small La Ponche cove — used as an informal pool, for morning yoga, and as the launching point for sea swims. No conventional pool on site.
Complimentary high-speed WiFi throughout all rooms and public areas.
A dedicated room service menu is available around the clock — designed by the chef for every hour, from a late-night snack to a terrace glass of wine.
Full concierge covering restaurant bookings, transfers, boat and car rentals, private tours, museum privatisations, and more.
A curated library available to guests.
16-space covered garage one minute's walk from the hotel, with 24-hour surveillance. Served by the Petit Piaggio. Valet parking available 24h. Car cleaning service also available.
The hotel has no swimming pool. The pontoon cove is the main swim spot, plus there is a dedicated lap section off the hotel by the sea.
BUILD YOUR LA PONCHE PLAN
Rooms, dining, spa, and resort experiences — organized into one trip plan.
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