Pan Dei Palais

Pan Dei Palais

Pan Dei Palais sits in the old center of Saint-Tropez, close enough to the Chapelle de la Miséricorde and the Bailli de Suffren statue that the walk to either takes minutes, not a taxi. Twelve rooms make up the whole property, wrapped around a garden and an outdoor pool, a combination that is not common in this stretch of the old town. Guests who want fewer corridors between the front desk and their room, and who don't mind swimming in a garden courtyard rather than on Pampelonne itself, a ten-minute drive away, will find that trade makes sense here. Dolceva, the poolside restaurant, serves Italian food under the same trees, and the bar stays open for the kind of evening that doesn't need a soundtrack. A library and a yoga area sit quietly among the amenities list, next to a spa with a steam room and massage, so the pace of the day can shift without leaving the address. Families travel with children in the playroom, and pets travel too, which is not the norm in a house this size and this central. The staff cover five languages, from English to Russian, useful when Saint-Tropez fills with people who don't all speak French. Anyone hoping for a sprawling resort or anonymity in a large lobby should look elsewhere; this is a twelve-room house that trades scale for a garden in the middle of Saint-Tropez, and for guests who want the old port on foot and a pool at home, that is the whole appeal. Twelve rooms around a garden and a pool, in the middle of old Saint-Tropez, a combination the beach clubs down the road can't offer. Suits a traveller who wants the old port on foot and a poolside dinner at Dolceva; not the choice for anyone chasing a sprawling resort.