Towards the end of the 1960s the hotel accuses his age

Story with twists and turns to this palace built just before the great war and which, nestled in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, accused ripped all the major events of the 20th century.

It is not the only institution of luxury around the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, but the hotel Le Beauvallon is the sole representative of these palaces that flourished in the Belle Epoque on the Côte d'Azur. The building, majestic with red ochre façade, stands in a park of 6 hectares, near Sainte-Maxime, overlooking the sea and with a private beach access. Today property of the family Hwang, Chinese from Hong Kong who have made a fortune in real estate, the Beauvallon hotel has several times changed hands since its construction in 1912-1913, but also of vocation. And its history is often confused with that of the 20th century.

It all started with a businessman Parisian, Emile Bernheim, seduced by the calm of this pristine and wild, site that buys 90 hectares of Beauvallon Valley to a real estate program high-end. To attract the Tout, he built a palace to be completed late 1913. But the outbreak of hostilities in the first world war will prevent its opening and the Bernheim brothers entrust their hotel brand-new to the French Red Cross, which uses it as a hospital for convalescent soldiers.

At the end of the conflict and after major renovation works, the Beauvallon opens finally completed in the early 1920s by a golf course to attract British customers and quickly knows his Golden alongside the rise of Saint-Tropez. "At this time, high season was in winter and, as in the cities of Côte d'Azur, it came here to enjoy the Sun and the mildness of the climate," says Olivier Valentin, current Director of the hotel, a nothing nostalgic.

With the second world war, the Golf-Hotel Le Beauvallon found his vocation of military hospital. It is successively occupied by the French army, by the Italian Navy, and then by the Germans, before be invested by the Allied troops landed on August 15, 1944. New work under the auspices of new owners and reopened at the time when place the boom of the Saint-Tropez jet - set. The Beauvallon attracts those who want to remain calm and enjoy a seaside establishment while having quick access to the tropéziennes night Follies. Towards the end of the 1960s, the hotel accuses his age. The rooms do not all have their own bath room and major work is needed.

But its owners focus more on the sale of the lands of the area of Beauvallon. In the 1970s, the institution is even entrusted to the French League of education, which organizes courses and internships. In 1983, he finally surrendered to the Swiss group Richemont, which is very investing and gives the site its current configuration. The number of rooms from 120 to 70, including a suite of 120 square metres, a large terrace is located on the south facade, the Rotunda in edge of sea until then dedicated to the cabins of bath comes complete with a large terrace and turns restaurant with pool and space nearby fitness. A new conflict is however give a fatal blow to this universe of luxury. The consequences of the Gulf war, sparked in January 1991, are very fast sensitive and the hotel closed its doors. Richemont the yield to the Disney group, which plans to create several "resorts" in the world under its sign. These projects will never lead and the Beauvallon remains closed until its acquisition by the Hwang family in 1997. "Heavy restructuring investments had been made and especially, the new owners reviewed decoration and landscaping of the gardens in accordance with the principles of feng shui and often more Asian than Mediterranean colours", notes Olivier Valentin. Celadon green walls of the living room, large wall hangings, Chinese statues... Now the hotel, which has no classification, claims a seaside vocation upscale and family, away from the jet - set terrace but offering the opportunity to visit the famous port in a few minutes, thanks to the maritime shuttle implemented in 1998. Open from April to late October, he uses up to 120 people in the high season.