The travel guide to the South of France
The French Riviera, Côte d’Azur, South of France… all names that describe the beautiful stretch of Mediterranean coast line between Mar se ill ea nd Monaco. Home to movie stars and fashion designers, it’ s the holiday destination for all things glamour.
Hollywood, LA, is a pleasant enough place, but there’s no denying that it works hard. Intoxicating energy fizzes everywhere – from the star chasing wannabes pursuing their dreams or movie studio deal makers landing their next award-winning project. The people are working hard, but the city works hard too. Working hard to stay on top, to stay young and to stay alive.
The French Riviera on the other hand, hasn’t done a hard day's work in its life. It was born to be stylish and the glamour that oozes around is effortless and inevitable. It’s not where the bright young things come to make their name, not where reality stars come to be seen. It’s where the movers and the shakers come to be free, to relax and have the fanciest, most stylish fun you may ever come across. If you’re here – then at least on that day, in that moment and with that sip of gloriously bubbly champagne – you know you have made it.
Arriving by plane isn’t quite as dazzling an experience. Nice airport is mundane and bits of Nice itself have become faded. But in less than an hour, you can be transported to whatever version of style, glamour, fun and relaxation you might be searching for.
Fast forward 40 minutes, and you’ll swoop into the the picturesque town of Saint
Jean Cap-Ferrat, where if you’ve chosen your hotel well, then you’ll find yourself entering the gates of the Four Seasons-owned Grand Hotel du Cap-Ferrat. Once inside the glorious reception area, the decor purrs with the sort of decadence that’s at ease with itself, somehow combining tasteful modernity with classic style. Everything is perfect. Nothing feels worn. The ambience would feel timelessly on trend whatever decade you happened to have landed here.
And then there’s the staff. It’s they that make you feel like a legitimate A-lister. Sharply dressed, perfectly groomed and armed with warm smiles – that isn’t even the reason they make such a mark. It’s that they care. It feels genuine. They want you to feel at home, to feel looked after and to enjoy the pampering. With natural serenity, good humour and relaxed understatement – they work hard to make you feel like the centre of the universe.
A couple of nights here is all you need to feel on top of the world. The first night will blow you away but it’s the second night that causes trouble. It’s by the second night that the place starts to feel like home. A home with 73 rooms, and eight of those being extravagant pool suites that let you swim mini lengths in a botanical hideaway. A home with delicious room service that excels itself most at breakfast time. A home with a sea front view you won’t want to leave.
The hotel’s main pool is not something to be missed either. Heading down the cliff in a newly built funicular, you’ll be greeted by a 33-metre salt water pool perfect for lengths or just taking a dip. There’s more sun loungers than the hotel will ever need and if taking in the rays, enjoying a signature mocktail in the famous ‘Club Dauphin’ is more your thing, then it’ll be difficult to drag yourself away. Lazing on a lounger, staring into the Mediterranean’s deep blue waves and wishing your time here doesn’t have to end.