Recently, browsing summer travel destinations on Design Hotels, I discovered Hotel Les Roches Rouges, a new seaside resort in Saint Raphaël on France’s Côte d’Azur. Recently renovated by Paris-based firm Festen Architecture, the hotel strikes a balance of pared-down glamour, or what Festen calls “an era of barefoot luxury.” The exterior is grand, perched on the rocky coast above the sea, with balconies, shade sails, and a saltwater pool carved into rock that “harken back to the classic French Riviera style of the late 1950s/early 1960s.” Inside, the 49 guest rooms are stripped-down and simple, with white linens, vintage midcentury finds, ochre chaises, and ocean views. Here’s a look.
![the grand \1950s era hotel is perched on the rocky coast: \2\20;opposite 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-exterior-733x430.jpg)
![the entryway is equal parts streamlined and seaside glamour. 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-entrance-733x430.jpg)
![wide glass doors lead inside. 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-doorway-733x430.jpg)
![inside, a lounge with sconces by guy bareff and midcentury finds sourced b 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-lounge-library-sofas-interior-design-m-01-r-733x430.jpg)
![the guest rooms feature white linens, natural fiber rugs, and balconies with br 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-sea-view-superior-room-733x430.jpg)
![the rooms are whitewashed and simple, with high paneled ceilings. the arch 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-garden-view-junior-suite-733x550.jpg)
![a chaise and throw (from maison de vacances) in deeper shades of gold. througho 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-guest-room-ochre-chaise-733x430.jpg)
![marigold hued pendant lights hang by the bedside (and above a deconstructed min 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-sea-view-superior-room-detail-733x550.jpg)
![in a guest bath: deep teal tiles and enamelware cups. 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-bathroom-teal-tiles-733x412.jpg)
![jaunty red letters—the hotel\2\17;s initials—mark another 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-sea-view-suite-vanity-detail-733x550.jpg)
![the bath in a sea view junior suite has concrete floors and an exposed, no fril 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-sea-view-junior-suite-bath-733x550.jpg)
![in the bath. 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-bathroom-detail-733x412.jpg)
![at la terrasse, one of the hotel\2\17;s two restaurants, an interior din 31](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-restaurant-terrace-ocean-view-733x430.jpg)
![the outdoor dining terrace, strung with globe lights. 32](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-restaurant-dining-terrace-733x430.jpg)
![woven garden chairs and canvas hammocks, for lounging. 33](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-garden-chairs-733x430.jpg)
![the dramatic setting. marseilles based landscape architect stan alaguillau 34](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/hotel-les-roches-rouges-pool-733x430.jpg)
Packing your bags? Mr. and Mrs. Smith advises “Bensimon tennis shoes and soft raglan sweatshirts, when you’re not lounging beside the pools in your French-film-star-inspired swimwear.”
N.B. For more by Festen Architecture, see Kitchen of the Week: An All-Stainless Design in a Paris Loft.
More Mediterranean:
- A Tiny (but Glamorous) Seaside Cabin on the Riviera
- The New Provencal Style: An Artfully Reinvented French Mas
- Expert Advice: How to Decorate Like a Frenchwoman
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