La Réserve Ramatuelle

Sybarite Special

Set back on a secluded, leafy country road, the new hotel and spa La Réserve Ramatuelle sits on a bluff overlooking the wild peninsulas of Cap Camarat and Cap Taillat, on the rocky coastline west of Saint-Tropez and the famous beaches of Pampelonne. Exquisitely designed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the hotel offers a series of visual thrills that kick in the moment you step into in the luminous lounge, lined with a wall of bay windows and a mesmerizing vista of umbrella pines, olive trees, cypresses and the shimmering sea.

The sleek, spacious seven rooms and 16 suites are minimalist and deeply comfortable, decked out in a sophisticated array of muted sand-colored furnishings, somber polished woods and king-size beds with fluffy white duvets. Gleaming marble bathrooms offer double sinks, huge bathtubs and separate stall showers. (There are also 12 four-bedroom Provencal-style private villas available that date from the pre-Wilmotte era.)

If you can tear yourself away from the panoramic view as you relax on your private terrace, there's also an inviting 98-foot outdoor pool and a 39-foot indoor pool with a jet lane, but the star attraction is the impressive 11,000-square-foot spa, with 13 high-tech treatment rooms and a fitness center. Sybarites can sign up for six-day programs, planned by a professional staff of doctors and nutritionists, that include hydrotherapy, scrubs, algae and Moroccan mud wraps and energizing massages. Programs can be designed for stress reduction, weight loss, detox or anti-aging. And the products are all from the top beauty line Crème de la Mer.

Even the original breakfasts are a joy, with fresh fruit concoctions and low-calorie cakes whipped up by chef Eric Canino, who trained with Michel Guérard. Canino has also devised appetizing Mediterranean-inspired menus for lunch and dinner. And when you've had your fill of utter peace and the soft symphony of thrumming cicadas, the action of Saint-Tropez is only a 15-minute drive away.

Chemin de la Quessine, Ramatuelle, 04.94.44.94.44. Doubles from 400€. website

Originally published in the September 2009 issue of France Today.

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