The 10 Best Luxury Hotels in the French Riviera - AFAR
"While the Riviera coast between Nice and Cannes can feel urban and developed, the Cap d’Antibes peninsula is a haven of greenery. (The Jardin Thuret, which Georges Sand called “the loveliest garden I have ever seen,” was where a 19th-century French botanist experimented with exotic plants; many of them now define the Cote d’Azur landscape.) The Cap d’Antibes Beach Hotel sits right on the sand, the low-slung buildings channeling the midcentury-modern architectural vibe of Palm Springs. For a redesign unveiled in 2023, Belgian architect Bernard Dubois played up the modernist leitmotif with white stucco walls, geometric patterns, and bespoke mahogany tables in the lobby. All the furniture was custom designed in the 35 rooms—from the mahogany closets to the mirror-lined bars. The pink marble bathrooms contrast with gray granite floors. The best room in the house is Le Cap Suite, with a sea-facing terrace and a Jacuzzi in the bathroom. (Deluxe and privilege rooms overlook private gardens or terraces.) Direct access to a beach is rare here—a busy roadway separates hotels from the water in Nice and Cannes—but you can tumble from your room to a pink-cushioned lounger where an attendant sets you up with a towel, parasol, and glass of rosé. (Beach loungers, which cost a premium on the Cote d’Azur, are included in your room rate.) Cool off in the Med or in the small swimming pool, or join a yoga session in one of the garden pavilions (there’s also a pavilion for spa treatments). At sunset, the Baba Bar offers cocktails as electric as the soundtrack. The adjacent Baba Restaurant from Israeli chef Assaf Granit, known for his spirited Paris restaurants, features such tasty items as warm kubaneh bread, fish and seafood shawarma with caramelized onions, and chicken mesachen atop confit vegetables on an amba crepe. Even before the hotel existed, this spot was famed for Les Pêcheurs restaurant, now a Michelin-starred Riviera institution. To put together his menu, chef Nicolas Rondelli fields calls from a local fisherman, who reveals his daily catch." - Mary Winston Nicklin
