The Best New Hotels in the World: 2019 Hot List

"This glitzy Mediterranean playground might not register on the average hipster’s summer-holiday hit list. But last year’s reopening of Épi 1959 could change that. Set away from the hubbub on Ramatuelle beach west of the town proper, and tucked behind the sand dunes, it is the antithesis of loud-money Saint-Tropez. It’s cute, cozy, charming and low-key. There are 10 simple, whitewashed cabins, designed by Madison Cox, the man behind the Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech. If it feels like the riviera of Brigitte Bardot’s heyday, that is precisely the point. The Épi first opened in the late 1950s and for decades it was the destination du jour for stars such as Johnny Hallyday before fading from the limelight. Then last year the place was given a spruce by Italian interior designer Monica Damonte. She turned to old pictures and vintage furniture to recreate the feeling of the golden age. Time travel is not at odds with modern luxuries though. There’s a big focus on food, of course (Épi takes its name from épicerie, or grocery). The restaurant serves the most delicious langoustines and rosé, and smoothies can be delivered by the pool before a knockabout on one of the two clay courts. There’s also an old-school games room in which to take a break from the sun over table-soccer. Though it is tough to resist the deep-blue Mediterranean, so close you can hear the lapping waves. This is the riviera, brought back to its roots. FLASH POINT Guests get allocated space at the pool and staff keep a supply of fresh blueberry and watermelon juice coming. +33 9-6366-8267; epi1959.com. Doubles from about $1,000." - CNT Editors