The legacy of the “Golf Hôtel”: The eventful biography of a Riviera icon

Even before COMO Le Beauvallon on the Gulf of Saint-Tropez opens its doors on 24 April 2026, a brief look into its past reveals that this is far more than an ordinary hotel opening – it is the return of a ​“Grand Dame” whose walls have breathed world history for over a century. In a region now often associated with fleeting luxury, this house stands as a monument to permanence, having endured wars, occupations and the transformation of high society.

The story begins in 1911. Brothers Émile and Edmond Bernheim, influential entrepreneurs from a renowned Jewish family from Alsace, fell in love with an untouched valley opposite Saint-Tropez. At the time, the Bernheims were one of Europe’s defining business dynasties: while Émile and Edmond dominated the Paris real estate market with their ​“Maison Bernheim”, their brother Julien had already laid the foundation for a modern department store empire in Brussels in 1897 – the famous ​“À l’Innovation”.

This entrepreneurial spirit knew no limits. Following the success of their first store on Rue Neuve, the family expanded rapidly, opening further locations in Liège, Verviers, Ghent and Antwerp. It was precisely this spirit of modernity, progress and metropolitan elegance that the brothers brought to the Riviera. They acquired an entire hill and commissioned Swiss architect Julien Flegenheimer – a pioneer of modernism who would later design the League of Nations building in Geneva – to create a palace. Under the name ​“Le Golf Hôtel”, a Belle Époque masterpiece with 100 rooms was completed by 1914, setting new standards for the Côte d’Azur. It was conceived for the Parisian glitterati – but before the first guest could enjoy champagne on the terrace, the First World War changed everything.

Instead of opening the hotel in splendour, Émile Bernheim demonstrated remarkable social responsibility. He placed the newly completed building at the disposal of the French government, and the luxurious property was transformed into the first Red Cross hospital on the Côte d’Azur. Where balls were meant to be held, wounded soldiers were now treated in the grand halls. Only in 1918, after the armistice, extensive renovations and the creation of one of the region’s first golf courses, could the building finally fulfil its intended purpose as a hotel.

In the 1920s, the salons filled with the spirit of the ​“Lost Generation”. F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda became emblematic figures of that era in Beauvallon. Legend has it that Fitzgerald conceived parts of his masterpiece Tender Is the Night within the melancholic elegance of the house – the hotel providing the perfect backdrop for his reflections on the American dream and its disintegration.

Yet Fitzgerald was not the only one to find inspiration here. French playwright Paul Géraldy, after the success of Toi et Moi, took up permanent residence in a fourth-floor room to work in the quiet of the valley. The celebrated writer Colette was also among the regular guests; in her letters, she praised the terraced gardens as the ​“best-kept secret of the Côte d’Azur”. During these years, the hotel was not merely a place of leisure, but a retreat for intellectuals seeking distance from the bustle of Cannes and Nice.

The Second World War once again brought harsh reality to the hotel. It served again as a military hospital and was later occupied successively by Italian and German troops. Behind its façade, however, dramatic events unfolded. Jean Moulin, the legendary coordinator of the French Resistance, used the vast and discreetly located property several times as a secret meeting place. The sheer size of the grounds provided ideal cover for clandestine gatherings, as Moulin attempted to unite resistance groups under General de Gaulle.

This dark chapter ended on 15 August 1944. As part of Operation Dragoon, Allied forces landed on the beaches directly in front of the hotel. American troops advanced inland via the hotel’s own shoreline, while the building stood silently above the bay as a witness to history.

After 1945, glamour returned. The guest list of the post-war years reads like a chapter of world history: Winston Churchill and Lady Churchill found rest here, as did Senator Edward Kennedy with his family and King Mohammed V of Morocco. The hotel once again became a meeting place for power and elegance.

In the 1960s, the property turned into a cinematic backdrop. In 1966, with its distinctive beach club, it served as a filming location for Two for the Road. Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney relaxed in the beach cabins between takes, turning the hotel into a symbol of the modern Riviera lifestyle. The building’s striking architecture also appeared repeatedly in the iconic Gendarme of Saint-Tropez film series starring Louis de Funès.

After the property was acquired by its current owners in 1997, a long phase of transformation began. In 2008, regular hotel operations ceased to allow for a meticulous restoration lasting nearly two decades. Between 2015 and 2025, the estate was used exclusively as a privately bookable residence – a discreet ​“sleeping beauty” phase that only deepened its myth.

The reopening on 24 April 2026 under the direction of COMO Hotels and Resorts now completes the circle. Great care has been taken to preserve the soul of the house. The Feng Shui of the entire 10-hectare estate was optimised by Singaporean grand master Tan Khoon Yong. Upon entering, guests are traditionally invited to strike a gong – a gesture symbolising the transition into the calm and exclusivity of this historic place. Although the interior has been reinterpreted in a contemporary way, Le Beauvallon remains at its core what it has always been: one of the last independent Belle Époque palaces on the Riviera, where history is not just read, but lived.

• Opening: 24 April 2026
• Location: ten-hectare private estate in Grimaud, directly on the Gulf of Saint-Tropez
• Rooms & suites: 42 individually designed units (14 rooms, 28 suites), including the 199 m² COMO Suite
• Culinary concept: led by Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno (18 Michelin stars)
• Signature restaurant: Beauvallon Sur Mer (Asian-Mediterranean influences)
• Wellness: COMO Shambhala concept focusing on holistic therapies and yoga
• Exclusive service: guaranteed 8‑minute boat transfer directly to the port of Saint-Tropez
• Art: over 300 works, including Toyo Ito’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion (2002)

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