Destination: St.-Tropez
Newcomers Text Size A A A
Benkiraï Saint-Tropez
Set back on a quiet, leafy road, Hotel Benkiraï is the first of its kind in St.-Tropez—an ultracontemporary property designed by cool Parisian Patrick Jouin (who also did Alain Ducasse’s Mix, in Las Vegas and New York, and his three-Michelin-starred restaurant at the Plaza Athénée in Paris). The rooms are small and rather spare but also deeply cosseting. Each is divided into a monochromatic Zen-white bedroom and periwinkle-blue bathrooms with cabinets that slide away and transform into sinks. Predictably, high-style rules: everything from the multilevel bar and restaurant decks to terraces that overlook the mosaic-tiled pool and gardens is built with red-hued Benkiraï teak from Indonesia. Jouin’s design is infused with fun: the white-lacquered consoles cleverly integrate a plasma flat-screen TV and DVD player in the rooms, while the crisscross patterns of metal wall lamps create their own unique mood lighting.
Even if you’re not staying here—the small rooms are not for everyone—come for dinner and mingle with the artsy crowd that seems to include all ages and nationalities. The Benkiraï’s restaurant is headed by acclaimed Thai chef Oth Sombath, formerly of Paris’s Blue Elephant, who whips up such dishes as five-flavor steamed salmon wrapped in a banana leaf, duck fillet with red curry and chocolate spring rolls for dessert. Rooms from $605.
Search By Keyword
Popular Destinations
Indagare News Flash
- Win A Trip To the Beach: Enter our sweepstakes to win a trip to Barbados: The Ultimate Resort Destination. Brush up on the latest news with our destination report and learn chic restaurants and local secrets from beauty guru and island insider Jemma Kid.
- Editor’s Picks: Enter our contest to win a couple’s trip to the Mayflower Inn & Spa. We consult the experts on the best ways to navigate Art Basel Miami Beach. Read top tips on Kenya from African designer Anna Trzebinksi. Consult our new insider reports on Phuket and Anguilla. Best bet for skiers: rent a new five-bedroom chalet in Verbier. Join an art lover’s trip to TEFAF in Maastricht with private dinners, visits to collectors and hotel rooms already booked.
- Member Advice: FAQs and major trends to help you navigate the new travel landscape.
- Coming soon: Insider reports on Bangkok and Cabo.
- What’s your travel IQ? Take the quiz USA Today called “a killer” and establish your Indagare quotient.
- Postcards: Family trip to South Africa, a philanthropic trip to Jamaica and a special discovery in Sicily. Submit a postcard.
- Indagare Insiders: Top picks in Delhi from Fiona Caulfield; Marie Brandolini on Venice; the design duo behind Kirna Zabete on shopping the world. Club 55’s Patrice de Colmont on St. Tropez, Eva Lorenzotti on Cairo and Loulou de la Falaise on Paris.
- Reviews: In-depth guides to Buenos Aires, Delhi and Deer Valley.
- Indagare Plus: Remember that hotels marked by an Indagare Plus symbol offer preferential rates and benefits to members.
- Sample Indagare: By signing up for bi-weekly email blasts on new hot spots and insider tips. Join our mailing list.
- News: Indagare named Best Travel Website by Vanity Fair. Read an interview with our founder on Vivre.
- New feature: Members share your profiles, comments, favorite articles and IQs. Just click on the Profile tab on the upper right of your screen and look for the Edit My Profile blue tab.
- Indagare means to discover, explore, seek, scout in Latin.