Wow! I think we may have found one of the best hotels on the Côte Azur ! Off the beaten path is…read moreHotel La Calanque with its stunning views overlooking a small cove with sail boats and calm seas. Honeymoon or weekend getaway.

This is my secret haven and I hesitate to share... for it's perfectly located, perfectly serviced,…read moreand everyone treats you with kindness and grace, even if you are a rude American who sometimes forgets to say, "Bonjour, Monsieur!" or "Bonjour, Mademoiselle," as you enter the lobby. Walk to all, shuttle to Pampelonne, and definitely dine at La Ponche. Hotel de Paris is perfection.

Beautiful hotel at the entrance of Saint Tropez, across from the Chanel House with beautiful roof…read moretop lounge and swimming pool. They speak fluently French and English. Everyone was polite, friendly, and accommodating, and gave us free champagnes on the rooftop lounge while waiting for our room, and when we got to our rooms, it was fresh and clean. Room service was so fast, readied in 20 minutes, where we ordered truffle cod, risotto, pizza and fries. They also gave us a large basket of bread, as it is a must in France, and every condiment possible. I could have been full with just the bread basket and all the butter. Everything was fresh and delicious. Reception was fast to check us in and out, the concierge was helpful in recommending and booking a lunch at the Tahiti, after learning that we like somewhere calm and good for swimming. The hotel shuttle took us to the beach, free of charge, and on return, we didn't have our phone, so the Tahiti restaurant happily called the hotel shuttle for us, the shuttle driver also walked all the way inside the restaurent to look for us. Everything was perfect! The drivers are so well dressed and nice. It was just the 2 of us in the shuttle, felt like a private luxury experience. Also, you don't want to drive in Saint Tropez. It's a nightware and parking is impossible. I loved the hotel beach bag, and ask the receptionist for it. It was price at €20, and she just gave it to me for free. That was so nice of her.

Amazing dinner. The lobster appetizer and the seabass were…read moreabsolutely delicious. The lobster was super fresh, perfectly seasoned and the vegetables and coulis served with it incredibly tasty. The seabass might be ky favorite dish. The sauce served with it is incredible: it is light and super flavorful and works remarkably well with the beans and spinach. The decor is amazing and service impeccable. I had gone to 4 michelin star restaurants the days before coming here and I think I prefered this dining over all 4. The only thing I'd skip is the soufflé which was below average.

This restaurant is situated in Gassin, one of the (officially) prettiest villages in Francce. The…read moreviews are superb. The restaurant has an air of being chic but it really just is expensive for food of low quality. My main dish was a 24euro, this fish filet must have weighed like 100g and was accompanied by some white beans, no potato, no french fries no other veggies. The bouillabaise was just SAD. It contained 5 tiny mussels, and that was all the sea food, no other fish of crustaceae. We left after our main dish, not wanting to pay too much for dessert as well. Don't go here because it just looks good, you still want nice food for your 120euros.

Told us they allow dogs but we couldn't bring our small service dog to the beach or the pool. She's…read morevery well trained, it was the end of the day, everyone was leaving anyway so really no one would have cared but they couldn't show any flexibility or understanding, even though we paid over $1000/night. Not to mention that service dogs are allowed everywhere but I won't get into the legality of their policy right now. Really disappointed. This is not the kind of service you expect from a place like this. I've never been treated this way anywhere. We couldn't get a refund either, even though we had to check out minutes after checking in. This is just not how you run a luxury hotel. The pool was packed with screaming kids anyway, and so was the beach, which is very small strip of land. The sand is rocky / not soft. Needless to say we will not be coming back. The original La Pinede was in st Tropez and is now Cheval Blanc. Not sure what this was.

I strenuously advise ordering the food that I got listed below... and perhaps the rest of the menu…read moreis too be avoided too. The specifics of my experience: Waitstaff: Poorly attentive. They sprinted at you with each food delivery, threw it down, and scampered away before you could so much as ask for butter for the bread or cheese for the risotto. I had to get up each and every time to seek out waitstaff to serve my needs. 14 euro: Mixed octopus- squid with "local" seasoning. A five bite portion of mentioned seafood drenched with heavy, unpleasant olive oil. A quarter cup or olive oil remained in the bowl when I was done. Worse than what might be found in a Vegas buffet. 31 euro: langoustine risotto- 10 bites of rice that was overpowered by an excess of herbs that left the dish tasting like pencil shavings. 4 bites of overcooked langoustine also overly seasoned with too much salt. The manager responding to all of the copious negative reviews on TripAdvisor keeps mentioning that their pricing is equivalent to the local restaurants. But the local restaurants are not serving small portioned one star quality food. I live in Manhattan and I am used to high prices and small portions. But this food and service is diner quality masquerading as a five star restaurant.