The pool at Hotel Byblos, just one of many wonderful features I missed because of the volcano in Iceland.

The pool at Hotel Byblos, just one of many wonderful features I missed because of the volcano in Iceland.

Disclaimer: The author received nothing complimentary during his research for this article. It wasn’t supposed to be that way.

Last month plate tectonics joined lunar eclipses and Johnny Weir not returning my calls in my top three things I hate but have no control over. From April 23-26 I was supposed to visit Hotel Byblos, one of the few French five-star hotels, in Saint-Tropez on a press trip. But then Iceland decided to pair its economic disaster with a natural one and my butt was stuck in Louisville.

I probably would've slept well in a room like this one.

I probably would've slept well in a room like this one.

Not familiar with Saint-Tropez? Here’s a primer from the sometimes-accurate folks at Wikipedia:

It is located on the French Riviera, and it is known today for its famous and extremely wealthy summertime guests. It has been dubbed the ‘playground to jetsetters, fashion models, and millionaires’, and it is most-enduringly known as the place the iconic Brigitte Bardot “discovered” and for its role in the liberation of southern France during World War II.

A treatment at Spa Byblos by Sisley Cosmetics would've been a great way to recuperate from the stress inherent in luxury travel.

A treatment at Spa Byblos by Sisley Cosmetics would've been a great way to recuperate from the stress inherent in luxury travel.

Not feeling sorry for me yet? Keep reading to discover what I missed out on experiencing at one of UpTake’s celebrity hotels of the week, which is located smack dab in the midst of all that poshness:

  • all of its 44 rooms and 47 suites are uniquely decorated and all have a garden or pool view
  • on-site Byblos Spa by Sisley Cosmetics (a treatment here would have been part of my trip)
  • restaurants Le B. and Le Spoon Byblos, the latter of which has a wine list of more than 300 vintages (and as the restaurants’ names start with “Le,” you know they have to be good)

Open in 2010 from April 1 to October 24, while it’s probably gauche of me even to mention, Hotel Byblos’s rates range from 325 € a night for a single room to “on request” for its Suite Rivieria.

Hotel Byblos
Avenue Paul Signac
83990 Saint-Tropez
France
33-4-94-56-68-00
saint-tropez@byblos.com

Photos: Alas, not taken by me but rather courtesy Hotel Byblos