Riviera Season: Where to Stay on the Côte d’Azur

Riviera Summers at Monte-Carlo Beach

Wake early for a swim in the Mediterranean from the hotel’s private beach, eat long seafood lunches beneath striped awnings and spend afternoons journeying between quaint Provençal towns filled with pastel houses, citrus trees and cobbled café terraces. Set at the border of Monaco, though technically Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Monte-Carlo Beach captures a distinctly vivid Riviera style, balancing beach-club culture with the elegance of Monaco.

Amenities and Suites at Monte-Carlo Beach

The private beach is one of the Côte d’Azur’s most iconic, its sensuous curve framed by rows of chic striped cabanas and the hotel’s 1920’s peach-coloured façade beyond. Above it sits the legendary Olympic-sized seawater pool, home to the Monte-Carlo Beach Club, originally opened in 1929, and long considered an institution on the Riviera. There are three restaurants at Monte-Carlo Beach, but the signature restaurant, Michelin-starred Elsa Marcel Ravin, is truly special, elevating distinctive Riviera produce into refined Mediterranean cuisine.

The Monte-Carlo Beach spa — set within a villa cocooned by pines — remains an icon in its own right, offering facials and massages as well as open-air yoga. But if you are looking for more, guests of all Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer hotels receive complimentary access to the Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo.

An Icon Reimagined at COMO Le Beauvallon

After spending almost two decades as an events venue, this historic hotel, once known as Le Golf Hôtel, is back as a new addition to the Riviera, revived by COMO Hotels. The property sits between verdant Provençal hillsides and the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, granting equally effortless access to pine-shaded roads winding through quiet hillside villages and beaches like Plage de Pampelonne. But the history itself is a real draw. Peek into the palace’s past and you meet a history of creatives, dignitaries and stars like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Churchill, and Géraldy.

The Experience at COMO Le Beauvallon

Arrive by boat from Port de Saint-Tropez or anchor in the hotel’s private pontoon if you’re travelling by yacht. From there, the large sun-singed terracotta of the hotel’s façade is swept up in the greenery of the lawns rolling towards the sea, briefly punctuated by a uniform parade of striped parasols set beside the pool.

Rooms and suites are presented in muted natural tones, allowing the Riviera palette of glowing blues and pine greens to pop through the long floor-to-ceiling windows. There are several impressive speciality suites offering space and privacy for families, but if you need a one-bedroom, we suggest the Beauvallon Suite with its room-width window and a generous balcony framing breathtaking seaviews.

The Timeless Allure of Old Nice & Hôtel du Couvent

Walk the winding alleyways of Vieux Nice, and you’ll find the coast’s imposing façades and glitzy beach clubs fade into antique shutters, washing lines suspended over iron balconies and hidden squares perfumed with Provençal herbs — all in an enchanting Italianate style. It’s here, tucked behind stone walls, that Hôtel du Couvent resides, in a beautifully restored 17th-century convent. Enter the courtyard and the noise of the city dissolves, replaced by cool cloisters and terraced gardens.

Gardens, Roman Baths & Suites at Hôtel du Couvent

Hôtel du Couvent’s gardens are among its greatest features, filled with trees, herbs and quiet corners to lose yourself in a book or a glass of wine. Elsewhere, the restaurant flows onto private courtyards, a rooftop pool overlooks the city, and beneath the stone, a Roman bath circuit occupies a former crypt, reimagined for contemporary wellness rituals. Interiors throughout embrace natural materials, antique objects and a monastic simplicity, allowing the architecture to lead.

There are some truly sublime rooms at Hôtel du Couvent, from the small but excellently appointed Clarisses, Colettines and Capucines to the larger Suites de Couvent. But for something a little more special, we recommend two favourites: Le Jardin Marguerite, set within its own private garden, and La Très Grande Suite, with views across the rooftops of old Nice.