Hotel of the Week: This Incredible Property Near Cannes Transforms a Circa-1630 Château

The gentle pastel decors of the hotel’s interiors, which recall some of the paintings that Matisse and Renoir did when they lived nearby in Nice and Cagnes-sur-Mer, were chosen by Marie-Christine Mecoen, a former antiques dealer who’s now the interior designer for Millésime Collection hotels, the small French chain of restored historical properties of which the Château de Théoule is a part. The ochre rocks and Mediterranean vegetation of the surrounding Massif d’Estérel were another source of inspiration for Mecoen, and every room is named for a different local herb, including rosemary, thyme, and lavender.

Mecoen also sourced a variety of vintage pieces for the property and commissioned custom-made linen curtains from the French brand Maison de Vacances, along with buying other fabrics and objects from Courant Sauvage, Jean Vier, Mis en Demeure, and Labyrinthe.

Tucked away in beautifully landscaped gardens overlooking the Mediterranean, the hotel’s best amenity is its Plage Blanche beach club, a well-groomed strand of white sand with well-spaced sunbeds and umbrellas facing the Bay of Cannes. Waiter service from the hotel’s Plage Blanche beach restaurant makes it a perfect place to spend a lazy day getting lost in a good book between swimming, sunning, snacking—don’t miss the pissaladière, an open tart of sautéed onions, black onions, and anchovies—and sipping, maybe a well-chilled local rosé from the surrounding Var region.

Mareluna, the hotel’s main restaurant, serves outdoors on a water-view terrace when possible and offers dishes like rock lobster pasta with herbs and a refreshing dessert of olives, yuzu, lemongrass, and elderflower. The hotel’s three-room Ec(h)o spa uses Clarins and Kos Paris products for massages and skin.

Oh, and yes, you want a room with a view, a sea-view.

See more images below: