St Tropez, France

Le Mas de Chastelas

Price per night from$428.54

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR400.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Le Mas de Chastelas Photos

Style

Pared-down Provençal pad

Setting

Glitz-free Gassin

Explore

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Guarded by wrought-iron gates just outside St Tropez, laid-back Le Mas de Chastelas hotel is a family-friendly hidey-hole away from the crowds – and a secret worth keeping. Within easy reach of Pampelonne Beach, this relaxed mansion has held onto its historic holiday charm (the former vineyard and silkworm farm has been a hotel since the 1960s) but is laid-back and low-key enough to feel at home.

Smith Extra

Get this when you book through us:

A bottle of wine and a box of local sweets

Facilities

Photos Le Mas de Chastelas facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Twenty-three, including nine suites. Deluxe Room Bastides and Palladienne Suites can interconnect.

Check–Out

Noon. Earliest check-in, 4pm.

Prices

Double rooms from £378.62 (€440), including tax at 10 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of €3.00 per person per night on check-out.

More details

Rates don’t include breakfast, but a buffet is available (€30 for adults; €15 for children).

Also

In-room massages can be arranged on request, and the minibars store emergency sugary snacks (Gummy Bears, Toblerone) for when only a treat will do.

Hotel closed

Annually from mid-October until mid-April.

At the hotel

Two tennis courts, a library, and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: a flatscreen TV, a box of Calins de Saint-Tropez biscuits, a minibar, fridge and L'Occitane bath products.

Our favourite rooms

Guests have a choice of rustic rooms and more modern ones, spread across three buildings: the original mas (mansion) and the two newer villas (Toscane and Palladienne). In the villas, each room has a loggia or balcony; some are blessed with both. Families on a search for space should opt for one of the rooms in the Villa Palladienne: most have a separate living room with sofa beds, and plenty of space for a cot. Request a ground-floor room in this villa for direct access to the lawn.

Poolside

Lush cypress trees surround the lengthy heated pool, and there are secluded sunbathing spots that offer privacy. There’s no lifeguard on duty at the serene pool, so Smiths staying with little ones will need to keep a watchful eye from their sleek, stone-coloured sunlounger; there’s a box of toys and inflatables for children to plunder.

Packing tips

Ensure your crisp tennis whites are tucked into your suitcase.

Also

Reserve a space on the hotel shuttle that ferries guests between beaches and the centre of St Tropez from 8am until 10am, May to September.

Pet‐friendly

Small, well-behaved dogs can stay for €50 a night, and the hotel will gladly provide bowls for them. See more pet-friendly hotels in St Tropez.

Children

Welcome. Children are also given a box of light and luxurious Calins de Saint-Tropez biscuits (studded with chocolate chips and nougat) on arrival. Please note that, in accordance with French law, children in pools must be supervised at all times.

Overview

Le Mas de Chastelas near St Tropez combines grown-up escapism with beach-and-bucket fun for the children. Just a short drive from the jetset-favoured resort, the hotel feels a million miles away, thanks to its low-key, understated charms. Don’t expect glitz and glam: this boutique stay is luxe but laid-back – somewhere relaxed families who are happy to entertain their own children can make the most of the fantastic food and beautiful beaches in the surrounding area. Traditional Provençal touches keep the decor authentic – and despite the grand setting, you won’t worry about toddlers running wild. Dip into the decadence over in St Tropez, but the serenity at Le Mas de Chastelas is what will be winning the points for a rejuvenating family holiday.

Best for

Children of all ages.

Recommended rooms

Families on a search for space should opt for one of the rooms in the Villa Palladienne, or interconnecting rooms in the Villa Toscane. Cots for babies are free; under-12s stay in parents’ rooms on extra beds for €80 a night.

Crèche

Le Mas de Chastelas may not have a kids club or crèche, but a heated swimming pool and tennis courts in the hotel's attractive grounds, and proximity to the lovely beach at Pampelonne mean family fun in the sun is never far away.

Activities

Older children will enjoy the various local beaches, sleek boats and buzz of nearby St Tropez.​ Les Jumeaux Beach Club at Pampelonne Beach has been a prime sun-and-surf spot for 20 years. The only reason to shift from your sunlounger (other than to oversee your children) will be to grab a bite at the excellent restaurant (book ahead if possible). Kids who love garish rides and crazy golf will enjoy the nearby Azur Park (you may not, but that's theme parks for you). It has a Tropical Golf course dotted with models of prehistoric animals, dodgems, mini-rollercoasters, log flumes and all the fun of the fair.

Swimming pool

There's a heated swimming pool with a chest full of toys and inflatables at one end, but no lifeguard on duty (so parents must supervise littles); staff have been known to bring an inflatable dinosaur over to fledgling swimmers in the pool unprompted.

Meals

Children are welcome in the restaurant, which has dedicated children’s dining options on the menu, at all times and a frill-free selection of burgers and sandwiches will appeal to a less-discerning palate. Highchairs are provided, but you’ll need to bring a bib if you want one. Colouring books can appear on request if kids start to get distracted, but there are not a lot of toys on tap, so you might want to come equipped if you fancy a lingering feast. Alternatively, staff are happy to bring your food to you by the pool, or anywhere in the grounds, which makes light work of little lunches.

Babysitting

Babysitters are available for €20 an hour; to guarantee availability, it’s wise to book at least 24 hours in advance.

No need to pack

The hotel has a stash of baby bath products, crayons, paints, paper, board games and swimming aids.

Also

The hotel doesn’t have monitors to loan out, but your own will work if you’re staying in the main house, and are handy if you want to sit on your terrace or balcony. Children are also given a box of light and luxurious Calins de Saint-Tropez biscuits (studded with chocolate chips and nougat) on arrival.

Food and Drink

Photos Le Mas de Chastelas food and drink

Top Table

During colder months, the romantic chandeliers invite you inside; though in summer, you’ll want to be out beneath the shade of the verandas, to shield from the St Tropez sun.

Dress Code

Laid back French elegance.

Hotel restaurant

La Table du Mas serves mostly alfresco meals out on the pool terrace. Expect French classics, as well as some interesting incarnations of more exotic ingredients for adventurous types. Bespoke food requests can be accommodated provided the chef has a day’s notice – great if you're hankering for a special-occasion seafood feast; ask nicely and he’ll be able to whip up something to suit. The delicious Continental buffet breakfast uses only the freshest ingredients, including croissants, cold meats, yoghurts and cereals, and is laid out between 8am and noon. Juices and milk are also available.

 

 

Hotel bar

Relax at Le Bar with a speciality champagne cocktail, sipped to the sound of chilled-out lounge and jazz music – unless a guitarist or pianist has been booked in, as they are regularly in summer. Ice-cream floats will attract the kids’ attention by day, but the bar area is a more grown-up affair le soir.

 

Last orders

Food is available from 8am until 11pm, so you can be master of your mealtimes. The bar calls time at 1am.

Room service

Available 24 hours a day. Options include smoked salmon on toast, burgers and French onion soup, as well as simple snacks for children, such as sandwiches.

Location

Photos Le Mas de Chastelas location
Address
Le Mas de Chastelas
2, Chemin de Chastelas Quartier Bertaud
Gassin
83580
France

Le Mas de Chastelas on the French Riviera is in Gassin, a small village just outside of St Tropez and close to the family-friendly Pampelonne Beach.

Planes

The region’s best-connected airport is Nice (www.nice.aeroport.fr), roughly 90 minutes away by car. BA flies here from London Heathrow (www.ba.com). You can pick up a hire car at the airport; several outfits are represented, including Sixt (www.sixt.com) and Avis (www.avis.com). Closer is Toulon airport, just under an hour’s drive away. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies here from London Stansted.

Trains

Saint-Raphael-Valescure station is 38 kilometres away; a transfer arranged through the hotel will cost €150 a car. For journeys from other destinations in France, see SNCF (www.sncf.com) for details of routes. Eurostar runs services from London, with a change in Paris (www.eurostar.com).

Automobiles

Le Mas de Chastelas is just off the main road leading to St Tropez and well signposted – look out for the nine flags at full mast or the Bertaud Belieu vineyard. There’s free valet parking ready for your arrival, as well as a shuttle bus to ferry you to the centre of St Tropez and the local beaches. If you want more freedom to get around an explore on your own timetable, a hire car will come in handy. The nearest major road to head north is the D93.

Other

Boats operate between Saint Raphael and St Tropez at certain times of the year (www.tmr-saintraphael.com). For those arriving by chopper, Grimaud Heliport is six kilometres away.

Worth getting out of bed for

Work on your serve on one of the hotel’s two tennis courts, or potter gently round the pool. The hotel is in Gassin, a quiet village that’s a short drive from St Tropez, and golden beaches, polo, golf and, of course, a stop at the most fabulous fishing village on the Med should form a part of your itinerary. Take the hotel's free shuttle bus (May–September) or drive into St Tropez to admire the mega-yachts in the marina, or spend the day at Les Jumeaux Beach Club at Pampelonne Beach, which has been a prime sun-and-surf spot for 20 years; the only reason to shift from your sunlounger (other than to oversee your children) will be to grab a bite at the excellent restaurant (book ahead if possible). Tee off at the Gassin Golf and Country Club, or canter into the sunset on horseback with a ride arranged by the local polo club, Haras de Gassin.

If you fancy a further-flung and more peaceful foray, why not head to Porquerolles Island for a day – it's a beautiful, car-free isle with golden beaches and a pretty timeless village; take the boat from Hyères, a 50-minute drive from St Tropez. Up the energy-expenditure levels by hiking or hiring bikes there.

 

 

Local restaurants

From March through September, head to La Verdoyante in Gassin. In a grand Provençal setting, this country house restaurant specialises in ‘terroir’ cooking; expect homely, traditional dishes, but with effortless contemporary flair – give the chef 24 hours’ notice, and you’ll be tucking into the best bouillabaisse on this coast, out on a terrace facing the lush countryside. In St Tropez, lively Pizzeria Bruno on Rue Eglise mixes Italian staples with French touches, and there’s plenty of choice for children – including inventive sweet pizzas for pudding.

 

Hotels nearby

Villas nearby