A Weekend at Airelles Château de la Messardière, Saint-Tropez
Our main destination for this summer vacation was to attend a wedding in Saint-Tropez. With hotels in Saint-Tropez all ranging around the 1k bar, the hardest of all was to even get a room at a hotel at all. This glitzy seaside town has no shortage of high-end hotels but between the properties, there is a huge difference in offered amenities. While they all charge similar rates, it is up to the added value the individual hotels offer. A good way of ensuring more value is by booking via Virtuoso where you generally always get a credit of 100 USD for extras at the property. Another way of getting a good deal is by booking via American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts as I did. Of all the options I had, I chose the Chateau de la Messardiere because I wanted to stay at an Airelles-branded property and only heard the best feedback about this particular French hotel brand. Furthermore, I read the review of One Mile at a Time about the property and was blown away by how perfect a hotel group can be. For a daily rate of 1,000 euros a night, I had extremely high expectations. To be fair, I have to mention that we received complimentary lunch each day, free pressing for up to ten pieces a day, early check-in and late check-out, 100 USD spa credit and a free upgrade. At check-in, I was informed that half of the benefits were unavailable due to the hotel being full. In the end, they only granted a late checkout, a free lunch daily and the 100 USD credit at the spa sounded nice but treatments were triple the credit. So this was the first impression of Airelles Saint Tropez.
Needless to say, it was too late to turn away and I wanted to give the property a try anyway. On the other hand, the complimentary Rolls-Royce transfer to the Jardin Tropezina beach club with complimentary first-row sunbeds in Pampellone came up for a lot. Service-wise the beach club was terrible, the staff was mostly a bit arrogant and on the first day they did not even bring the complimentary water that is offered to hotel guests. Shuttle service between the beach club and the hotel worked properly, every time we called the hotel a car arrived within 10 minutes. Overall, the entire property is in a perfect condition. One can feel that Airelles is going above and beyond to create a one-of-a-kind place that this Chateau earns. Though it is an ongoing project parts of the hotel are still not renovated yet. Yes, the newly renovated rooms and suites look simply stunning. As mentioned earlier, the hotel was fully booked for the wedding and we got the room category we actually reserved four months before. We were allocated a Superior Room overlooking the sea and garden, facing the driveway of the hotel.
It would be a lie to say we didn’t hear any noise during the night but the free bottle of Rosé made us tipsy enough to not hear each Mercedes van passing by underneath our not-properly isolated balcony door. After looking at the images of the new rooms, I have to say our bed and bedding looked very different, though it felt good and it was high-quality linen. The bed on the other hand didn’t make it in my top list of best hotel beds and the storage space in our superior room was very limited of course, measuring a total of 20 square meters after all. Considering the compact bedroom, I was surprised to find a separate shower and toilet inside the spacious bathroom. In general, I was surprised by the comfortable size and layout of the bathroom. There were two huge bath towels per person, an array of guest amenities in a lovely box with only high-quality products, luxurious full-size Blaise Moutin bath amenities and a bathtub plus a window overlooking Ramatoulle. So there is basically nothing bad to say about the condition and facilities inside the Superior Room. Also, the wardrobe was equipped with all the gimmicks that a hotel lover could dream of, eg Airelles branded garment bag and two sun hats to take away.
Generally, the generous array of welcome gifts and amenities came up for the small-sized room and I very much appreciate the touch by the management of the hotel. We received two pyjamas, eye masks, a beach towel, toiletry bags, two beach bags and many more gifts along with one of the Airelles group’s Rosebud rosé wines. Housekeeping was very friendly and happy to accommodate any wish. A little disappointing was the so-called complimentary pressing service. There was no communication about what would be excluded and we had to find out only when we checked out that shirts were not included. This should definitely be communicated properly and probably shirts are the garments most used in Saint Tropez. Also, the minibar is complimentary though they offered only two kinds of snacks throughout the stay and only M&Ms as well as bread snacks. I am sure this is not their entire range of minibar snacks and was very surprised that we only got half of the offering. Turn-down always comes with a daily changing gift and includes tea by Ladurée and a candle with the Airelles’ signature scent.
Obviously, we booked an entry-level room only because we knew that we wouldn’t spend much time inside the room. Chateau de la Messardiere is all about its facilities. There is so much to offer. From a separate kids club below the chateau, two swimming pools on-site, an outdoor and an indoor gym, a spacious and newly-designed spa with an indoor pool to an incredible F&B offer of three dining venues on-site. There is a Matsuhisa venue along with the Italian Carrara Restaurant and the Table de Messardiere. We only tried the Carrara Restaurant and though we loved the view and setting with a live DJ, the food was just average and the Sommelier a disappointment. I wanted to order a mid-range French red wine and she was actively declining every wine under 100 euros, saying „This is not good quality wine“. I question why such a luxury hotel even puts wine on a menu that they do not feel well in selling to guests.
On the other hand, their breakfast buffet is world-class and among the top ten I have ever seen at a hotel. Not to speak about the complimentary lunch that really sets Chateau de la Messardiere apart from any other hotel in Saint Tropez. Guests can choose from a la carte dishes as well as a sumptuous buffet with only high-quality products. We enjoyed oysters, raw tuna, lobster, truffle pizza and desserts to die for! Both breakfast and lunch are served at La Table de Messardiere and offer lovely views of the Pampellone beach. Service was very kind and though Ruinart champagne is included for breakfast, all drinks are to be paid extra during lunch. At this point, I have to say that yes, 1000 euros a night is incredibly expensive. However, for the services and amenities offered at Airelles Saint Tropez, I felt that value for money was right. I would much likely stay at Chateau de la Messardiere again however my willingness to pay remains 1000 euros for a night in a double room. From my point of view, I feel that once the rooms are all up to Airelles standards, prices will start at around 1500 euros a night. Something to bear in mind is their all-inclusive offer which is available from a five-night stay. At the same price as the normal rates, you get breakfast, lunch and dinner at any of the Airelles venues when spending almost a week at the property. This definitely is a great deal and considering that we spent three full days here and didn’t manage to see everything on-site, five nights sounds like the right amount of time to fully enjoy Airelles Saint Tropez Chateau de la Messardiere - one of the best hotels in the world!
