Article and selected photos by Dylan Clements‍

We visited Byblos Saint-Tropez in April 2026 to see what had changed ahead of the summer season. A member of The Leading Hotels of the World, Byblos has been part of Saint-Tropez since 1967 and is one of those hotels with such a loyal following that it could probably get away with doing very little. Many guests return year after year, often for the same dates and even the same room.

What impressed me was how little they seem to rely on that reputation. Byblos closes every winter and uses the break to go through the hotel from top to bottom. Paintwork is redone, furniture repaired, fabrics replaced, rooms refreshed and the public areas brought back into shape before reopening. When we visited in April, the whole place looked immaculate. There was not a cushion out of place.

That level of upkeep is a big part of why Byblos still feels so good. It would be easy for a hotel this established to coast on its name, but instead it feels like they reset the property every year before the season starts.

Byblos Saint-Tropez Virtuoso benefits

One of the main reasons to book Byblos through us rather than just booking direct online is that eligible stays can receive Virtuoso benefits.

Current benefits include:

• Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
• Daily breakfast for up to two guests per bedroom, served in the restaurant
• Complimentary lunch or dinner for two people per room, once during the stay, excluding alcohol, taxes and gratuities, with a minimum three-course meal and value of US$100
• For stays of seven nights or more, a US$200 Food & Beverage credit during the stay
• Early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability

Breakfast is already included in Byblos rates, so that part is not an extra saving, but the lunch or dinner benefit, upgrade priority and early or late timing can all be useful.

For stays of seven nights or more, the US$200 Food & Beverage credit replaces the lunch or dinner benefit and is not combinable with it.

The location is one of the biggest reasons I like Byblos

The location is also something I think gets overlooked when people compare Byblos with some of the newer hotels around Saint-Tropez. You are right in town. You can walk out of the hotel and be at Place des Lices, the port, restaurants, bars and shops within minutes.

For me this is a huge advantage. Saint-Tropez traffic in summer can be awful and I do not want to spend a holiday organizing cars every time I want to go for dinner. At Byblos you can spend the day around the pool, walk into town for lunch, come back, have a drink, then walk out again for dinner. No taxis, no transfers, no sitting in traffic.

You still get the feeling of being at a resort once you are inside the hotel, but you are not cut off from Saint-Tropez. That combination is one of the main reasons I continue to like it so much.

What’s new at Byblos Saint-Tropez?

The two biggest recent changes are the Sky Bar, which opened last year, and the latest group of suites designed by Laura Gonzalez.

The Sky Bar sits above the main building and has some excellent views across the hotel and over Saint-Tropez. It works especially well around sunset and gives the hotel another option for drinks before dinner. Byblos already has its nightlife side through Les Caves du Roy, but the Sky Bar is a very different experience and I think it fits the hotel well.

The new Laura Gonzalez suites

The bigger change inside the hotel is the addition of eight new suites designed by Laura Gonzalez, the Paris-based architect and interior designer. Three of the eight are duplex suites.

We saw several of the new rooms while we were there and I liked them a lot. Importantly, they do not look like somebody has come in and tried to turn Byblos into a completely different hotel. There is still plenty of color, pattern, texture, woven furniture and slightly eccentric detail. They feel newer, but they still feel like they belong at Byblos.

I was relieved by that because there is a tendency with luxury hotel renovations to strip everything out and replace it with pale stone, beige furniture and the same lighting you could find in twenty other hotels. That has not happened here.

No two rooms at Byblos are really the same

This is also one of the most important things to understand before booking Byblos. The rooms vary a lot.

Some have terraces, some have better views, some have much larger sitting areas, some are quieter, and three of the new suites are duplexes. Even within similar categories there can be quite a difference in layout and position.

This is why I would not book Byblos based purely on the category name and square footage. If you want a terrace, tell us. If you are sensitive to noise, tell us. If you want to be close to the pool, or as far away from it as possible, tell us. If you have stayed before and loved your room, give us the room number.

We can speak directly with the hotel about this. At Byblos that can be much more useful than simply booking a category online and hoping for the best.

The rooms that were not renovated this year still look great

Not every room at Byblos was part of the latest renovation and I would not be worried about that at all. We looked at some of the existing rooms as well and they still looked very good.

This goes back to the winter maintenance. The hotel does not seem to wait until a room looks tired before doing something about it. In some cases I would rather have an older room with the right terrace or location than one of the newest suites in a position I liked less.

The public areas still have loads of detail

One of the other things I like about Byblos is that there is always something to look at. It does not feel like an entire hotel was ordered from one design studio in one go.

There are different tiles, fabrics, bits of carved stone, painted walls, unusual furniture and decorative details throughout the hotel. Some of it is more traditional, some more colorful, some slightly eccentric. It all works together because the hotel has developed over decades rather than being designed as one big concept.

The Byblos spa

The spa is another good example of this. The main massage room in my opinion is the most beautiful part of the hotel with a rich Lebanese-inspired interior of dark carved wood and patterned walls.

It has far more atmosphere than the standard white treatment room and feels very different from the rest of the hotel.

Byblos Saint-Tropez availability can be difficult

This is probably the main thing people need to know before trying to book the hotel. Byblos has a huge number of repeat guests and many return for the same weeks every year. Some also request the same individual rooms.

As a result, July and August can fill very early.

I would also not assume that seeing "sold out" online means you should give up. We can speak directly with the hotel, check different room categories, ask about cancellations and place clients on the waitlist. Sometimes there are also ways of making a longer stay work by combining availability across different rooms.

We are already waitlisting Byblos for 2027

If you are thinking about Byblos Saint-Tropez for 2027, now is a good time to start.

We have already begun waitlisting clients for next season and some dates are starting to fill. The regular guests plan early and the most popular dates, particularly in July and August, start getting spoken for long before most people begin thinking about their summer holiday.

Usually, only a 50% refundable deposit is required initially, with the remainder payable closer to the stay. The exact terms can vary by rate and dates, so we will confirm everything before a booking is made.

If you already know your dates, or even roughly when you want to travel, I would get your name down rather than waiting for the full season to appear online.

My take on Byblos

For me, Byblos is still one of the best hotels in Saint-Tropez. A lot of that comes down to the combination of location, atmosphere and the fact that the hotel still feels individual. You can walk everywhere, the rooms all have their own character, the pool area is excellent and the whole property is kept in very good condition.

There are newer and flashier hotels around Saint-Tropez, but very few have the same sense of place. Byblos feels tied to the town in a way that is hard to recreate, and after this visit I came away thinking it is still one of the safest bets in Saint-Tropez if you can get the right room.

The fact that you can walk everywhere is a huge part of the appeal for me. I do not want to spend a Saint-Tropez holiday thinking about taxis every time I want to leave the hotel. At Byblos you can just walk out of the door and you are there.

Planning Byblos Saint-Tropez for next season?

If you are considering Byblos for 2027, I would get your name down early rather than waiting for the hotel to open up fully online.

We are already placing clients on the waitlist for next season, and the most popular dates and rooms are starting to fill. This is especially important if you want July or August, a particular room, a terrace, a quieter location or a room you have stayed in before.

We can speak directly with Byblos, check what is really available, add you to the waitlist where needed and make sure eligible bookings receive the Virtuoso benefits, including upgrade priority, the dining or Food & Beverage credit, and early check-in or late check-out subject to availability.

Usually, only a 50% refundable deposit is required initially, with the balance due closer to arrival, although we will always confirm the exact terms before anything is booked.

There is no booking fee from Clements Travel, and you pay the hotel directly. If you already know your dates, send them to us now. Even if Byblos is showing sold out online, it is still worth checking with the hotel directly.

Contact us today!