Hotel Benkiraï is a chic, sober-yet-playful design hotel that is currently lending a more contemporary edge to St Tropez's flash-trash reputation. Remodelled by French designer Patrick Jouin (commissioned by Alain Ducasse to design both Spoon Byblos and the Plaza Athénée), this once-modest, family-run hotel on the outskirts of town has been transformed into a smart, minimalist haven. There are 39 bedrooms and three suites built around multi-level terraces made from benkiraï, a rich-red Indonesian wood. It is quietly hip, geared to a discreet, international crowd with a taste for exotic cocktails taken poolside rather than parading with the bronzed and beautiful at Club 55. The cornflower-blue bedrooms and white bathrooms are small, spare but comfortable. Everything from white lacquered nightstands to the modular blue sinks with matching blue soap puts the fun into functional. Come sunset, the mood turns festive when showbiz and music-industry types flock to the restaurant for Thai chef Oth Sombath's exquisite specialities: crispy shrimp macaroons with pineapple sauce; steamed salmon wrapped in banana leaves; and chocolate spring rolls for pudding.
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