STÉPHANE PERSONENI : DIRECTEUR GÉNÉRAL DE L'HÔTEL BYBLOS

Already four decades that this wonderful establishment has shone. Many amongst you have participated in a great number of these historic years and it now falls to us, together, to author the follow on.
The Byblos surges and overflows with positive energy unlike no other. As a proud captain on his grand ocean-bound liner, it is my daily pleasure to step forth onto its decks.
Numerous innovations (Spa / Image / Uniforms / Customer services / Technology…) and magnificent events (catwalks/ gala evenings/ concerts) will punctuate every one of the month of this fortieth year.

History

1967-2007 Byblos: a legendary 40 years

Born of the boundless imagination of a Lebanese hotelier, the Byblos Saint-Tropez has, since 1967, been a luxurious oasis of international renown.
Its history is one of passion. 1967 - 2007: 40 years of adventure, fervour, and celebration…
Become part of the legend

Byblos,in the beginning

Byblos, the ancient and noblest Phoenician city, the “Mother of writing”, the inspiration in name for the World's best-selling book: the Bible.
Europa, the Phoenician princess, seduced and carried off by a white bull: the amorous God Zeus transformed.
Symbol of passion and exaltation, she has become the figurehead of the hotel she inspired: the Byblos itself encircles a mosaic representing “the abduction of Europa by Zeus”.
One owes both this witty tessellation of place and person and the original inception of the Byblos, to Jean-Prosper Gay-Para, a Lebanese developer. Owner of two of Beirut's largest hotels and the renowned nocturnal establishment “Les Caves du Roy”, he dreamt of “a palace unlike any other on the Mediterranean”.

Let there be Luxury

In 1967, it took a true aficionado of the Var coast to convince the village folk here, that the construction of a luxury hotel on the city's highest hill right beside the ancient citadel, was not to be a work of lese-majeste.
Some local sensibilities were lukewarm to the idea, but the village like Europa herself, let itself be gently seduced. "This will be a new departure for Saint-Tropez," wrote its mayor, Jean Lescudier. "The flood of international society will find here the luxury and comfort it demands … A comfort that Saint-Tropez will presently be able to offer all year round."
And so began the huge construction of this Phoenician hotel in Saint-Tropez styling, a challenging architectural genre far removed from that of the luxury hotels of Cannes and Monte Carlo.
Surrounding himself with a team of accomplished professionals - three architects: Messrs Auvrignon, Monnin and Sicardon, and two decorators: Messrs Denis and
Sassouni for the night club, the extraordinary adventure began.
Covering an area of 5,500m2 (60,000 square feet), the hotel resembles a typical Provence hamlet. An assemblage of small structures, embodying all manner of details and eccentricities. Roman roof tiles and layered tile cornices, in the manner of the region; wrought iron balconies and facades in vibrant colour; fountains and small paved squares; a centuries- old olive tree, palm trees, bougainvilleas and jasmine; a courtyard, a sizeable swimming pool, a wet bar; shops under the arcades; a couple of restaurants and a night club. Hard to envisage a more complete catalog of amenities for the luxury hotel that thought itself a village.

The splendours within

Further delights and enchantments await within. A similar lineament follows through from outside, never stalling in caliber nor in creativity. Gay-Para, an aficionado of culture and archaeology, wanted to create “a place of enchantment filled with a treasure trove of furniture, ancient mosaics and antique statues… where all the legends and the beauty of the Mediterranean could be combined in something of a permanent celebration". He very much succeeded. A true maze of corridors, staircases, recesses and balconies, the Byblos intermittent
ly reveals and conceals its surprises. Meandering, one might happen across a room with the appearance of a sumptuous cavern, adorned in damask; or a patio decorated with ceramics, heavy with jasmine and the murmuring of water; an exquisite small Phoenician living room; Roman bas-reliefs and busts, accompanying others from ancient Greece. Yes, the Mediterranean, mother to the many cultures of her shoreline, is here, each and every wave depositing more of the beauty she's nurtured over millennia, from the Middle East to Provence.
That same Provence, which accompanies you back to your room, with her exquisite patinas, her venerable furnishings, her noble colours; never resorting to that heavy-handed caricature of yellows and blues.
As for the night club, "Les Caves du Roy”, with its play of light and towering statues, it is quite simply, Majestic!

Open, Sesame!

On the 27th of May, 1967, a thousand guests were present at the inauguration of the Byblos, and numerous amongst them were leading figures from political, artistic and literary circles. The full team was present to welcome the invited throng hailing from Saint-Tropez, Paris and the Lebanon, and at their head, Jean-Prosper Gay-Para accompanied by Médéa his wife, and manager Francis Ducluzeau. Amongst the crowd was the writer Françoise Sagan, the Academician René Clair, and Maurice Escande, director of the Comédie Française, France's bestknown theatre company; Bernard and Annabel Buffet, Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Barclay, the Mayor of Saint-Tropez, Jean Lescudier, Mr. and Mrs. Jean-Paul Roy, Prefect of the Var, and Gerard Khoury, the Lebanese director of tourism; Alexandre, prince of hairdressers and hairdresser of princesses, Paco Rabanne, Jean Cacharel, and Lucien Barrier of the Casinos of Cannes and Deauville. And of course, let us not forget the two leading lights of this place and of the event: Brigitte Bardot and Mireille Darc. Guests, all of whom were enchanted both by what they saw and by the sumptuous evening.
The celebrations were to become continuous. Just a couple of months later, Les Caves du Roy were similarly inaugurated: Jacqueline Veyssière and Cissé the gatekeeper, threw open the doors to the temple and a thousand-strong horde again filled the place. That evening was to define Les Caves du Roy: the highlight of any night in Saint-Tropez, and exalted amongst the world's nocturnal revellers.

A second beginning

With the advent of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Jean-Prosper Gay-Para decided to return to Beirut to manage his hotels there. And, to sell the Byblos. The challenge of carrying forth the legacy would fall to Sylvain Floirat, a self-made man of modest origins. Though already the head of several companies, including Breguet Aviation, Matra, Europe 1, and the Compagnie Française de Télévision; he became, on the 19th of September 1967, the new owner of the Byblos.
So began a new story. The story of a family with an ethic of perfection and excellence, and from the start, an ambition to make of the Byblos a rare place, where the international club could find a haven of refinement. The new owners then soon envisaged a winter counterpart to the Saint-Tropez Byblos: 1984 saw the inauguration of the Hotel Byblos des Neiges - the "Byblos of the Snows" - in Courchevel 1850. The same team, previously under the long-time direction of Claude Marret, who died tragically
in an aircraft accident, imbues one and other place with the same genial spirit. Whether framed by sea or mountain, the only question is: “To Be…blos, or not to be”.

Still the adventure continues

Continually improved and embellished, the hotel is ever-changing all the while remaining true to its fabled origins.
Always eccentric, ever more luxurious, proffering the same graceful welcome to notables and jet set, film shoots and exhibitions, modish concerts and charity auctions. Antoine Chevanne, greatgrandson of Sylvain Floirat, further vivifies the Byblos tradition with an ongoing infusion of fresh trends.
All bodes very well for a further forty years…

Suite Riviera

Created in 2003, The Riviera Suite offers the ultimate in luxury and space at The Byblos.

Over looking the swimming-pool, this 180 sqm suite with a large living-room, two bedrooms including one with its own private terrace, and three bathrooms has been decorated from Mediterranean inspiration, to create a both warm and elegant atmosphere.

Suite Duplex

With bedroom on upper floor open throughout the lounge area, these two levels accommodations offer a garden view.

Fully equipped, each of them is different and measures between 35 and 75 sqm.

Suite Deluxe

With a garden or a swimming-pool view, these rooms offer an extreme comfort and luxury, thanks to a large living-room and a very comfortable bedroom, in a smart and elegant atmosphere.

They measure from 65 to 80 sqm

Junior Suite

With either a garden or a street view, and measuring from 35 to 45 sqm, major part of Junior Suites have been renovated in 2005.

All of them are different, but decorated from the nearby Mediterranean inspiration, and fully equipped

Chambre

Located throughout the hotel, and measuring from 20 to 35 m2, these rooms offer either a garden or a swimming pool view.
Fully equipped, a large part of them have been recently renovated, to make each room different.

SPA

Discovering the « Soins Essentiels Spa » by Sisley is to let yourself go in the sensorial world of an exceptional brand well-known for the efficiency and high quality of products. You benefit from an exceptional « savoir-faire » and the experience from a luxurious brand known for using the best of the essential oils and plant extracts… for the best of cosmetics. In the word « Essential » is the word « Essence », suggesting the aromatic way of the treatment, but also the word « Sense », expressing all the sensorial pleasures you feel during the unique experience of a Sisley treatment. It combines massage rituals from everywhere in the world that are created with the respect of local traditions, and the power of aromatherapy to re-join body and soul. There are several versions of the “Soin Essentiel Spa” for face and body; each treatment has its own specific manual techniques designed with precision to answer every skin type.

Fitness

At the Byblos, where pleasure and sensuality are elevated to an ethos, the ultimate in fitness equipment is available for your well-being.

In choosing Technogym® and its unrivalled technology, we've made available a whole new dimension in finding and achieving your personal fulfilment and equilibrium.

Bayader

In the heart of « the Byblos village », the Bayader compose a Mediterranean and colourful cuisine orchestrate by Christophe Fiorino, local fishes and sunny vegetables served with our best wines from around the peninsula of Saint Tropez.

Fausto our Maître d’hôtel as a perfect host is proposing you pastas as you like it, so simply.

Bar

4 cl of live music, 3 cl of cocktail, 2 cl of poolside, everything chilled in the cocktail shaker…

You are at the Byblos Bar, comfortably seated at the terrace ready to succumb for the taste of the tropezian nights.

Séminaire

If you need to organize a high-level board meeting, incentive, or intimate gathering, and require top entertainment, an imaginative theme party or a private estate for an intimate dinner, rely on the local knowledge of our expertly trained staff to arrange the very best experience available..

Coordonnées

Accès