Chateau de Théoule: France’s Newest 5 star Destination on the Bay of Cannes

Just 20 minutes outside the bustling streets of Cannes is the quiet town of Théoule-sur-Mer. With limestone cliffs and aquamarine waters this stretch of France's Mediterranean coast is a bit under-the-radar, but no less beautiful than the more popular span from Nice to Cannes. But with Chateau de Théoule, the French Riviera's newest five star hotel perched on Théoules' waterfront, it's set to become a destination in and of itself. We checked in just a couple weeks after they opened, during the Cannes Film Festival which meant Hollywood stars such as Kelly Rutherford (love her!) were there the same week we were. We initially picked Chateau de Théoule to be our base for day trips into Cannes, but things were so crazy with the film festival and we ended up skipping Cannes and just enjoying their gorgeous new property. (Though, if you went almost any other week of the year it would be the perfect base for Cannes!)

The hotel's main building was originally built in 1630 to house a soap factory, though you'd be forgiven for thinking it was a castle, due to the ramparts and turrets that were added by a Scottish Lord in 1910. My favorite part of the property was added by this Scot, a rampart-turned-terrace bar where breakfast is served each morning and cocktails and small bites each night. There are two other fabulous restaurants on the property: Mareluna (beautiful interiors!) and La Plage Blanche, a beach club. Even though we were there during shoulder season the temperatures were in the mid-70s and we loved spending time at the hotel's beach club. There is nothing like eating lunch with your toes in the sand, and in contrast to much of the riviera's rocky beaches, La Plage Blanche had powder soft sand perfect for building sand castles with little ones. The decor and food were the perfect mix of well-considered-but-not-overly-fancy, a perfect spot for wearing your chicest swimsuit and settling in for a long lunch with wet hair. The hotel also had a lovely pool, but when there's a beach nearby I'll always opt to lay in a beach loungers so I can hear the lapping of the water. Bliss!

I should add that the service was extra thoughtful. They had the best baby setup of any place we stayed in this trip and everything was placed in our room ahead of our arrival and we didn't even have to ask for it. From the bassinet, to the soft changing pad to the baby bathtub and cute hooded towel they really went above and beyond to make traveling with an infant as smooth as possible.