The French Riviera's Palace Hotels, Explained
France invented a rating above five stars because five stars had stopped meaning anything. Here is who holds it on the Côte d'Azur.
By Biirdee Travel — Luxury Travel Concierge · Updated August 11, 2026
By the late 2000s the French five-star rating had been handed out widely enough to stop distinguishing anything, so in 2010 the state created a tier above it: the Palace distinction, awarded by Atout France on the recommendation of an independent Palace Commission. It is not a star rating with an extra star. It is a separate award, granted for three years, reviewed periodically, and — crucially — revocable. The June 2026 announcement proved the point: it was the first full reassessment in seven years, and the first time in the label's history that any hotel was stripped of it.
Nationwide the list runs to just a few dozen hotels; as of the June 2026 refresh, 33. Around a fifth of them are on the French Riviera, which is the densest concentration outside Paris. If you want a single objective filter for the top of this coast, this is the most useful one available.
What the Distinction Actually Means
- It is a state award, not a star rating — created in 2010 by Atout France and assessed by an independent Palace Commission, above the five-star classification rather than part of it.
- It is granted for three years and can be withdrawn. In the June 2026 review — the first full reassessment in seven years — 27 hotels were renewed, six were added and four were downgraded, the first removals in the label's history.
- One of the four was on this coast: Hotel Byblos Saint-Tropez left the list in 2026. It remains an excellent hotel; it is no longer a Palace.
- Criteria weigh history and location as well as service and facilities — a hotel can be objectively excellent and still not qualify, which is why The Maybourne Riviera is not on the list.
- Monaco has none, and cannot: the Hôtel de Paris and Hermitage are in a different country, and the distinction is a French award only.
- It is a useful filter, not a verdict. Several of the coast's best hotels sit outside the list, and one or two inside it coast a little on heritage.
The Riviera's Palace Hotels
Seven hotels on the Côte d'Azur held the distinction as of the June 2026 refresh, split between the Saint-Tropez peninsula in the west and the capes and hills in the east.
- Hôtel du Cap-Eden-RocCap d'Antibes
The 1870 original in nine hectares — the rock-cut seawater pool, the cabanas, and the hotel every other on this coast is measured against; Oetker Collection
from ~€1,500–2,500/night in peak season
Palace since 2011 — 17 acres of gardens, the Club Dauphin funicular pool, and the longest season of the top tier
from ~€2,000–3,000/night in peak season
Check live rates- Hôtel MartinezLa Croisette, Cannes
Awarded June 2026 — and the first Cannes hotel ever to hold the distinction since the label was created in 2010; the 1929 Art Deco icon with two-starred La Palme d'Or
from ~€700–1,200/night in season
- Cheval Blanc St-TropezSaint-Tropez waterfront
The coast's most intimate Palace — 30 sea-facing rooms, Arnaud Donckele's three-star La Vague d'Or, and LVMH's Riviera maison
from ~€2,200/night in season
Check live rates - Airelles Château de la MessardièreHilltop above Pampelonne, Saint-Tropez
Palace since 2012 — the 1904 château in 13 hectares over the bay, with Airelles theatre and a Piège beach club below
from ~€1,800–3,000/night in peak season
- La Réserve RamatuelleRamatuelle, above l'Escalet
The anti-Saint-Tropez — a white hideaway folded into the hillside with two-starred La Voile and Spa Nescens' longevity programmes; LHW member
from ~€1,100/night in season
Check live rates - Château Saint-Martin & SpaVence, the hills behind Nice
The inland Palace — Templar ruins in 14 hectares of olives, a Michelin-starred table, and the Baie des Anges below; Oetker Collection
from ~€1,000–1,400/night in peak season
Check live rates
The Great Hotels That Are Not Palaces
The list is a filter, not a ranking, and the omissions are instructive. The Maybourne Riviera is among the two or three best hotels on the coast by any measure of room, view or kitchen — but it opened in 2021 and the criteria lean on heritage as well as excellence. The Château de la Chèvre d'Or has held two Michelin stars since 2000 and the most spectacular dinner view in France, and is not a Palace. Nor is Hôtel Cap-Estel, nor the Carlton after its €300m-plus rebuild.
And Monaco is simply outside the scheme. The Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, the Hermitage and the Metropole are in the Principality, not France, so no French award reaches them — a distinction worth knowing before you read a "best of the Côte d'Azur" list that mysteriously omits Monaco.
Palace Hotel FAQs
What is a Palace hotel in France?
A state distinction created in 2010 and awarded by Atout France on an independent panel's recommendation, sitting above the five-star classification. It weighs history, location, architecture and service, is granted for a fixed term, and can be withdrawn on review.
How many Palace hotels are there on the French Riviera?
Seven as of the June 2026 refresh: Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, Hôtel Martinez, Cheval Blanc St-Tropez, Airelles Château de la Messardière, La Réserve Ramatuelle and Château Saint-Martin & Spa — out of 33 nationwide. Hotel Byblos Saint-Tropez was on the list until 2026 and is not any more.
Which hotels lost the Palace distinction in 2026?
Four, the first removals since the label was created: Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, Mandarin Oriental Paris, Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz, and Hotel Byblos Saint-Tropez. Six were added in the same review — Bvlgari Paris, Cheval Blanc Paris, Fouquet's Paris, Four Seasons Megève, Royal Champagne, and Hôtel Martinez in Cannes.
Why is the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo not a Palace hotel?
Because Monaco is a sovereign state and the Palace distinction is a French award. The Monte-Carlo hotels are excluded by geography, not by quality — several would qualify comfortably on any other measure.
Should I only book Palace hotels?
No. It is a strong shortlist and a genuinely useful objective filter, but The Maybourne Riviera, the Chèvre d'Or and Cap-Estel all sit outside it and all belong in the same conversation. Use the list to narrow, then choose on temperament and season.
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