Antoine CHEVANNE DIRECTEUR GENERAL DU GROUPE FLOIRAT PROPRIETAIRE DE L'HOTEL BYBLOS. BYBLOS The capture of Europe by Zeus resembles the Byblos in that they are both real myths. The Byblos is timeless, spanning many decades without succumbing to trendiness and will remain the temple of all the pleasures This magical and prestigious place in the heart of Saint-Tropez, gleaming and relaxing, secret and selective, chic and relaxed, where the most influential people of the world have stayed at least one time in their life - the Byblos and Les Caves Du Roy. But the most beautiful stories will be the ones you will create with us in the heart of the legend Welcome, 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. 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. 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! 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 Medea his wife, and manager Francis Ducluzeau. Amongst the crowd was the writer Francoise Sagan, the Academician Rene Clair, and Maurice Escande, director of the Comedie Francaise, 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 Veyssiere and Cisse 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. 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 Francaise de Television; 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 o...

 Guest rooms have air conditioning
 Luggage storage
 Breakfast may be served in the room
 Rent-a-car service
 Central situation
 Conference and meeting room
 Credit cards accepted
 Dinner may be served in the room
 Lift
 Disabled guests are welcome
 Facsimile services
 Fitness hall
 Games room
 Garage places
 Hairdryer
 Heating
 Access to internet
 Jacuzzi tub
 Laundry services/washing machine
 Licensed bar
 Fully stocked mini bar
 Smoke-free guest rooms
 Around-the-clock recetpion
 Parking lot
 Clock/radio
 Fridge
 Restaurant
 Around-the-clock room service
 Safe deposit box
 Sauna
 Private/Ensuite bathroom
 Phone at reception
 Phones in rooms
 TV sets in rooms
 Common room with a TV set