Hotel Le Mouillage

Le Mouillage (it means “anchorage”) is one of those unsung spots where cares drop away and you feel at ease... immediately upon entering. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, you’ve just pulled out of the St Tropez traffic, so anywhere would be a relief.

Secondly, the receptionist is not only very pretty but also charming and jolly.

And thirdly, behind the apricot, sea-side villa frontage, the place turns out to be much more like a Provençal family homestead. The clear, light entry boasts a big white-stone fireplace, pictures of Provençal plants and a most welcoming little bar. It’s all in immaculate nick, too. Fairly gleams.

Beyond, there’s a quite delightful patio-cum-courtyard full of plants, flowers and a fountain. Some rooms overlook it. Others are in a second, all-ground-floor building which goes back further than you’d expect, by way of little private terraces and more horticulture. They’re all different and up-to-date – but not in a modern-design-guru manner. They’re the result, rather, of interesting good taste.

Travelling trunks

Some have contemporary maritime themes, with driftwood and trunks (‘travelling’, not ‘swimming’). Others are ‘quality rustic’ with baldaquin beds, others still are somewhat Moroccan – and so on, through African to Asiatic and back to Mediterranean. Nothing gimmicky, mind. This is proper décor, well conceived and maintained. Space is ample, terraces abundant and the surroundings – whether the patio or the sizeable pool at the end of the property – conducive to settling back and staying put.

Should you nevertheless decide to wander out, the sea is a few yards across the road into St Tropez centre, itself a 15-minute stroll away.

This is not, let me emphasise, a headline spot from the cutting edge of trendsville. You’re unlikely to be breakfasting alongside Bruce Willis. Or even Bruce Forsyth. Its job is to smile warmly at marginally more modest folk, and it does it very well indeed.

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