Holiday trinkets and souvenirs often clutter up the home, or end up lost in a cupboard. Not those of Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez! This intimate and glamorous resort on the Côte d’Azur offers its guests the unique opportunity to take home a piece of their holidays – Christophe Pillet’s furniture custom-made for the Sezz Saint-Tropez. Guests can order exclusive pieces directly from the hotel. These are not available for retail sale anywhere else. The collection includes a variety of outdoor furnishings, including the Summer Set Chair, a single shell chair made from woven metal cables that is certain to add glamour to any home.
The hotel celebrated its completion in July 2011. Trained under Philippe Starck, Christophe Pillet is a French designer with worldwide recognition in the fashion and luxury worlds. He is responsible for a range of products and furniture and regularly showcases his work at Salone del Mobile in Milan and at Imm cologne. Pillet has also designed buildings and interiors, from clothing stores such as Lacoste Club in Paris to bars and restaurants such as Maison Blanche in Morocco and Bar du Port in Saint Tropez.
Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez is the brainchild of hotelier Shahé Kalaidjian and designer Christophe Pillet who had already worked together in 2005 to create Hotel Sezz in Paris. Pillet designed every object, from the light fixtures to the faucets in the bathrooms. “This project was a dream for me as I was able to get really involved in every aspect of the design,” Pillet says. “It is a very rare opportunity for a designer.”
Pillet and Kalaidjian had in mind a holiday story for Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez that would be different to their urban property in Paris. “We did not reproduce Sezz Paris in Saint-Tropez; we went one step further in the adventure,” Pillet explains. “It’s a property full of light and air where guests can smell, hear and taste “vacation” from their beds and baths. The furniture at Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez is like in a summer house – a composition of individual pieces, each with plenty of character.”
The furniture and objects in the hotel were produced by Italian and American furniture brands. For example, the lighting fittings were created by Mazzega and Oluce; the bathroom fixtures crafted by Fantini, the sinks are manufactured by Boffi and the chairs by Emeco. For the rooms, Pillet was inspired by the color code of the fifties. Chairs in light blue, carpets in saffron, red lamps and grey duvets contrast with light curtains, white stone floors and panelled walls in dark walnut wood. His signature piece is the Jade Lounge Chair which he designed for Porro. The chair has a black-ash wood frame, a jade blue leather seat and is characterized by soft and wavy lines.
The public spaces also feature custom-made furniture. Large sunbeds surround the central pool area. The focal point of the lobby is an artful composition of Pillet’s designs. A striking semi-circular sofa cocoons guests with its extra high backrest. Its sides curve in showing off a slatted ash wood backing. Adding visual interest is a grouping of silver and white ceramic coffee tables, round and of differing sizes. Restaurant Colette is furnished with Pillet’s Summer Set Chairs made from woven metal cables and softened with white linen cushions.
Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez offers a new hospitality experience on the French Riviera. Surrounded by a lush wooden park and within walking distance to the beach, guests can truly sink into their holidays. The resort’s layout resembles a small Provencal village with 35 bungalows, cocoons and two villas, all grouped around an azure pool.
