Marius Michel, Comte de Pierredon and a Pacha within the Ottoman Empire’s honorary ranks, financed this seaside hotel using a fortune built partly through his standing in Ottoman affairs, and it opened in 1888 directly on the sand at Les Sablettes beach near Toulon. The hotel flourished through France’s Belle Époque, the decades of cultural confidence and prosperity that preceded the First World War, drawing well-heeled travelers to the Mediterranean coast before both world wars interrupted its run.
It closed and sat dormant for roughly fifty years afterward, its white Belle Époque facade fading along the shoreline. Restaurateur Stéphane Lelièvre and his family took on a full restoration, reopening the hotel in 2018 as part of Hilton’s Curio Collection while preserving its 19th-century architecture and direct beach access. It now sits along the Promenade Jean Charcot, named for the polar explorer, with views toward the Deux Frères rock formation just offshore.