The Byblos Story, by Layla

IA palace for a muse

The story begins in 1960, far from the Riviera, on a terrace in Byblos, the ancient port of Lebanon. There, the businessman Jean-Prosper Gay-Para confided a dream born of his infatuation with Brigitte Bardot: to build a Mediterranean palace like no other. Seven years later, on 27 May 1967, the Byblos opened on the highest hill of Saint-Tropez with three days of celebrations for more than 700 guests from politics, literature and the arts. Its two godmothers were Mireille Darc and Brigitte Bardot herself. That July, beneath the pool, Les Caves du Roy opened its doors.

History turned quickly. War in the Middle East called Gay-Para home, and in September 1967 the palace passed to the industrialist Sylvain Floirat, whose family has cared for it ever since. Bardot never fell for its builder. Saint-Tropez fell for the Byblos.

“Un palace digne des Mille et Une Nuits”The dream of the Byblos, 1960

IIThe legend of the nights

From 1967 to 1971 the Byblos became a second home to Eddie Barclay, Michel Polnareff and a whole generation of artists. In 1971, Mick Jagger and Bianca Pérez married in Saint-Tropez and spent their honeymoon in one of the hotel’s suites, revealing the Byblos to the entire world. Below the pool, Les Caves du Roy became the temple of Tropezian nights: Juliette Gréco and Françoise Sagan in the early years, then Cher, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Jack Nicholson and Grace Jones. The Byblos received its fifth star in 2009, and in 2017 the hotel and Les Caves du Roy celebrated fifty years of a legend that has never gone out of fashion.

IIIThe palace today

Since 2001, Antoine Chevanne, great-grandson of Sylvain Floirat, has led the Byblos into a new era without losing an ounce of its soul: 86 rooms and suites, the Byblos Spa by Sisley, and signature suites by the interior architect Laura Gonzalez unveiled in 2024. The table has changed too. Since May 2025, Zuma has served its izakaya under the stars in the hotel garden, alongside Il Giardino, the new Italian restaurant, the rooftop Sky Bar and the B. Lounge by the pool.

Art, fashion, gastronomy, the bar, the music and, of course, the nights of Les Caves du Roy: the Byblos is a village within the village. Jet-setters come for the legend, families return summer after summer, and the spirit of Bardot’s Saint-Tropez, free, sunny and glamorous, is still very much alive.

IVLaly, the missing piece

Over the years, the Byblos boutique space has seen several concepts come and go. With Laly Saint-Tropez, it found its match: a high-end women’s fashion concept store, curated piece by piece by its founder, Layla. Elisabetta Franchi, Retrofête, Self-Portrait, Bronx and Banco, Andrea Almeida, Yvon, PatBO and the fine jewelry of Pascale Monvoisin, often one piece per size, alongside the necklaces Layla designs herself.

Layla brings to this corner of the hotel an extraordinary positive energy: classy, luxurious, curated and personal. Guests come down from their suites to find the dress for tonight; others book a private fitting in their suite, their villa or on board their yacht. The press has followed: Pure Saint-Tropez called Laly “une adresse précieuse”, and SO Magazine and WHITE Magazine have featured Layla’s selection. Actresses, models and international personalities have been dressed by Laly for the evenings of the Riviera.

Laly has become an attraction in its own right, and it completes the Byblos experience: five-star luxury, the heritage of Saint-Tropez and, now, fashion at its heart.

Sources: Hôtel Byblos; Forbes; WWD; Zuma; Pure Saint-Tropez; SO Edition. Hotel photos courtesy of the Hôtel Byblos; fashion photos: Laly Saint-Tropez.