Chateau de la Messardière ****
on a hilltop just outside St. Tropez, Cote d'Azur, France

To be sure, the views are stunning. On one side you look out across the village of St. Tropez across the bay to St. Maxime. On the other, you look out to sea dotted with white sails and arcing wakes, both views carpeted in either the umbrella pines or acres of vineyards of Ramatuelle marching across the gently rolling terrain. And yes, there is a grandeur to the restored, 19th-century turreted chateau that is the hub of this hotel with annexes in many different building styles arranged around the property. But it is a hodge podge of "architect gone mad" architecture welcoming you with first a wrought iron Victorian entrance that leads to a Moroccan warm yellow pillared lounge and reception with Oriental rugs on the terracotta tiled floors.

Our room was pleasant enough and the mammoth terrace with a view that never stopped was spectacular. But on closer examination, there was enough wear and tear, scuffed wood work and damaged trim on the bath tub to exude a sense of neglect. Missing tiles at the pool, a water garden with no water and so on pervaded the establishment. There was a mist of sadness hanging over the place.

And yet, the management had just installed and opened in 2009 a fine new spa that is superb and world class with fitness centre, massages, beauty treatments, a hair salon and boutique. But we would have preferred that they first lavish some loving attention to the existing infrastructure. WiFi and big screen satellite TV are installed just further emphasizing the gap between the new and the shabby. With the lavish self promotion and high rating of the hotel in the media, we were quite taken aback.

The pool was another surprise. I caught a toe in a broken tile as I was wondering why the pool had been located within a horseshoe of buildings with no view at all. It might have been on a flat plain or city block instead of on a hill top with incomparable views of the southern coast.

The cuisine of Chef Patrick Cuissard was, in our experience, a bit hit and miss. My Salade Nicoise was quite good with garden fresh vegetables and pleasant tastes. His approach is advertised as "Southern with exotic Oriental touches" which, when done well, can make for wonderful fusion. But it takes a deft touch. Our first reaction to the cuisine was that chef Cuissard was British trying to cook Provencal with a twist. The recipes relied on rich and heavy rather than the lighter southern approach to food. Which is not to say that some of the dishes were not successful such as my Nicoise. But the sea bass dish of Mediterranean Sea Bass pan-fried in Garrigue Herb Oil and coated with a sweet and sour honey scented lemon cream served with Arborio Risotto, Alpilles Tomato Confit and a light lemon thyme sauce was just a battle ground of conflicting rather than harmonious tastes.

While my dessert of Grand Marnier Souffle with blood orange sorbet was tasty, Linda's strange concoction of a foamy breast of citrus fruit juice and sweet lemon froth that covered a soft iced meringue of pink grapefruit and sage was a bomb.

Over all, based on our experience, we can recommend this hotel mainly for its marvelous location, its fabulous views and lovely grounds. But we found it a strange melange of conflicting ambiance that left us disturbed rather than relaxed. While we were there, we noticed a high proportion of international visitors and business groups. The hotel with its extensive facilities to host large groups is an excellent choice for business seminars; perhaps that is its emphasis. Its proximity to the beaches of Pampelonne and the village of St. Tropez, make it very well located if you want the peace of the country yet to be close to the sea and sand as well as village night life. But unless a lot of work at refurbishment took place in the time since we were there, expect some shabby to the facilities and a certain indifference in the service, something we do not experience in other five star establishments and even four start establishments. Perhaps part of our disappointment is experiencing the gap between what this hotel and its situation is and what it could and should be.