Only the quick-witted and French-speaking might realise the subtle indication that here is Hotel Les Roches, its luxuries sequestered far below the vantage point of those motoring by toward a faster pace.

A private oasis set into the sea wall with nothing but a vast, unblemished seascape beautifully inescapable from every angle, its own beach frontage, balconies best suited to measurement by acreage, and cuisine to appease the most relentless gastronome, to recommend it is Hotel La Roche.

As history might record, these were once the essential elements of a Cote d'Azur indulgence. Fullsome enough to please, sufficiently rare to truly savour with their deceptively simple but utterly indulgent guile. In fact, today, it is more and more difficult to find and maintain these rarities. And writing about this place, one feels as if one is divulging a precious secret compelled to do so, but at the same time, acutely aware of the consequences. Hotel Les Roches is in another world - so far removed from the distractions of the cities on the sea as to be the nemesis of its dazzling debutante sisters: It is indeed miraculous that this small southern stretch of coastal France has escaped the marauding development that has rampaged up and down the densely populated Cote.

It is late September and summer is preparing to close, the hordes have retreated, the wind now has a slight chill when the sun goes down, but the welcoming quaintness of the old town of Le Lavandou is not yet ready to call it a season. Buy a huge box of strawberries, some fresh brioche from the boulangerie, some gourmet tidbits and a local Provence table wine from the charcuterie; find a spare bit of sea wall and sit by the harbour with an impromptu picnic. Look around, many locals are doing just the same. Alternatively, venture into St. Tropez to view the water-based activity of the Nioulargue - a glamour-friendly interpretation of the America's Cup designed to farewell the summer social season. Here, the harbourside cafes and bars are crammed with spectators, crews, bikini-wearers (as distinct from swimwear - nary a drop of moisture sullies some rather exotic and decidely impractical fabrics), and villa-owners lingering over a past is - the only aperitif - each jostling for the attention of the photographer's eye and ultimately the focus of his all important lens. In between times, a bevy of magnificent yachts from all over the world, including the Antipodes, cruise the waters with a rather halfhearted degree of competitive aggression. It is, after all, nearly time to go home.

With herb scented foothills as a backdrop, the Mediterranean lapping at its feet, the Iles d'Or shimmering on the horizon, hibiscus, oleander, geraniums, exotic and tropical foliage flourishing by the maze of paths that meander to and fro through the pavilions, overspilling against the stepped terraces, Hotel Les Roches as a home base completes the agenda for the perfect coastal Eden. Quiet, harmonious, revelling in natural splendour, temptation is just thirty kilometres down the road at St. Tropez should the lure of a forbidden apple call.

Drive right off the road and into your designated space at the door of your unit. From the street you see nothing to arouse the sentiment that you will find inside. Built at the top of a small cliff, the hotel yields its features in descending layers, opening to you as you explore each level. Standing at the top entrance level, one immediate catches sight of the sea, and thereafter it is a view that is always with you. Hotel les Roches combines the light of a Morocan enclave with a melange of the white washed walls of island Greece, the artistic, the nautical, and the provincial.

Descending the rock stairs, past the sun trap pergola to the al fresco style reception centre, overlooking Cape Benat which at sundown pales Gauguin's Tahiti into insignificance, Claudia Burisch comes out to greet us. An absurdly youthful, freshfaced multi-lingual Austrian, we later learn that she is also the Manager. We register, swap a few pleasantries and put the key in the lock of the private entrance to our apartment door.

The portico opens to slate floors, handmade rugs and furniture in a rustic style - from the large armoire in the corner to sofa style chairs strategically placed near the glass sliding doors which open out onto the expansive balcony - each of which are leveled to provide maximum privacy, minimum intrusion and the most breathtaking view of Ile du Levant far out to sea. At night, leave the glass doors slightly ajar, the drapes pulled back and wake to the sensation of having anchored just off port. Then order a mammoth breakfast - croissants, cafe au lait, pastries and fruit salad and savour in radiant morning glory on the terrace.But apart from the sun soaked splendour of the private terrace, perhaps my favourite spot at Hotel Les Roches, is the swimming pool, built on a platform right onto the sea, the far wall acts as waterfall, the edge disappearing under a curlicue of blue water into the ocean just below. On a windy day, when the Mediterranean is feeling playful, you can swim in the pool as a wall of water heaves itself up over the rocks and then comes crashing down in a curtain of droplets, the spray creating the feeling of swimming in a freshwater outdoor shower.

Built on the beach level, Claudia later informs me that the original pool was essentially just a hole in the rocks - romantic indeed, but hazardous for the guest inclined to perform fitness invoking laps. A small stretch of sand leads to yet another rocky outcrop which acts as a stepping stone to the private jetty. Nearby is a series of underground caves and grottoes, serving a practical as well as aesthetic purpose in buffering the hotel from the crashing waves which would otherwise destroy the fragile balance of beach.

Above the beach is the restaurant-level, then the informal reception area and outdoor bar. From here, the hotel is sectioned into five 'pavilions', rather than one uniform building yielding nine rooms for each of the three levels. This is because before it became a hotel, it was a series of villas, to which incoming owners would add each year, hence the self-contained layout of this most private hotel.

The whole scenario serves to create an impression not unlike that of a landlocked ocean liner. Indeed, from the decor to the woodwork to the fittings, the whole ambience was specifically designed to give the guest the feeling of being on a boat. More conventionally, Les Roches even has its own boat, an historic ketch named 'Veronique', built originally in 1907 by the Marquis of Northampton and entirely rebuilt in Cornwall. Moored nearby, it is at the disposal of guests and was a star player in the Regatta des Roches, the parade of antique vessels that closes the Nioulargue.

Built originally in 1930, in the Fifties Les Roches Fleuries was the peaceful seaside haven for Jean Cocteau, Humphrey Bogart and countless other stars of the Gotha of that time. But when Claudia's uncle Ivan Goujon, a Frenchman and a restaurateur with most of his holdings curiously situated in London, found it in 1986, it had sadly fallen into a state of disrepair.

"It was very, very famous a long time ago but then in the latter years before we took it over, it had become very rundown. My uncle completely renovated it from the fittings to the plumbing but we made sure to keep the facade of the building, it has a very nice style, very simple. And now, it is very famous again!" Claudia smiles triumphantly.

Harnessing the skills of his architect brother Gerard, Ivan set about painstakingly renovating the hotel over three winters, ensuring that each new addition would add to the nautical theme that pervades the hotel. With the ocean as a backyard, the sea wall and rocky cliffside as the hotel foundations, the interior design now embraces a trompe A'oeuil sky in the restaurant bar, surrounded by faux marble pillars and a ships wheel. Sailmaker beams support the roof of the dining room and the windows open Le Lavandou of course, Toulon, Hyeres, St. Tropez, Paris and there are lot of foreigners as well. It is a real community.

The staff work extremely hard and long hours here, mostly living on the premises or opting to take apartments in town. They are young attractive and very dedicated - one went so far as to whistle continuously and sincerely for the duration of our stay - each as pleasant as living and working in the sun would afford one the privilege of being but thankfully lacking the Manan attitude that so often accompanies the so-laid-back-as-to-be supine disposition that intensely solar workspace engenders. They have been imported from establishments all over France, and in the case of the restaurant, they are highly trained professionals - "the chef would not take local staff for this sort of standard," says Claudia although not unkindly. "Many of our staff have been here since we took over three years ago."

Hotel Les Roches is open from March to mid-October each year, after which time Claudia moves to her base in Cannes and then travels to Les Roches three times a week to check on the progress of any renovations and to attend to any administrative concerns.

Accordingly, the Hotel was renovated over the three winters since its acquisition, so as not to disturb the environment of vacationing guests. "We have done a lot of work and in fact, we still do each winter when the hotel closes," says Claudia. "In the first winter, we redid the whole kitchen because prior it was not a restaurant for gastronomes.

"The second winter we did a big reconstruction {sic} with the swimming pool which before was really only a hole in the rock, and we redecorated the rooms and expanded the guest suites to the four star status requirements. We had one craftsman devoted to re-upholstering chairs - replacing fake leather with handmade fabrics in a rustic pique style and chintzes, and we hired a former sailor who fashioned all the woodwork. We also redid the bathrooms..." Ah, the bathrooms. They are simple, painted entirely white with marble floors, fittings and the most delightful Roman style baths - some are spas - that are mammoth in dimension and in the length of time one can forseeably spend luxuriating in their bubbly depths, while looking out the picture window to a closeted garden setting.

In "the third winter", the final major reconstructions were completed including the transference of a cluster of remaining rooms from the other side of the road to their present position cosseted within the hotel proper. "We only wanted rooms that see the sea!" explains Claudia and accordingly, each of the forty-five rooms have either the elephantine balcony or, at the very least, a smaller terrace.

Now in the fourth winter, presumably the one of their content, they plan to add to the already considerable conference facilities and then maybe a gymnasium. The latest project is a little shop for the hotel to sell sundry items and to stock some of Chef Laurent Tarridec's products as well as a range of Cote de Provence and Corsican wines. "Although the restaurant is largely self-sufficient, it is very important for us to emphasise the food as well as the accommodations," says Claudia.

Claudia has not herself been professionally trained in Hotel Management but is a natural at its demands, the result of her Uncle's ambitious career plan for her. "Whilst I was still at school, my Uncle and I were already making plans for me to work with him. But I didn't know that I would be managing a hotel!" she says unabashedly. "I think that you can do this whilst you are young but if you want a family...it is very difficult if you marry someone who is not in hotels. The hours are so long and abnormal, you see, you must be here first thing in the morning and the last thing at night and you never have weekends or holidays... That is why you will mostly see young people in the restaurants and front of house today," she muses. "I love living on the Cote d'Azur though, it is so nice, I love the ocean and of course, in Austria, there is no sea! Lot of mountains, but no sea.

Restaurant Les Roches has already been recognised as the Grande Table on the Varoise Coast. Brittany-born Laurent Tarridec, has in three short years achieved for the Restaurant Les Roches listings in Gault Millau, Bottin Gourmand, Champerard, Guide des Villes Gourmandes and of course, le grande bible Michelin. "I made everything from scratch," says Laurent, "including the kitchen!" And indeed he did. Supervising both the reconstruction of the kitchen into a gourmet workshop, the staffing, the menus.

In summer, Laurent commands a team of seventeen, towards the close of the season, his brigade is reduced by seven to cater for the eighty-five seat restaurant. Couple with this, an outside catering service and the frequent incidence of in-house functions such as the wedding for 150, in progress as we speak. These gatherings are firmly discouraged however, until the end of the season so as not to impinge on the calm of the Hotel.

"M. Goujon directed me to employ local food and simple food," says Laurent. "He was thinking that what people now want is simple fresh fare, not so much foie gras and truffles especially in the South. To cook in the Provencial style was the only brief I was given. So, at the beginning I prepared only dishes using the very old local recipes from Provence that we rearranged. Even today, some of these classics are still very good.

Unusually, there is a strong Thai influence in his cooking, the result of his love affairs with that country and his consequent adaptation of its recipes to his own climatically simpatico region of France.

"One thing that is very interesting to me", says Claudia, "is that there are lots of well-known people living in St. Tropez who come to the hotel by their own private boats called cigarettes - these are people who only ever go to gastronomic restaurants. They come from emphasis on fruits de la mer, the local produce and traditional recipes complemented by sauces, all delicate and emphasising the freshness of the ingredients and raw materials. In fact, Laurent is a common sight on the rocks nearby chatting to the fishermen about their days's catch although the fish mostly comes in from the islands across the Mediterranean Laurent meets these boats as they return.

Trained in traditional French cuisine with the traditional French disciplines, Laurent began cooking in Paris at fifteen years of age and worked as many hours a day in the kitchen. His training since has been limited exclusively to two and three star restaurants. "All good chefs from France must start in Paris for the discipline, then on to Lyon, and then Provence to gain an experience," he says. "In Paris, you learn so much, you see so much. I worked my way down to the coast and have now been in the south for six years."

Before coming to les Roches, Laurent worked at the Rostang's now legendary La Bonne Auberge in Antibes and then, Chabichou in St. Tropez. Upon arrival at les Roches, Laurent's only brief was to work within the Provencale style, he has subsequently used that leeway to explore Provencale/Thai/Cuisine Modern hybrids, most successfully. As such, he has reinvented many of the native dishes;' most notably, the 'aioli' the traditional fish dish, and 'la brandade' the ragout of artichokes with shellfish, which is both the specialty of the region and the house.

Laurent asks us to sample his seven course Taste of Provencale menu, an exacting illustration of the unique style he has developed. Amongst the more traditional dishes, there is La Soupe Claire Infusion Bergamote, Laurent's translation of the piquant Tom Yam Goong, the traditional Thai soup; le Filet de St. Pierre Cuit a L'huile Parfumee, Galangal et Cebettes, presents as fish marinated in perfumed oils and galangal with aromatic spices from Thailand. The dishes are deliciously simple, derivative of Provencal style but with an added imaginative dimension.

Similarly the wine list highlights the local Cote de Provence and Corsican wines: 90% are of local appellation but the cellar is also stocked with obligatory delights: Bordeaux', Medocs from Sigonac, the brothers' Timbach wines from Alsace - their big fruity rieslings figure prominently, vintage champagnes and some fine burgundies amongst others. The local vineyards that do the inner coastline are also given a chance to air their viticultural wares.

Restaurant les Roches also boasts one the most comprehensive and most famous cheese selections on the Coast. Les Fromages Frais et Afinnes Les Roches - a four tiered trolley that requires the manpower of two to perambulate, display an enormous variety of cheeses from all over the Continent, most particularly from the local environs and, interestingly, England Laurent and Claudia booth feel that the restaurant guests have an abiding appreciation of the "very very good cheese" of Britain, and as such, alongside an artistic display of miniature chevres camemberts, bries and specially hybrids, sits comfortably a specialised selection of English cheddars, a mouthwatering stilton, Lancashires, double Gloucesters, cabocs, all accompanied by home made breads, fruits and biscuits.

The menus are seasonal and they change very frequently according to available produce and, chef's whim. In addition to the plethora of raw material available locally, Laurent has crayfish and langoustines flown in from Brittany, Bugs from Turkey, certain other necessities from Paris. All else is prepared on the premises. Laurent, however, is a chief committed to the desires of his patrons. "I always listen to the guests - I never, ever dictate to them, force them to eat something that they may not enjoy," he says. "I want only that they may not enjoy," he says. "I want only that people should say, 'that was very, very good,' and then compare us favourably to others wherever they go."

You must drive by Hotel Les Roches. We did, three times and we were specifically looking for the place. In such near proximity to the bright lights and glitzy nights, we presumed that its entrance would be 'glamour' saturated, heralded by an appropriated Croisette, high-end traffic and neon landscaping. How delightfully wrong we were. So close indeed, and yet so very, very far.