Our Story

The faces behind Amberglacierretreat

A secluded resort and casino along the Mediterranean coast. Since 1981, with six rooms and a single conviction — that true hospitality never needs announcing.

How it began, in brief

In the summer of 1981, two friends — a former hotelier and a chef — acquired a strip of shoreline and turned a private villa into a six-room inn. No investor pitch, no marketing blueprint and no social media. Just a notebook holding two principles: serve fewer guests better than anyone else; and never settle for what passes as "industry standard".

45 years on we count 180 keys, four restaurants, a Michelin star, two private gaming salons, a complete spa, and a guest book that quietly fills with the same families returning, season after season. The notebook remains. The two principles have not shifted.

We remain owned by the same two families who founded the estate. We have never sold to a chain, never licensed the name, and never launched a second site — though the question has been raised, repeatedly. Our answer is always the same: excel in one place.

What guides us

Service without spectacle

Flowers are fresh because they ought to be. Robes are weighty because they ought to be. The work that counts is the work you never see.

Stability over turnover

The bellman greeting you at the door has been here longer than most of our suites. The head sommelier has served many years. We recruit carefully and retain for life.

Regional over global

Our menus draw on what the coast provides, our cellar favours growers within four hours of the property, and our spa products come from a chemist forty minutes down the road.

Calm by intention

Adult-only, screen-free public areas, gentle lighting throughout and a music programme designed to blend into the room. Noise is simple. Serenity takes effort.

The team

Six of the people who steer the property day to day. Their paths differ; their dedication to the standard does not. Behind them stands a 280-person team across operations, food, beverage, wellness, gaming, and concierge.

Marco Laurent
Managing Director

Decades in luxury hospitality across Europe's grandest houses. Has led the property since the early days and quietly sets the bar the rest of the team upholds.

Joined 1981
Oscar Holloway
Founding Partner

Oversees food, beverage and the guest journey. A former Relais et Chateaux board member and the architect of the resort's unhurried service philosophy.

Joined 1981
Marta Marchetti
Executive Chef

Trained at Le Cordon Bleu, with stages at some of Europe's finest kitchens. Secured the property its Michelin recognition.

Joined 1997
Lucas Bernard
Head Sommelier

Court of Master Sommeliers-certified, overseeing a cellar of several thousand bottles with a fondness for aged Burgundy and small-grower Champagne.

Joined 1993
Adrian Devereux
Spa & Wellness Director

Trained in Kyoto and Marrakech, shaping the spa programme around the belief that rest is a skill, not a luxury.

Joined 1999
Freya Renaud
Gaming Director

Years on the floors of Europe's private salons. Built ours around discretion, fair play, and a personal-host model that rival houses now emulate.

Joined 1984

By the numbers

— Return to Amberglacierretreat