Anais Amaro
Managing Director
Decades in luxury hospitality across Europe's grandest houses. Has steered the property since the early days and quietly defines the bar the rest of the team upholds.
Joined 1998
About Us
The people behind Grandoceanretreat
A private resort and casino on the Mediterranean shore. Opened in 1998 with six rooms and one conviction — that the finest hospitality is the kind you never need to announce.
Our story in three paragraphs
In the summer of 1998, two friends — a former hotelier and a chef — acquired a stretch of coastline and turned a private villa into a six-room inn. There was no investor pitch, no marketing blueprint and no Instagram presence. There was a notebook holding two principles: serve fewer guests better than anyone else; and decline anything that is merely "industry standard".
28 years later we have 160 keys, two restaurants, a Michelin star, one private gaming salons, a full spa, and a guest book that steadily fills with the same families returning, year after year. The notebook remains. The two principles have not shifted.
We are still owned by the same two families that began the property. We have never sold to a chain, never franchised the name, and never opened a second location — though we have been asked, often. We reply the same way every time: do one place well.
What we believe
Hospitality without theatre
The flowers stay fresh because they ought to. The robe is substantial because it ought to be. The work that counts is the work you never notice.
Continuity over churn
The bellman who greets you at the door has been here longer than most of our suites have stood. The head sommelier has been with us for many years. We hire carefully and we keep people for a lifetime.
Local over global
Our menu leans on what the coast supplies, our wine cellar favours growers within four hours of the property, and our spa products are crafted by a chemist who lives forty minutes away.
Quiet by design
Adult-only, screen-free public spaces, soft lighting around the clock and a music programme chosen to dissolve into the room. Loud is simple. Calm takes effort.
The team
Six of the people who guide the property day to day. Their paths differ; their devotion to the standard does not. Behind them stands a 280-person team across operations, food, beverage, wellness, gaming, and concierge.
Julien Bernard
Founding Partner
Guides food, beverage and the guest experience. A former Relais et Chateaux board member and the source of the resort's unhurried service ethos.
Joined 1998
Henrik Devereux
Executive Chef
Trained at Le Cordon Bleu, with stages at some of Europe's finest kitchens. Brought the property its Michelin recognition.
Joined 2019
Theo Laurent
Head Sommelier
Court of Master Sommeliers-certified, tending a cellar of several thousand bottles with a special fondness for old Burgundy and small-grower Champagne.
Joined 2008
Adrian Sterling
Spa & Wellness Director
Trained in Kyoto and Marrakech, and shaped the spa programme around the notion that rest is a skill, not a luxury.
Joined 2006
Ines Merrick
Gaming Director
Years on the floors of Europe's private salons. Built ours around discretion, fair play, and a personal-host approach that other houses now echo.
Joined 2007
By the numbers
- 1998 — year founded
- 160+ suites, villas and bungalows
- Two restaurants, including one Michelin-starred
- One private casino salons
- 280 staff across all departments
- 4.9 / 5 guest rating across 2,400+ reviews
- 70%+ of reservations from returning guests
- 9 languages spoken by our concierge team