Jean-Claude and Nicole Delion © La Réserve de Beaulieu / European Hotel Awards 2026
BOARD’S CHOICE 2026 — A Riviera legend sustained through living hospitality
The European Hotel Awards have named La Réserve de Beaulieu Legend Hotel of the Year 2026. The distinction recognises a house whose place in Riviera history has been preserved not through nostalgia, but through the continuing quality of its hospitality, gastronomy and relationship with the Mediterranean.
Represented by owners Nicole and Jean-Claude Delion, La Réserve has been part of Beaulieu-sur-Mer since 1880. For the Board, its longevity matters because the hotel has remained recognisable while continuing to operate as an intimate contemporary property.
Legend Hotel of the Year 2026
La Réserve de Beaulieu — Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France
Represented by Nicole & Jean-Claude Delion, Owners
Why the European Hotel Awards selected La Réserve de Beaulieu
The Board’s decision brought together several dimensions: historical depth, an unusually stable house identity, an intimate accommodation offer, a major gastronomic tradition, direct connection with the Mediterranean and ownership continuity capable of protecting the spirit of the property.
La Réserve offers 39 rooms, suites and villas. This limited scale supports a residential atmosphere in which recognition, privacy and individual attention can remain central. The Award acknowledges that intimacy as one of the house’s defining forms of luxury.
Since 1880, La Réserve de Beaulieu has remained closely identified with the Mediterranean Riviera © La Réserve de Beaulieu
Gastronomy as a pillar of the house
The Restaurant des Rois is one of the property’s principal signatures and is led by chef Julien Roucheteau, Meilleur Ouvrier de France 2019. Other dining experiences, including La Table de Julien, Le Vent Debout and the Gordon Bennett Bar, allow the hotel to express different rhythms without losing its gastronomic identity.
For the European Hotel Awards, this continuity at the table is part of what gives La Réserve the status of a living house. Gastronomy is not an added attraction; it participates in the wider relationship between service, place and Mediterranean art de vivre.
Restaurant des Rois places gastronomy at the centre of La Réserve de Beaulieu’s identity © La Réserve de Beaulieu
The Mediterranean as an enduring part of the guest experience
The heated pool at the edge of the sea and Spa by La Prairie extend the house’s relationship with wellbeing, but the Board considered the broader environment equally important. Light, terraces, gardens and proximity to the water create continuity between accommodation, gastronomy and leisure.
This relationship with the Mediterranean is one reason the hotel remains so strongly associated with Beaulieu-sur-Mer. The destination and the house reinforce one another, giving the experience a territorial identity that has survived changing definitions of luxury.
The Mediterranean remains one of the enduring signatures of La Réserve de Beaulieu © La Réserve de Beaulieu
The meaning of Legend Hotel of the Year 2026
Legend Hotel of the Year 2026 does not recognise age alone. The distinction is reserved for a property whose history continues to produce a meaningful present-day experience. La Réserve de Beaulieu has carried its identity forward without becoming a monument to its own reputation.
The Award was presented within the eighth edition of the European Hotel Awards, held on 28 September 2026 at the Grand Hotel del Mare Resort & Spa in Bordighera, Italy.
Official 2026 laureate film
https://youtu.be/0ODHpQZt7tA
La Réserve de Beaulieu — Legend Hotel of the Year 2026
La Réserve de Beaulieu
5, boulevard du Maréchal Leclerc, 06310 Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France
Tel. +33 (0)4 93 01 00 01
Internet: reservebeaulieu.com
Discover the Main Awards dedicated to excellence across European hospitality and visit the Hall of Fame to explore previous laureates.
Tags: Awards Insights, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, European Hotel Awards, European Hotel Awards 2026, French Riviera, Jean-Claude Delion, La Réserve de Beaulieu, Legend Hotel of the Year 2026, luxury hospitality, Nicole Delion
