Who We Are

The faces behind Coralbluffterrace

A private resort and casino along the Mediterranean coast. Opened in 2001 with six rooms and a single conviction — that true hospitality is the sort you never need to announce.

Our story in three paragraphs

In the summer of 2001, two friends — an ex-hotelier and a chef — acquired a strip of coastline and turned a private villa into a six-room inn. There was no investor pitch, no campaign plan and no social feed. There was a notebook holding two principles: look after fewer guests better than anyone else; and decline anything that is merely "industry standard".

25 years later we have 180 keys, three restaurants, a Michelin star, two private gaming salons, a full spa, and a guest book that steadily fills with the same families returning, year after year. The notebook is still here. Those two principles have not shifted.

We remain owned by the same two families that founded the property. We have never sold to a chain, never franchised the name, and never opened a second site — though we have been asked, often. Our reply is always the same: do one place well.

What we believe

Hospitality without theatre

The blooms are fresh because they ought to be. The robe is substantial because it ought to be. The work that counts is the work you never see.

Continuity over churn

The bellman who greets you at the entrance has been here longer than most of our suites have stood. The head sommelier has stayed with us for many years. We hire carefully and we keep people for a lifetime.

Local over global

Our kitchen draws on what the coastline supplies, our cellar favours growers within four hours of the estate, and our spa range is crafted by a chemist who lives forty minutes away.

Quiet by design

Adult-only, screen-free public areas, soft light at every hour and a music programme chosen to dissolve into the room. Noise is easy. Calm takes effort.

The team

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

Freya Amaro
Managing Director

Decades across Europe's grandest luxury houses. Has led the property since the early years and quietly defines the bar the rest of the team upholds.

Joined 2001
Julien Whitmore
Founding Partner

Guides food, beverage and the guest journey. A former Relais et Chateaux board member and the source of the resort's unhurried service ethos.

Joined 2001
Clara Vaughn
Executive Chef

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

Joined 2002
Sofia Sterling
Head Sommelier

Court of Master Sommeliers-certified, shaping a cellar of several thousand bottles with a special affection for old Burgundy and small-grower Champagne.

Joined 2022
Ines Marchetti
Spa & Wellness Director

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

Joined 2004
Marco Laurent
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 emulate.

Joined 2023

By the numbers

— Return to Coralbluffterrace