Our House

The people behind Sunsetbirchplaza

A private resort and casino on the Mediterranean shore. Opened in 1988 with six rooms and a single conviction — that the finest hospitality is the kind you never need to announce.

Our story in three paragraphs

In the summer of 1988, 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 roadmap and no Instagram feed. There was a notebook holding two ideas: host fewer guests better than anyone else; and decline anything that is merely "industry standard".

38 years later we hold 100 keys, four restaurants, a Michelin star, three 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 ideas have not shifted.

We are still 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 invitations arrive often. Our reply stays the same: 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 served here longer than most of our suites have stood. The head sommelier has been with us for many years. We hire slowly and keep people for a lifetime.

Local over global

Our menu leans on what the coast provides, our cellar favours growers within four hours of the property, and our spa products come from a chemist who lives forty minutes away.

Quiet by design

Adult-only, screen-free public rooms, soft light at every hour and a music programme shaped to dissolve into the space. Loud is simple. Calm takes craft.

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 across operations, food, beverage, wellness, gaming, and concierge.

Nadia Larsen
Managing Director

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

Joined 1988
Ines Devereux
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 philosophy.

Joined 1988
Theo Vaughn
Executive Chef

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

Joined 2009
Lena Sterling
Head Sommelier

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

Joined 2000
Adrian Rousseau
Spa & Wellness Director

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

Joined 1994
Freya Castellan
Gaming Director

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

Joined 2008

By the numbers

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