Our House

The people behind Lagoonhideaway

A private resort and casino on the Mediterranean shore. Opened in 1996 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 1996, two friends — a former hotelier and a chef — purchased a stretch of coastline and turned a private villa into a six-room inn. There was no investor deck, no marketing plan and no Instagram account. There was a notebook with two ideas: serve fewer guests better than anyone else; and refuse to do anything that is merely "industry standard".

30 years later we have 220 keys, two restaurants, a Michelin star, one private gaming salons, a full spa, and a guest book that quietly fills with the same families returning, year after year. The notebook still exists. The two ideas have not changed.

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 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 are fresh because they ought to be. The robe is heavy 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 worked here longer than most of our suites have existed. The head sommelier has been with us for many years. We hire slowly and we keep people for a lifetime.

Local over global

Our menu draws on what the coast supplies, our wine cellar favours growers within four hours of the property, and our spa products are made by a chemist who lives forty minutes away.

Quiet by design

Adult-only, screen-free public spaces, soft lighting at all hours and a music programme curated to dissolve into the room. Loud is easy. Calm is hard.

The team

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

Nadia Vaughn
Managing Director

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

Joined 1996
Ines Fairholm
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 1996
Lucas Merrick
Executive Chef

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

Joined 2015
Marco Sinclair
Head Sommelier

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

Joined 1998
Lena Renaud
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 2000
Freya Laurent
Gaming Director

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

Joined 2012

By the numbers

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