Grand Hotel des Bains

Eating

Fresh local food is the mainstay of the hotel restaurant, with many of the vegetables grown in the owners' potager up the road. When the freshness of the ingredients is combined with the dining room’s soothing décor and views, it’s hard to find a good reason to stray outside.

The hotel’s buffet breakfast is a highlight, and was the best we tasted in northern France. Beautifully presented, it had everything imaginable, from pastries made by the hotel’s patissier to freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh fruit salad, stewed prunes, cheeses and hams.

Dinners, too, are delicate and delicious – not always the case in French hotel restaurants. There’s even a 'Menu Minceur' if you want to avoid putting on extra pounds. Cooking is strictly French, with an emphasis on locally caught fish and seafood including lobster, scallops and sea bass; heavy cream sauces are avoided in favour of delicately steamed vegetables. Smoked salmon and foie gras are specialities, and both are made on the premises. Compared to non-hotel restaurants prices are a little steep, and there can be a bit of a wait in summer, but it's a small price to pay for the assurance of quality.

If you fancy a break from the hotel but don’t want to get in the car, the co-owned Brasserie de la Plage (set menu, or a la carte, closed in the evenings between mid-Sept and Easter) is two minutes’ walk into the village, and gets rave reviews. The décor makes ample use of beautiful wood flooring and those familiar muted green colours. Food is fresh, with an emphasis on local seafood, and you can book your table at hotel reception.

Another great local option is Sables Blancs creperie, a half-hour walk around the coast or a five-minute drive, which does superb pancakes and local cider. If you want high gastronomy and Michelin stardom, head to Chez Jeffroy at the Hotel de Carantec in the eponymously named town; or to the Manoir de Lan Kerellec at Trebeurden. Both are 40 minutes drive west.