L'Agapa Hotel & Spa ★★★★★

Tuck into a sumptuous breakfast from the comfort of your bed, with fresh fruit juice and fresh bread baked on site. Lean back against the pillows and simply flick a switch to have the curtains glide open revealing a stunning view of Perros-Guirec. The village overlooks a fishing harbour and marina and two immaculate, and deserted, white beaches. Feeling refreshed after a wonderful night’s sleep, I can’t wait to explore this part of Brittany.

Perros Guirec and the surrounding area offers a feast of activities like golf, horse riding, tennis, cycling, surfing, kayaking, sailing and diving. It’s also possible to arrange a parachute jump, or a trip in a hot air balloon. For a more down-to-earth experience, the tourist board can recommend plenty of local walking routes that will allow you to explore the unusual and sometimes amusing granite rock formations along the coast, and admire the constantly changing seascapes. You can also borrow one of the hotel’s bicycles.

The modern architecture of the hotel actually compliments the pure and savage nature of the landscape. The exterior is dark grey and white, and most of it is given over to bay windows so that from the inside your eye is constantly drawn to the sea views. L’Agapa has 33 bedrooms and a suite, with 2 rooms specially-designed to accommodate less-able bodied guests. There are also two apartments: Eden Roc Villa is a 2-room apartment while la Desirade is a 10-room villa. The room has everything you could want, with a flat-screen TV with satellite channels, DVD and CD player, Wi-fi, telephone, and mini-bar. The interiors combine stylish design with the latest in technology, the décor kept to minimalist black and white with pale wood. No wall art here to distract from the simplicity. Collapsing onto the bed, and enjoying the feel of the luxury bedding, I realised that the key to this hotel’s charm is toeing the fine line between providing everything that is necessary and those desirable extra luxuries.

Feeling the need for a few moments’ quiet repose, I head through the hotel library to the gorgeous decked terrace with stunning views of the bay and granite rose coast. I’ll be honest; I don’t really get much reading done. My mind is starting to relax and my eyes keep drifting back to the view. Perhaps inspired by the blues of the sea, I decide to head to the hotel’s spa. The Spa Nuxe, nestled in the rocks, is fully equipped with an indoor heated pool flooded with light from an atrium window. You can relax in the Turkish bath or sauna, or work out in the fitness suite if the need strikes you. I’m going to stick with the marine theme and have a soothing and exfoliating sea-salt treatment.

In the evening, the culinary pleasures of the Michelin starred Belouga restaurant await you. Here too, simplicity reigns. White tablecloths and crockery mean that the stunning sea view is the star of the show. The menu, designed by Chef Guillaume Anor, adds a touch of creativity to good solid regional cooking. Think saddle of lamb with garden herbs, chargrilled pesto millefeuille and virgin olive oil, all rounded off with salted caramel ice-cream. Everything is made on site, from the bread and pastries to the fruit juice and ice-creams. Once again, it strikes me that what this hotel does so well is identifying what’s important – in this case the gorgeous seascapes of the coast, comfort and good food – and focussing solely on that to stunning effect. That’s a pretty good philosophy for life, not just for a hotel.