Île de la Lagune Thalasso & Spa ★★★★★ Relais et Châteaux

The Île de la Lagune Thalasso & Spa ***** Relais et Châteaux invites me in for the ultimate relaxing holiday as always, and as ever, it still knows how to delight me with an occasional surprise.

Basking in shelter of the great Pyrenees Mountains and trailing its fingers in the warm waters of the Med, Saint-Cyprien combines the finest ingredients of a Mediterranean climate. With Catalan cuisine and ample opportunities for outdoor activities, high-minded cultural pursuits or simply dillydallying on the fine sand beaches, this region is a splendid blend of all the best holiday pleasures.

Here, I am surrounded by exuberant flowery gardens and the warmth of the Lormand family, a dynasty of hoteliers and an industry institution! Grandfather Lormand once owned a bar in neighbouring Argelès that he would later entrust to his son. The younger Lormand would buy up more than one hotel in this pretty Catalan part of the world and today he trusts none other than his own son Xavier to manage this jewel in the family crown, the Île de la Lagune Thalasso & Spa ***** Relais et Châteaux, with expertise passed down through generations. It is he who, taken with the idea of transforming this intimate hideaway into a contemporary work of art, brought a new architect into the fold, Kristian Gavoille, an old hand in the Philippe Starck studio. At last, an artist with the genius to match the hotel's one-of-a-kind location with the trappings to do it justice. Each room is a surprise, a surprise that somehow achieves both elegance and understatement in one breath. With surprising colours, surprising objects, unique pieces like the night stands balanced on twisted tree trunks, each nook of the Île de la Lagune Thalasso & Spa ***** Relais et Châteaux tells a story.

This story leads us up and up, all the way to the roof, a place of tranquillity that invites you to take your ease on a comfortable recliner and contemplate the way the long, slender pool mirrors the azure tones of the cloudless blue sky. This is where I come to rest my head on a chic and colourful pillow, to absorb the all-around views of the Pyrenees and let my worries melt away in the warmth of southern sun. But the story's not over yet.

And if this hotel is a fantasy story, there's surely an entire chapter filled with tales of food. At the hotel's Almandin restaurant, Chef Philippe Galindo and his expert team delight in concocting ever more delicious specialities, like the "Lobster on a piña colada beach" to name just one dish that channels the flavours and feel of southern France, while exciting the senses before I've even begun. Needless to say, the specialities shape-shift with the changing seasons, so the delight of discovering a new favourite is a regular event.

The story then leads us through to the hotel spa; one of France's most secretive. The entire top floor of the hotel is dedicated to wellbeing and relaxation. It's here, bathed in the sublime natural light of the Mediterranean and blessed with panoramic views of the lagoon, that I flit back and forth between soothing massages and the hot, steamy Turkish bath. I am in paradise. 

Yet more surprises await in the bedroom, where a wide and comfortable bed, iPhone dock, Nespresso machine and giant television await with everything I need for an exceptional stay, though you might find, as indeed I did, that the pretty balcony with views of the lagoon is a much greater temptation than anything you'll see on a screen. 

I contemplated the time ahead of me. I might spend a day in Figueres, home of the Dali Theatre and Museum, and the next in Céret, famous for its painters, before dropping in at Collioure to visit its seaside chateau. Yet I admit, that on more than one trip to this holiday idyll, I've spent days at a time without ever stirring from the Île de la Lagune Thalasso & Spa ***** Relais et Châteaux. It simply didn't cross my mind to leave…