Le Grand Hotel des Bains & Spa - Bretagne

We last stayed here some 10 years ago in a third floor room at the back. It was cramped (the bathroom even more so) and despite the hotel's boast that it overlooked the church it really overlooked the hotel's industrial industrial infrastructure. It was, frankly, a bit grim. This time we went for a second floor room, at the front, with a balcony. It was an improvement but the room itself was still relatively small, but the bathroom was better. The room (good views over the bay and the hotel's grounds) had a nice comfy bed with nice comfy pillows, a small table and chair, flat-screen TV and a wardrobe with drawer space. The balcony had a very small table and two chairs and was just big enough to sit on and read (but perhaps not for long). The bathroom was fine with lovely towels and the usual facilities (and a shower over the bath). Plenty of hot water. Housekeeping is fine. The hotel is stylish and comfortable with a nice lounge/bar and plenty of soft sofas. The grounds are extensive and extend to the sea and there are loungers and chairs and tables to use when the weather permits. There's also a (very) small private beach. The restaurant (where you take breakfast) is spacious, airy and has good views over the sea. Breakfast is plentiful and varied and will accommodate most if not all tastes. Eggs (scrambled, fried and poached) are cooked to order. The restaurant is good and not overly pricey given the hotel's image. There are two EV charging points which are (gasp!) not charged for. But you need to bring your car's charging cable. The swimming pool is large with comfortable surrounds. A hamman and sauna are there to use with the usual array of beauty treatments. So far then so good. Any negatives? Well although the hamman can seat six you have to be fairly friendly with folk if you do. Five is a better fit. The sauna seats only two. The grounds could do with a bit more maintenance. Although there is ample storage space in the bedroom for a week's stay if you put your suitcase in the wardrobe (there's no other place for it) the available space is reduced. The staff are welcoming and friendly (as you'd expect) but service at meal-times can be a little disorganised. We found one male member of staff rude, ignorant and arrogant but he was an exception. The main problem was that the staff (with the odd exception) were distant and you (us) were treated as a commodity rather than a welcome and wanted visitor. (Our yardstick is the staff at the Hotel Brittany in Roscoff who are exceptionally good.) Overall then it's not a bad hotel: stylish, comfortable with a high standard of cuisine. But it suffers from being a Belle Epoch building converted to meet the demands of the 21st century (the head of our bath was in an alcove due to design constraints). The staff were fine but could be better. Would we return? Yes. But we might try a first floor front room next.