THE BEST HOTELS FOR GOLF BREAKS IN NORTHERN BRITTANY
Including: Dinard, Pléneuf-Val-André & Dinan.

Just a handful of minutes from the ferry at St. Malo, Dinard is an historic seaside town where brightly coloured boats bob busily in the bays.  Onshore there are rocky coves and sandy bays, backed by a huge variety of cafés, patisseries, shops, bars, restaurants and even a casino.

Ever since the early 1900s The Grand Hôtel has been the place to be seen in Dinard.  With its commanding position overlooking Viscount Bay, the Grand Hotel sits in the centre of Dinard and provides the standards of luxury and service to be expected from a character five-star hotel.  For golfers it's very affordable luxury too, as golf is included for every night of your stay.

The hotel’s main restaurant, somewhat esoterically named 'Blue B', is both stylish and gastronomic.  There is a more relaxed atmosphere in the brasserie and bar on the opposite side of the building - the '333 Café'.  For dining out there are all sorts of restaurants just a stroll away in the centre of Dinard and don't overlook a couple that are tucked away in the closest cove to the hotel.

For those that find the Channel a little too bracing, the Grand Hotel Dinard has an enclosed heated swimming pool which is open all year round, along with a small spa area offering the usual range of beauty treatments and massages et cetera.  Dinard's only slight drawback is parking in the high season and busy weekends; however the Grand Hotel circumvents this with a valet parking service (although there is a nightly charge for this).

 

For the legion lovers of the fabulous Pléneuf-Val-André golf course, there is simply no finer (nor closer) place to stay than the new Spa Marin hotel on the beach just below the golf course.

A well designed modern hotel where a huge investment has been plunged into its impressive sea-water spa (aka Thalasso) that has a pool full of whirls and jets to pummel and pamper those golfing muscles back into shape, along with a counter-current swimming lane for those who feel they need more exercise...  The spa also has twenty-odd therapy rooms bristling with the latest devices designed to relax and revive the battle weary golfer.

The other compelling reason to stay at the Spa Marin hotel in Pléneuf-Val-André is the food: simply stunning.  The chef has flair and imagination in abundance which, combined with the freshest local ingredients, creates dishes that will amaze your eyes and astound your palate.  There are quite a few other restaurants in the small seaside town of Val-André, but we think you will find it hard to tear yourself away from the hotel!

Directly in front of the hotel is the esplanade running the full length of the sandy crescent of beach; along which you will sufficient cafés, bars and even a casino for a few evening's entertainment.  For a gourmet golf and spa holiday the Spa Marin hotel in Pléneuf-Val-André is hard to better.

On the banks of the river Rance in the fascinating two-part town of Dinan, a little upriver from the coast, the Jerzual hotel (now part of the 'Mercure' chain) is very handily situated for all the golf courses in northern Brittany.  Built from local stone in the late 1980s, it has good-sized bedrooms, a bar and restaurant (clearly aimed at carnivores), a small outdoor pool and the convenience of its own car park. 

Strolling over the footbridge across the river, you will find a row of cafés, shops and restaurants making this lower section of Dinan the place to be as the sun sinks over the many yard-arms along the quay.  The upper part of Dinan (reached via an alley and several flights of steps) is very attractive too, with an old centre of narrow lanes and wood-framed buildings leaning haphazardly against one another.