Hotel de Diane

We last visited Sable d'or some 16 years ago and were impressed by the charm and belle epoch feel of the place. Visiting again reveals that some of what impressed then has diminished primarily due, I think, to the new buildings that have gone up. When we visited all those years ago we passed the Hotel Diane. It looked a bit neglected and sad for itself. But in the intervening period it's had a complete renovation and what a difference it's made. It retains its belle epoch aura but is now a hotel for the 2020s. The renovation (some 8 years ago) has been done sympathetically, carefully and to a high standard. The public rooms are light and airy and very, very comfortable. There are 3 lounges and all are excellent. There's a nice terrace and the dining room is fine, if a little functional. Our bedroom was a corner one of the first floor and benefited from two French windows (with balconies). Couple this with the high ceilings and the décor and the size of the room meant that it was full of light and space. The bathroom was again excellent with the usual facilities. Big and fluffy towels and bathrobes, Housekeeping was first-class. On the catering side breakfasts were very good with a wide selection – meats, cheeses, scrambled eggs, bacon, pastries and so on and so one. Good fresh orange juice. We ate in the restaurant once and this was fine: shortish menu but well cooked, well prepared and presented and very pleasant. Overall then a very nice experience. Any downsides? Well because the hot water was came from one those multi-drink machines it was never boiling so a decent cup of tea was impossible.. We found the bed a little soft for our liking but we slept well anyway. Whilst the staff were efficient and helpful we found that they didn't engage and lacked any solicitude. You can live with that. Would we return? Undoubtedly.

Very nice appointed hotel with very friendly staff. Very nice room with separate toilet from shower which was also nice. However, we were very disappointed at the dinner offering! We were booked via Brittany Ferry 4 night half board trips, A Taste of Brittany, beware here as it’s non existing at Hotel Diane The brochure states “choose 3 courses from the Menu du Jour at Hotel Diane” we we handed a A5 typed sheet with NO choice!! Neither was an option given to pay extra for a choice of menu. The dishes were- Starter-melon, puréed, Main course - a 50cm square piece of fish on a bed of carrot and passion fruit, also puréed! Dessert was a pastry case chocolate tart! Any Table d’hote menu has a choice of dishes? What happens if you don’t like fish or in my case chocolate!!! It appears that the restaurant has when “gourmand” but not in this case. Breakfast was much better

L'accueil est chaleureux, la déco sympa, le petit déjeuner de qualité (au prix payé c'est normal) En revanche la chambre, quoique très propre et confortable était vraiment sommairement équipée et à mon sens en dessous de la catégorie revendiquée de l'hotel. Nous n'avons pu essayer le restaurant qui était complet, et on comprend car l'hotel est au milieu de pas grand chose et hors saison c'était peu engageant de sortir. Compt tenu de l'emplacement, le prix global de l'expérience est excessif.