31 July 2011

France, Ile de Ré, Le Bois Plage en Ré, Les Bois Flottais

My Ile de Re ChocolateOnYourPillow favourite is the small scaled bed & breakfast hotel Les Bois Flottais that is situated in between the little village of Le Bois Plage and the beach (just 300m away). The 19 different rooms are set up like a little fishing village around 2 heated pools. The eye for detail and style of the owners is visible in everything, they serve a superb homemade breakfast and you can book massages in your room or relax in the hammam.

Just have a look and judge for yourself:
http://www.easyvideovisit.com/EasyVideoVisit_UK/location/Hotels-Chateaux/cote-atlantique/lhc_ca_1/page/location-hotels-chateaux-atlantique-1.html










http://www.lesboisflottais.com/

With its laid back atmosphere, lovely sandy beaches and numerous possibilities to cycle or hike Ile de Ré is a great destination when travelling with kids. If you do so... definitively check out Les Bois Flottais. It's childfriendly and there are family rooms; but note that with small childeren the set up around the pools and the fact that there are no cooking possibilities/restaurants in the hotel are not that ideal. Therefore a great tip is to rent the family house the owners recently have renovated. It's near the hotel and can be occupied by 4 adults and 4 kids. And you can use all the facilities of the hotel... so sounds like best of everything!

Family house 'Rue Jean Moulin'



France, Ile de Ré, Ars en Ré, Hotel le Sénéchal

There are quite some inspiring, lovely hotels and chambre d'hotes at Ile de Ré, so consider to move around the island and stay different places... This is totally unnecessary if you have a practical mind (the isle is 30km long and 5 km wide), but fun and exciting if you love discovering great places to stay.

Hotel Le Sénéchal in Ars en Ré is such a place. Don't stay there for the village, it is very small (though lovely) and can be easily visited out of Saint Martin, but I really enjoyed staying a few days in the fresh, crisp, sea-side atmosphere of Hotel Sénéchal.


http://www.hotel-le-senechal.com/index.html

What I like about the hotel? Apart from a great breakfast and a nice (small) swimmingpool, the interior. Such a great combination of industrial and victorian furniture against a basic set up of brick, wood and white, decorated with colorfull flowers and cushions/ blankets. Just loved it.

There is quite a range of different options to stay (small rooms, suites, family rooms, appartments, private house), check the site for the different options and prices.    
France, Saint-Martin de Ré, Ile de Ré, La Maison Douce

The perfect match for a holiday that has it all: Paris & Ile de Ré. After a few days of romance/charm/shopping/clubbing/sight seeing in Paris take a car, train or plane and wash away the city dust in the Atlantic ocean. Romantic for an escape a deux, but also ideal when travelling with kids.

Ile de Ré is a 5 hour drive from Paris and is known for its charm with its ton-sur-ton white washed villages, colorfull flowers, fine sandy beaches, oysters, salt marches, ports, forests and more. It has a warm and sunny micro climate bringing the typical vegetation of the South of France (like olive trees, laurels, figs) to the isle. Therefore it's so special and popular with famous and arty Parisians; so close to the mainland, but a complete different atmosphere. For more info on the island check:  http://www.iledere.com/

Ile de Ré has 10 different villages. When going there you will definitively not miss Saint-Martin de Ré, the main village and world heritage site of Unesco. It has lovely terraces overlooking the port where you can enjoy a plate of oysters or the catch of the day. A great place to stay is La Maison Douce. A absolute recommendation, as the charm, the colors, the lovely interior, the garden, the friendliness of the owners of La Maison Douce represent 100% the Ile the Ré way of living. 


Most memorable of La Maison Douce: the spa/jaccuzzi, the victorian bath tub in your room and breakfast in the sunny garden.  

11 July 2011

France, Paris, République, Hotel Le General

An apple on your pillow, a selection of colorful beauty pills next to the croissants for breakfast, a fresh stylish design and a great bed & bathroom (with l'Occitane toiletries ...score!).

Be surprised, be inspired... stay at Hotel le General. Ideal if you want to stay in the heart of Paris but not in the touristic epicentrum and if you prefer urban cosmopolitan above typical French romantic brocante.


Hotel Le General is located a few steps away from Place de la Républic and at walking distance from Le Marais on one side and the Grand Boulevards on the other. If you are interested to discover the undiscovered Paris ask the reception for restaurants/bars in the area, there are plenty. Or check: http://www.mylittle.fr/mylittleparis/en/-bars-restaurants-.html

One NOT TO BE MISSED address... when walking from Le General to Place de Vosges via Boulevard du Temple / Beaumarchais, you will pass concept store Merci. It's ..... just great, inspiring and has it all. A fantastic loft location, a literary cafe, restaurant, flowers, designer clothes, bed linen, scented candles, unique perfumes, juwelry, home and kitchen materpieces/goodies, everything you need to write, to create... and more. Merci makes you smile and happy, from the entrance with a red fiat 500 in the courtyard to the check out where all the profit of everything you buy is donated to charities... What a feel good concept!   





8 July 2011

France, Paris, Marais, Caron de Beaumarchais

Paris, Paris! Je t'aime! Especially in Summertime, especially at the start of the Soldes : )

Just returned from a 48 hour Paris trip to visit a good friend, who now lives in the city of light (and love, and inspiration, and style, and so on and so on). How nice!

When I am Paris there are a few thing I HAVE to do. I cannot leave without 1) having been to the parcs (so nice to sit down and look around in the chairs at the ponds of the Tuileries or Parc du Luxembourg), 2)having had a coffee at the terrace of Café Marly in the gallery of the Louvre (just opposite the glass pyramid) and 3) having spend at least half a day in the Marais. 

While shopping and strolling in the Marais I suddenly stood in front of one of my favorite hotels in Paris, Caron de Beaumarchais. I stayed here a few years ago. It is so lovely, and so typically French and so centrally located in the Marais, that I definitely have to add it as ChocolateOnYourPillow address.













http://www.carondebeaumarchais.com

The hotel is named after the 18-century playwright Beaumarchais, who lived a few blocks away from the current location of the hotel when writing his famous play 'Marriage of Figaro'. This play has inspired the decor of the hotel: 'Charm, gaiety, joie de vivre, elegance, refinement and a spirit of freedom; all are elements of the originality of French culture, and they were born under Beaumarchais'. When entering the hotel it's just going back in time...

Mind that you have to make a reservation early in advance (it's a small hotel, 19 rooms and the cheapest roomrates -145€ for a double- are popular). See the raving reviews on tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187147-d188745-Reviews-Hotel_Caron_de_Beaumarchais-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

Although you should discover your Marais addresses yourself (it's part of the fun and new places pop up all the time), here are just a few of my favorites: café Chez Marianne, Zadig & Voltaire, the great selection of clothing brands at Abou D'Abi Bazar, a L'Olivier, art & photography gallery YellowKorner, Kusmi tea,  Entreé des fourniseurs, Satellite Paris Bijoux, the courtyard of Museé Carnavalet... et plus... et plus...

One last thing... if you are not planning a trip to Paris shortly, just take a look at http://littlebrownpen.blogspot.com/ so now and then. It could be that you will change you plans...

Bon Voyage!