At the entrance to the port of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, Hôtel de Toiras occupies a 17th-century shipbuilder’s residence that has been faithfully restored with the utmost attention to detail. There’s a maritime charm to the colour co-ordinated toile de Jouy, curtains and antique porcelains; and a homely dignity pervades every room, just as it would have hundreds of years ago.
Fresh seafood and local ingredients fill the menus in the chintz-lined restaurant and garden terrace, seemingly a world apart from the harbour town outside. Île de Ré’s cobbled centre is surrounded by 17th-century fortifications, which can easily be explored from the hotel on foot. Take leisurely strolls, watch the sun set from the port and step back inside your 17th-century home from home in time for dinner.
