A night in the Yves Rocher hotel: La Grée des Landes Eco-Hotel & Spa

Last summer I had the great opportunity of exploring a part of Brittany, France, together with the Brittany Tourism Board.

During the trip we stopped for one night at La Gacilly, a lovely town in Brittany, in the Yves Rocher hotel called La Grée des Landes hotel, a Eco- Hotel Spa owned by the brand.

Yes, Yves Rocher the cosmetics brand, which happen to be born in La Gacilly. What do the hotel and the brand have in common? They are both inspired by nature, and pays close attention to the environment.
From the outside, the hotel looks a little strange, like one of those design hotels which sometimes feel a little soulless, but as soon as you step in you feel a sense of relaxation, is sharpened by the preponderance of the wood as material.

SWEET, GREEN, DREAMS

I should start by telling you about the design and everything else, but as I entered the room I was immediately drawn to the amenity kid on the desk.
I mean, wouldn’t you? This is what it contained!

And now let’s get to business: the design of the rooms is minimalist and relaxing, with one side being a floor to ceiling wall glass. The predominance of wood as element gives a tranquil feeling to the room; the Oak wood used for floors and the paneling comes from sustainable forests.

Each room has a private terrace opening onto the 10-hectare park, where guests can relax… unfortunately you won’t be able to work from your room or the garden, beacuse WiFi is only available in the lobby and bar. Bummer!

ORGANIC MEETS GOURMET AT
LES JARDINS SAUVAGES

Food at the hotel’s restaurant, Les Jardins Sauvages, is good, but a little overpriced.
Les Jardins Sauvages chef, Gilles Le Gall, strongly believes the cuisine must be healthy and at the same time appetising: fruit and veggies come directly from the hotel’s garden, and all other ingredients from Brittany region.
The products are organic and seasonal, and the dishes are well presented.

GOOD MORNING BEAUTIFUL!

When I review a hotel, breakfast is quite an important point to me.
At La Grée des Landes at breakfast time a sign says that the food only comes from fair trade productions.
Fruit juices, cold cuts, cheeses and butter come from local and artisanal productions; cereals, the bread, the cakes and the yoghurt are made with organic products, as well as the coffee.
Breakfast is not included in the price of the room, and at 14 euros pp it’s a little pricey.

CONTEMPLATE, RELAX, LET GO

I do Love Spas, and I Love Spas even more when they use natural, organic products for the treatments, which is why I quite hate myself now for not having the time to go and check out the Spa, the relaxation pool and the traditional hammam at La Grée des Landes.

Well, next time!
If you look closely, amid the vegetation you might spot a treehouse nestled 6 metres above the ground in the garden.

It’s the Cabane Spa Yves Rocher, where you can have spa treatments in the summertime: in the winter the treehouse becomes a very special suite, where you can cuddle with your love amidst the vegetation.
Quite an idea for a special day, uh?

GREEN CREDENTIALS

Recently there’s been quite an “eco buzz”, where sustainability seems to have become tremdy: because of this, lots of properties are adding the “eco” component in their description, just because it’s cool.

This means I’m always dubious when I read about a “eco-hotel”, but La Grée des Landes truly takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously.

Solar panels and grass roofs which provide insulation help by keeping low the consumption of electricity and gas , while the staff is very acive in dividing recycling waste.
The food and Spa products are oganic, and some ingredients come directly from the hotel garden. When you say “km 0″…
Special showerheads and a system of water filtering help consume less water.
A special thing the hotel does is planting a new tree for each guest, which I think it’s a very simple yet awesome concept.

Rates start at 150 euros.

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My stay at La Grée des Landes was sponsored by the Brittany Tourism Board, but the opinions in  this review are exclusively my own, as always.