Le Nessay

Although the hotel is outwardly beautiful and sits on an exceptional peninsula with lovely views, I doubt that it merits being among the Small Luxury Hotels of the World. The grounds around the castle are public and during our Pentecost-weekend stay there were literally hundreds of walkers on the premises. Privacy? No privacy. The bar and the terrace: a big pub! Open to all. No reserved area for hotel guests. In the afternoon of Pentecost Sunday, we did not find a table for two and had to go to the village for an aperitif.Privacy? No privacy. The room: Nicely appointed with a rather spectacular shower in a room in the turret. Yes, there was a bottle of water and a Nespresso machine, but no other treat at all: no piece of cake or chocolate, no welcome drink, no flower. Little attention to guests. So all in all: A good pub-hotel beautiful to look at, nice, but not luxurious, and at some 500€ per night for two (plus parking fees) including a very standard breakfast certainly way over the top.

I have mixed feelings about our stay at this hotel. The hotel and grounds are stunning, our room was perfect, and the staff were lovely. What travelers need to know is that this hotel is seasonal. It is located in a beach resort town, and when we were there during a weekday in April, the hotel restaurant was closed, as were the restaurants in town. Our only option for dining in the evening was to drive a good 20 minutes to Saint-Malo or to eat in the hotel bar (where 60% of the already limited menu was unavailable).

I’ve been going to the Nessay for the past 15 years. New mgmt team since last year. It’s been transformed to an oasis of sadness… the aperitif (albeit always with a great view) it’s flat as a pancake (no-taste beer, flat cocktails, basic food), disastrous lunch (anonymous entrées followed by over-cooked ravioli with cold seafood seasoned with an acid vinegrette). Help!!!

This is our third year staying at le Nessay. It’s a beautiful place. The location is gorgeous in St Briac. After very long drive from the UK on arrival late Monday afternoon for a 3 night stay we were told 1- the restaurant is closed today AND on Tuesday evening and is fully booked on Wednesday. 2- we’ve run out of most of our bar food due to an event the day before. 3- please pay your balance. What a welcome :( . We were annoyed and depressed by this. To be fair guests are encouraged to book the restaurant in advance - and a table was offered at the last minute on Tuesday night - however it’s not ideal for a really expensive hotel not to run a restaurant service on two week days. To mismanage the catering as to have all but two snack items off the alternative bar menu for hotel guests is poor. Please note our rooms cost over £600 euros each night. On a positive the staff are all extremely pleasant, attentive and friendly. We really appreciated this. The hotel and rooms are spotlessly clean. But these are the basics. Breakfast was a big surprise. It was so minimal - as a previous review has mentioned - as to be austere. You’d expect that at a budget stopover but not in a luxury hotel. I wanted someone to ask what tea or coffee I’d like and bring it to me. No luck - guests must make their own from a machine. It wasn’t like this last year, and feels like agressive cost cutting to the point of being a poor experience. I removed three mouldy plums from the fruit bowl, and one decaying peach. Surely someone could check the fruit at least ? Finally the bar, it’s a real feature of the hotel with its wonderful terrace and views across the sea. Again the staff are great and the cocktails are delicious. We noticed a big screen on scaffolding at one end of the outside seating area. Unbelievably the hotel planned a movie night on our last evening. I was looking forward to a peaceful night listening to the sea but as our rooms were a few meters away from the giant screen we had to listen to an Astérix the Gaul cartoon amplified until 11pm. Not to mention the bright light of the screen shining into our room. I complained at the time and by email but as yet no response from management. We won’t be back next year.

That’s a gem. A very friendly hotel at a beautiful location at an impressive old castle. Overall, the stay was excellent, and the team was very welcoming. Easy access to the beach. The bar is very nice and serves fresh local oysters. One point for improvement is breakfast choice.

We stayed at Le Nessay on the night of September 23rd and had to cut short our stay on the morning of the 24th because of a medical emergency with the family dog. The behaviour by the management of the hotel was so incomprehensible that *********** attempted to intercede on our behalf and were as shocked as we were by management's attitude. On the morning of September 24 our pug became ill and we telephoned her Vet (in Saumur) who directed us to go ASAP to VetRef in Angers Beaucouzé (a fully equipped emergency animal hospital) which is 207 kilometres from the hotel. First thing that morning we had already told the hotel we needed to leave and we rushed to gather our things once contacting VetRef. The person at the desk told me they would credit the night we would miss while on my way back to the room to assist with getting out things. Once back downstairs, and heading out the door, the answer changed to No because we booked through ***********. We ;needed to go and focus on the dog. Once the dog was being treated, and I could turn back to this, the dismantling of the truth by hotel management is shocking. I contacted *********** who said of course the room could be credited if okayed by LeNessay. The hotel refused to respond to their several calls and then refused the credit. *********** was shocked given the emergency circumstances. The hotel then claimed we left mid afternoon so they could not re-rent the room.Again, trying to blame someone else. That is an impossibility. The veterinarian hospital records show that our dog was admitted for emergency care at 1:50 in the afternoon, 13:50. That was 207 km from the hotel! The car travel takes over 2.5 hours. We were out the door of the hotel no later than 10:30 AM and they knew before the breakfast I never ate. I have a second home in France and am appalled by management's position which is so inconsistent with my lifetime of experience here. Yes, the wonderful French veterinarians took great care of our dog and were pleased they acted so quickly and effectively. She is recovering well after surgery . No, I would not stay at a hotel with that type of a response to an emergency especially when they easily had the economic benefit of the room returned to them. Thanks to *********** who tried to intercede.