After listening to Parisian friends extol the pleasures and physical benefits of their annual weeklong thalassotherapy cure in Quiberon, on the coast of Brittany, we finally decided to take the plunge ourselves. Seawater treatments were pioneered in France in the early 1900s, and the country still has more thalassotherapy spas than any other.
Relatively little known in North America, thalassotherapy involves treatments — baths, showers, massages — that use seawater to stimulate healing and relaxation. Aside from being very enjoyable, they have also been shown to have solid medical benefits. The basic idea is that seawater and human plasma are similar in composition, so heating seawater to body temperature allows the skin to absorb beneficial trace minerals by osmosis.
In France, people tend to have their favorite thalassotherapy centers in much the same way that Americans have favorite Caribbean islands.
The advantages of seawater and sea mineral treatments have been known for centuries. In 414 B.C., Euripides wrote, rather optimistically, that “the sea cures all human ailments.” The first seawater bathing spa opened in Dieppe on the English Channel in 1778, and the popularity of seawater-based treatments and cures grew rapidly. Modern thalassotherapy — the name derives from the Greek thálassa, meaning “sea,” and therapeía, meaning “healing” — began in 1964, when French champion cyclist Louison Bobet opened a thalassotherapy center that became the Sofitel Quiberon Thalassa Sea & Spa resort. (Following a serious car accident, Bobet had been treated at a seawater medical institute in Roscoff on the northern coast of Brittany, and had been astonished by his dramatic recovery.)
In France, people tend to have their favorite thalassotherapy centers in much the same way that Americans have favorite Caribbean islands. Seawater from the Atlantic is richer in plankton and trace elements than that from the Mediterranean, but many people prefer the southern sun to the temperate climate of Brittany.
At the Sofitel in Quiberon, we opted for a six-day “Fitness & Wellness” program with 24 treatments. The hotel has two wings — one for regular guests and the other for people who are combining their cures with weight-loss regimes. Assured by our Parisian friends that the food at the 76-room “Diététique” wing was outstanding despite being low in calories, we decided that we might as well be brave.
Arriving in Auray after a three-and-a-half-hour train ride from Paris, we picked up a rental car and drove to the hotel. This has a magnificent seaside setting and low-rise architecture that makes it look rather like a big, curved white seashell. Our Superior Room was attractively decorated in earth tones, and had a large balcony. It was a bit on the small side, but ultimately felt more cozy than cramped.
After a tea, we attended appointments with our nutritionists, who detailed our treatment programs and designed a low-calorie regime. Truth be told, I can’t say I was much looking forward to dinner on our first night. To my astonishment, however, we had a truly excellent meal of freshly shucked local oysters, cod in an herbed sabayon sauce that successfully mimicked a good hollandaise, and an excellent compote of spiced apples. To be sure, the oysters would have been even better with a nice bottle of Muscadet, but nothing about the meal felt like privation.
The next morning, we reported to the Thalassotherapy Institute for our first treatments. There are four per day, with an alternating rhythm of programmed mornings and free afternoons. Among the treatments were sea-mud wraps, underwater showers and high-pressure jet massages. These were interspersed with activities such as aqua gym, during which you do calisthenics while standing in a pool. During the 10- to 40-minute intervals between treatments, you can swim in the huge indoor saltwater pool or relax in the sunroom.
Each day, we went for long walks along the shoreline of the peninsula.
Each day, we went for long walks along the shoreline of the peninsula. And one afternoon, we made an excursion to Carnac to visit the prehistoric menhirs (standing stones). Before embarking on our cure, I wondered whether we might get bored after a while, but it proved a deeply relaxing and reinvigorating experience.
AT A GLANCE
LIKE: Magnificent setting; friendly service; outstanding food.
DISLIKE: Poor selection of DVDs and uninspired television programming; a library with books about Brittany would be a useful addition.
GOOD TO KNOW: Almost all staff at the hotel and spa are bilingual. Bring several books, a windbreaker and walking shoes. Unless you’re planning to tour, you might not need a rental car, since transfers are available to the Auray train station.
Sofitel Quiberon Thalassa Sea & Spa 90 Superior Room (Ocean View), $400; Junior Suite (Ocean View), $670. Pointe de Goulvars, 56170 Quiberon. Tel. (33) 2-97-50-20-00.
Loath to return home, at the end of the six-day program we decided to spend a few days on Belle-Ile, the enchanting island 45 minutes by ferry from Quiberon. There, we stayed at Castel Clara, a seaside hotel that I have long recommended, which also has a well-regarded thalassotherapy center. Having already been sufficiently virtuous, however, we used the property as a base from which to rediscover the pleasures of Loire Valley white wines, served to accompany exceptional Atlantic seafood. But so as not to undermine the benefits of our cure, we rented bicycles on which to pedal home after lunch.
AT A GLANCE
LIKE: Exquisite situation on Goulphar Bay; fine seafood restaurant; wonderful spa.
DISLIKE: The complicated journey from Paris, which makes the resort unsuitable for a weekend break.
GOOD TO KNOW: Many hotels in Brittany close at the end of September, but with the exception of November 11-December 19, Castel Clara is open year-round.
Castel Clara 91 Superior Room (Ocean View), $435; Suite (Ocean View), $485. Goulphar, 56360 Bangor, Belle-Ile-en-mer. Tel. (33) 2-97-31-84-21.
This article appeared in the October 2014 print edition of Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report under the headline “Classic Spa Resorts on the Brittany Coast."
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