Spa Weekend in Brittany

In deep midwinter, when the body cries out for a dash of detox and the soul for an infusion of clear, bright ocean light, the pocket too often nixes these dreams of pampering with a squeal of: “Tropical spa?? Forget it!”

Thank goodness, then, for Brittany’s Thalasso centres, right on our doorstep, their therapists ready to wrap us in seaweed, massage us with jets of warm seawater, re-educate our joints in mineral-rich pools and tuck us up between treatments to gaze out, at the sea with its miraculous power to lift the mood and heal the spirit. Reasons to go soon include low-season rates and a greater chance of winter sunlight than we can expect in gloomy Britain.

It’s not surprising Thalasso therapy was invented, more than 100 years go, in this far-flung French province with three coasts jutting out into the Atlantic, a phenomenon which bathes the entire region in a luminous light which led Gauguin and friends to come and paint among the fishing villages, water-mills, mediaeval castles and standing stones which dot this ancient land colonised by the Cornish, among others, 1,500 years ago.

That first Thalasso centre, established in 1899 in the delightful little north coast town of Roscoff, is still going strong, but behind it have come a dozen more, so that it’s perfectly possible to enjoy a sea-spa trail, sightseeing as you go and enjoying an ever-increasing sense of wellbeing. The opportunity is a relatively new one - Brittany was until recently hard to reach but is now within an hour’s low-cost flight from Britain, and while the Thalasso centres prefer to sell a packaged ‘cure’ tailored to a stay of several days, they are pragmatic enough to offer weekend packages and half-day tasters of three or four treatments for casual visitors, which is the minimum you need to get the general idea.

Men will feel as comfortable as women – Thalasso therapy is a unisex activity in France - and although the treatment areas can seem clinical, all the pampering expertise is there, along with the big fluffy bathrobes.

A good place to start is Carnac, whose large, modern centre, offering a very wide variety of Thalasso treatments, is flanked by both an unusually luxurious Novotel and a two-star Ibis allowing direct access and boasts a huge indoor-outdoor seawater pool and a new spa, where being slathered in a skin-remineralising concoction, swaddled and sunk down for 15 minutes into a new age waterbed which beams out colour therapy as it gently rocks you is one of the most sybaritic, womblike experiences you will ever encounter.

On the Thalasso side, the most enjoyable treatments include hydromassage baths, with their programmed underwater jets, a manual massage sous affusion (with warm seawater being gently showered onto your back for the duration), a wrap in warm seaweed and the passive but essential experience of staring out at the water and sky between treatments. No Thalasso is worth its salt without a warm, comfortable rest room with floor to ceiling plate glass where you can read, snooze or simply meditate on the wonderful feeling of wellbeing you are soaking up from the sea as you contemplate the elements.

Carnac offers 11 different cures, tailored to slimmers, de-stressers, those wanting to concentrate on their backs, legs or general fitness, but will be of special interest to new mothers, for whom the centre has created a special get back into shape exercise programme along with plenty of pampering, a baby massage session and, most unusually, a mother and baby treatment bath in bubbling seawater.

Another special offering is the chance to eat some or all meals at the dietetic spa restaurant, where the food is as delicious as the excellent main eatery, but without access to the fabulous salted butter for which Brittany is famous (Breton bread and oh-so-lo cal fish and seafood also happen to be the best in France). The Carnac complex also offers tennis, riding, cycling and boat excursions, and is close to several sets of standing stones which are the relics of mysterious ancient civilisations.

Those wishing to pepper a Thalasso break with a bit of culture will find, within a short drive of Carnac, the delightful little hamlet of Pont-Aven, with its water mills, Gauguin art trail and really special shops like Lulu, a vintage store atop the boutique of a handmade chocolatier ('Lulu' is the alias for the American fashionista who married into the chocolate dynasty and decided to sell superb old designer wear and jewellery above the bonbons). Across the road, by the picturesque bridge, is the superb Bistrot de Rosmadec offering some of the best contemporary food in Brittany - round the corner is their traditional Michelin-rated restaurant in a 15th century mill, which also offers rooms in a beautiful village that positively cries out for an overnight stay.

Returning to the seawater therapy, the Thalasso at Carnac may be hard to beat, but keep driving east and you will find better sea views and finer accommodation. There is a very good Thalasso and spa attached to the luxurious Castel Clara hotel, on the delightfully far-flung island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer, immortalised by Monet and a 45-minute ferry ride from the mainland. Really excellent breakfast and lunch spreads are almost better here than the fancy restaurant dinner, and although the Thalasso and spa are fairly trad, they do offer in conjunction with a seaweed wrap, that new age Spa Bed experience which was the great delight of Carnac.

While it’s hard to better the spacious, comfortable sea-view rooms at Castel Clara, which also caters for cyclists, scuba divers, horse-riders, golfers and tennis-players, remarkably there is an even more luxurious offering in the far south-east corner of Brittany, where the smart resort of La Baule boasts the top-end Royal Thalasso, a partnership between the five-star Lucien Barriere chain and the classy Thalgo product company. Tried and tested a few years ago, this spa proved sheer heaven, and it must be testimony to the delights of La Baule, with its casino and broad beaches, that the resort supports a second Thalasso centre.

Southern Brittany is easy to reach now, thanks to direct flights from Southampton and, for most of the year, from Manchester and other UK regional airports, to Rennes, the sophisticated Breton capital where it’s worth spending half a day to admire the handsome architecture and browse the eclectic shops around the Place des Lices.

Rennes is also within an hour of the northern harbour town of St. Malo, which as well as a splendid old historic city fields its own Thalasso therapy centre. There is also a very nice little spa in the suburb of St. Jouan des Guerets, not far from St. Malo, at the hotel La Malouiniere des Longs Champs.

Here, just when you thought you had experienced the ultimate in treatments, you are confounded by the most luxurious of all, which scrubs you with gold dust and massages particles of the precious metal into your skin to leave you looking as sparkling as a few days of Thalasso therapy cannot fail to make you feel.

FACT BOX

Flybe (www.flybe.com - booking by phone on 0871 700 2000 means a premium phone call and higher fares) serves Rennes from Southampton from around £99. Southwest Trains serve the airport direct from Waterloo every half-hour and take 70 mins to make the journey.

Six-night stays at Carnac Thalasso (+33 2 97 52 53 54) including bed, breakfast, dinner and several daily treatments, from around £650.

Castel Clara (+33 2 97 31 84 21) from around £300 per night for two including treatments.

Le Royal Thalasso at La Baule (+33 2 40 11 48 48) offers double rooms including bed and breakfast and treatments each for two at a good-value £240 per night.

More info on Brittany’s Thalasso spas on 0800 085 7739, where offers and a booking service is also available.