First impressions don’t always count

Helena Beard learns not to judge a book by its cover when she checks into the Best Western Plus Hotel Isidore in Rennes, France.

Saturday night and the roads around Rennes Airport seemed utterly deserted. Our flight from Southampton had arrived late and, as the taxi turned off into what looked like a modern housing development, my meagre hopes of finding an evening meal to suit two under nines and a strict vegetarian started to fade even further. Happily, the Isidore Hotel offered a lot more than its exterior and surroundings suggested.

The Isidore Hotel is a Best Western Plus property, meaning that it benefits from upgraded facilities and a more luxurious feel than your average Best Western. The hotel opened in 2013, and it is located in La Courrouze, Rennes’ new ‘eco-district’, just an eight-minute and €15 taxi ride away from Rennes airport.

The reality is that what this hotel lacks in holiday atmosphere, it makes up for in convenience. This is an ideal base for anyone exploring this part of France, or stopping over in Rennes on arrival by air. If you come by ferry and want to explore some of the sights, the hotel is equidistant between St Malo and Le Mont-Saint-Michel, both of which are around 45 minutes’ drive away.

Comfort is really the name of the game here. This was evident from the swish reception area, the contemporary design of the lobby, and the well-located seating areas. Oh, and the free sweets of course. Shiny tiled floors also made ideal surfaces both for wheeling suitcases and for impromptu junior skating competitions.

Our late arrival was met with the expected combination of politeness tinged with concern about our tardiness. But a quick phone call established that our pre-booked table in the restaurant had been kept for us and, fortunately, we were welcome to go straight down for dinner.

The hotel has its own brasserie, La Cocotte d’Isidore, which is open Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner, and for dinner only on Saturdays. The options for eating elsewhere outside the hotel are limited – there is only one other restaurant within walking distance – but fortunately La Cocotte offers a full menu on most days and the food is hearty and tasty. Our Saturday night eating was defined by a set menu, with two meaty choices for each course, but the chef was flexible and prepared an individual vegetarian dish for my husband. The overtired kids were given special sanctions to ignore eating altogether and feast only on bowls of ice cream. I enjoyed a delicious traditional lamb stew and we washed everything down with a bottle of reasonably priced wine.

Up to bed and a very comfortable night’s sleep. The rooms at the Isidore are air conditioned and well equipped and you aren’t left wanting for anything, except perhaps a pretty view. Big beds, crisp white linen, widescreen TVs and free wifi were welcome and there were also interconnecting rooms available for families. Beyond the attractions of the room, there’s little for families to enjoy, but adults will like the small fitness area and the spa which allows guests access to a jacuzzi, sauna and steam room included in the room price.

As is always the case when I travel with my children, the hotel was ultimately judged on the quality of its breakfast buffet. And the Isidore did not disappoint. Whilst the decor and ambience of the hotel itself offered few references to its location or the surrounding countryside, the breakfast was overrun with local and traditional Breton products. There were delicious crepes served with a salt caramel sauce, which was to be found again and again in artisan shops around Brittany over the following week. There was a huge assortment of jams, pastries and Breton cakes, dates, figs and apricots, and cereal and yoghurts. There were even serving scrambled eggs and bacon, presumably for their British visitors (on that morning, just us I believe). You could have as much as you liked, take a tray up to your room, and the coffee was strong enough to stand a spoon in.

As my daughter said as she tucked into her third croissant, ‘Happy Days!’