L’Hermitage hotel, pool, and white sand private beach!
No beachy, sunshine daydream would be complete without reflecting on the most glamorous beach resort I have ever visited (possibly the most glamorous in the world), the gorgeous Hotel Hermitage Barrière in La Baule-Escoublac, France. Thinking about the few days my family vacationed there is more relaxing than a scalp massage. It is a historic hotel directly on a beautiful white sand beach on the Brittany Peninsula. Are you concerned the food will not be the best you’ve ever tasted? Don’t worry – the regional delicacies are crepes, hard cider, goat cheese, sea salt and caramel… so yeah… every meal is amazing. The hotel operates a glorious seafood restaurant directly on the beach.
This is real.
The breakfast at L’Hermitage was so amazing that my sister and I woke up as soon as possible so we could spend at least 90 minutes enjoying the buffet every day. The quaint surrounding town has perfect boutiques, great restaurants and amazing vacation homes. In WWII, the Germans did not surrender La Baule-Escoublac until eight months after VE Day and the towns natural and architectural beauty makes it easy to understand why. It really is perfect.
El Castel
In my google search of “best beach resorts in Spain” I stumbled across Es Castell on the island of Mallorca. Although it is about a thirty minute drive from the beach I would be MORE than willing to spend a few days there. The hotel is a beautiful Sixth Century property expertly remodeled into a luxury boutique hotel. The combination of soft beds, medieval structures, gorgeous sunset views from the pool, and amazing food sounds idyllic. Do yourself a favor and click through all the pictures on their website. WOW!
Wow… November is super murky, foggy, and soggy here in Minnesota. I am already dreaming of a beach vacation! This does not bode well for my mental health for the rest of November – March.
For this hypothetical vacation we will not have a ton of itinerary stops. We will travel to one spot and relax on a beach. Here are some potential locations:
Captiva Island
South Seas Island Resort on Captiva Island features almost 20 different pools and a full service beach with umbrellas, chaise lounges, snacks and full bars. Sigh! Relax on land with a full spa, golf course, tennis courts, and bicycle rentals. The entire resort village is a protected wildlife sanctuary so we will have a good chance of seeing awesome wild life like manatees and lizards. I know Brent will be especially interested in the guided Kayak Tours. Mmmm… my only concern is the family focus. Since we don’t have any children, we might want to go somewhere with fewer kids.
The Colony Club
Obviously I LOVE historic hotels and am very interested in The Colony Hotel and Cabana Club. This bright yellow beauty was built in 1926 and features a private beach, great looking restaurants, gold and tennis. If we get tired of relaxing on the beach (not likely) we can explore the Wakodahatchee Wetlands and visit antique shops on Atlantic Avenue.
More snippets of great beach resorts later…
Future Vacations 