A Brittany Landmark Is Reimagined as a Dreamy Retreat Filled with Maritime Splendor
The new hotel pays homage to the area's nautical tradition and the distinct look of the Côte de Granit Rose
Towering like a lighthouse over Brittany’s romantic, blush-colored shore, the former Manoir du Sphinx hotel has long reigned as the grande dame of the Côte de Granit Rose. Built in the French seaside town of Perros-Guirec in the 1930s, it was one of the first retreats along the water’s edge and adopted the name of its rocky perch. Constructed using local gray and pink granite, with white timber-framed windows and steep slate gabled roofs, the destination echoes the traditional noble homes crowning the Breton coastline.
Guillaume Foucher and Frédéric Biousse, owners of Fontenille Collection, searched for years for a waterfront property in Brittany to add to their portfolio of boutique hotels, which they launched almost a decade ago with the restoration of flagship estate Domaine de Fontenille in Provence’s Luberon region. After a year and a half of renovations—the majority reviving the façade to its original 20th-century spirit—the hotel, now with 25 rooms, has been reborn as Les Bassans, after the French name for the northern gannet. “It’s a magnificent bird that crosses the seas like a marine explorer,” says Foucher of the avian found in the nearby Sept-Îles reserve. “The name evokes that symbolism of maritime navigation—the hotel is like a ship on the sea.”
Parisians started visiting Perros-Guirec at the turn of the 20th century, thanks to the arrival of the train, and this theme of travel is threaded throughout the hotel’s design. Conjured by Foucher alongside an in-house team, the crisply edited rooms evoke the feeling of early-century, Art Deco cruise cabins, with their minimalist mélange of warm wood, antique brass accents, and telescopes worthy of the most discerning seafarer. The hotel’s panoramic restaurant and bar take their cues from 1930s ocean liners.
Vintage black-and-white photographs that capture the spirit of Breton heritage, including women in traditional 19th-century tall coiffe bigoudène lace headdresses and ceremonial costumes, hang on the walls, while Ker’s artisan-made furnishings, heavy on wood and ropework, offer a modern take. Brest-based tile manufacturer Gwilen crafted mosaics for the baths from sustainable marine sediment, and local ceramic artist Valentine Benoist fashioned shell-shaped tableware inspired by northern Brittany’s wild landscape for the restaurant. “The idea with the design was to be natural: beige, white, wood, linen,” says Foucher of the contemporary coastal look.
Les Bassans is suspended cliffside nearly 26 feet above rocks, with the white sands of Plage de Trestrignel to the east. For the landscape, Foucher and Biousse planted thousands of native bruyère, wild, bushy heather that sprouts violet blossoms along the rocks.
Brittany’s bounty of ingredients drives the menu at the restaurant, where seared oysters, grilled lobster, and rolled buckwheat galettes parade out of the open kitchen. At Bar des Bassans, the water-facing stools are the ideal spot for sampling cocktails blended with seaweed-infused gin, Breton citrus-spiked vermouth, and some of the region’s finest botanicals.
“In Brittany, the tides are powerful and the sea isn’t calm like the Mediterranean, so it feels like you’re on a boat that’s sailing across the water,” says Foucher. “After spending over a month here, this feeling has become even stronger for me—you can’t imagine how close to the sea you are.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Fall Issue under the headline “Rosy Outlook.” Subscribe to the magazine.