Le Corps de Garde vs Hotel Clos de St Martin?

We are travelling w/ our 16 year old son and will stay at either of these 2 hotels. Does anyone have an opinion which would be better? Thanks!

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I don%26#39;t know the hotel, but I have spend 3 nights in September at the B%26amp;B Le Corps de Garde with a friend and we both loved it. The location at the end of the port is fabulous, the house has been beautiffully renovated and the owners are very friendly. We had a twin bedroom looking to the sea.

The only thing I would check is how they can accomodate the 3 of you (I am not sure that you will share your bedroom with a 16 old son ?).

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Thanks for your reply. Le Corps de Garde only has their l%26#39;île de loix room available; it%26#39;s in their other buliding, Maison du Port. By any chance did you see it? I worry that it may be hot in August; do you remeber if you were confortable in September, or if they had fans?

Thanks!

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I am sorry that I can%26#39;t help you. We stayed in the main house and have not seen the other location.

Weather was not warm in September : we had cloudy wheather at the beginning, even some rain, and a beautiful weather in the last two days.

I have also been there in August a few years ago with my family. Never experienced hot temperatures. It is never hot in an island on the Atlantic as you always have wind.

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I can%26#39;t help with advice about the hotels, but given a choice between August and September, I would always always go in September.

Ile de Ré is a beautiful island, and much appreciated by the French. This means that August is always a very busy period; the restaurants are full, car parks are full, and you can sometimes queue for ages to get over the bridge to get on or off the island.

The weather can still be very warm in September, although no-one can guarantee what the weather will be at a specific date in the future. I have been in September, October, May and June; and so far always had good weather. We were even there last Christmas, although it was cold then.

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I totally agree with Sunlover. The island is crowded in August, there are traffic jams on the roads and the bike paths can even get dangerous as there are so may people cycling everywhere.

If you have the choice of your dates, you shouls avoid the first half of august, it will be more quiet after August 19th.

With our kids at school age, we couldn%26#39;t go out of school holidays period. That%26#39;s why I loved it so much to go back in September with a friend. We were alone most of the time at bird watching or on the beach!

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Thanks for your replies. We are going there on Aug. 19th for 3 nights, so hopefully it won%26#39;t be quite as busy. We are now deciding between Maison Douce and Hotel le Jettee. My biggest concern is lack of airconditioning. Hopefully won%26#39;t be too hot.

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Don%26#39;t worry, you really don%26#39;t need A/C at Ile de Ré ! It is the atlantic climate, never hot at night.

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Hello retsofs3,

Personally, I would always go for Le Corps de Garde vs Hotel Clos de St Martin (although both hotels are very smart, and in excellent locations). The decor at Le Corps de Garde is to die for! Then again, there is a swimming pool at Hotel Clos.

You will like both the Hotel La Jetée or Maison Douce. Hotel LJ is modern, and right on the harbour front. Maison Douce is more sophisticated in terms of decor - think typical Ile de Ré greys and blues, gorgeous furnishings - and you may also find it slightly quieter. It is located in the %26#39;upper%26#39; part of the town, fairly near the church (but still only 5 minutes walk, if that, from the harbour front).

September deffo better than August if you can get away then.

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Hi.

Wish we could go in Setember, but our 16 year old will be back in school. All the hotels sound nice. We%26#39;d stay at Le Corps de Garde, but they are filled up; the only room they have available is at their Maison Du Port, which judging from the website didn%26#39;t look as nice. Have you seen it? Right now we are leaning towards Hotel La Jettee- the suites look nice for the 3 of us. Here%26#39;s another question; we%26#39;re not sure whether we need to rent a car for our stay. I was thinking we might just bike everywhere; have lunch in different towns, beaches, and then have dinner in St Martin. Is that a good idea, or do you think a car would be helpful? Many thanks for your help!

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Hello again,

You%26#39;ll be very happy with the La Jetée, it%26#39;s a very nice hotel in a great location - it might be worth asking for one of the quietest rooms, though.

As a party of 3 fit (?) adults, I wouldn%26#39;t hire a car for your short visit. You can really do everything by bike. There is a bike hire store just down the road from La Jetée.

Here are some nice bike routes:

- along the coast to La Couarde

- down to La Flotte, to wander round the lovely market and enjoy a drink at one of the harbourside cafés

- over the salt marshes to Loix

- head for Ars, then direction St Clément and Les Portes (stop off at La Conche beach) and back down again via the Lilleau nature reserve (day trip)

Enjoy!