Hotel Ar Terra Nova

Reception gave us a friendly welcome, and there are shops nearby, including a city Carrefour that works like a convenience store. The hotel is on a side street. Paid street parking seemed reasonably priced, and I paid 1.30 euro for overnight parking. There’s a sex shop opposite the hotel, which made me laugh, but nothing seedy seemed apparent during my stay. The room is basic, and it looks like an old place that’s been painted over. The shower is tiny but works. There’s no tea or coffee setup in the room, which you might expect in most British hotels, but for two nights that was fine. Breakfast is continental at 9 euros per person. I was in room 2 on the first floor. I could hear people coming and going on the stairs quite a bit, and when other rooms flushed, I could hear the drainage running through my bathroom. Not ideal. It’s fine for a cheap short stay on my own, but I wouldn’t want to work in the room.

Watch your wallet here. We booked one night in a family room at short notice and had already paid a lot. The room was adequate, though the curtains were a little tatty, so we didn’t think much of them. After we checked out, the hotel charged us €100 for a linen curtain they said was damaged, even though we hadn’t touched it. If we’d damaged it, I’d have happily replaced it for much less, but they went straight to charging us extra. We reluctantly tried to pay by phoning the hotel, and they hung up because we didn’t speak French. Utterly ridiculous. Also, outside the very limited opening hours, there’s nobody around, so you could easily get locked out if you forget the door code. Do your wallet and sanity a favour and book somewhere else.

The only downside was the thin walls. Otherwise, this was a great spot for our early ferry to Jersey. It’s a 12-minute walk to the ferry, which we had to catch after getting up at 6.00. We also had a lovely, quick bite at O P’tit Encas, a five-minute walk away. They had the best mussels, and we were able to get to bed early. A good combination of sleep, food and ferry. There’s free public parking, but it’s a 50-minute walk away if you don’t want to take your car to the island. In hindsight, I would have taken the car to get around!

Hotel Ar Terra Nova was a pleasant place to stay, with friendly, welcoming staff. The room was clear and comfortable, and we slept really well, though it was small, especially the shower. The location is handy, with an easy short walk to Saint Malo and free parking available nearby. Wi-Fi in our room was a bit spotty, but we could use it some of the time. I think it offers good value for the price.