Domaine du Limonay, The Originals Collection

This place is good value and easy to reach, with the St Malo ferry 16 minutes away and the St Malo-Rennes train opposite the hotel, though it didn't disturb us at night. There's a big garden for walking the dog, with holiday chalets that looked a bit dilapidated. We had a large, clean, recently renovated comfort villa room for us and our dog. The hotel has an indoor pool and whirlpool, a bar, a Bistrot and a Michelin starred restaurant. The latter was closed on our night, but the Bistrot was great. Reception staff were delightful, though the younger Bistrot staff seemed a little reluctant.

The location is special, with plenty of nice sights within reach, and there’s a swimming pool and a train station right in front of the hotel. During the heat wave, the mobile air conditioning unit helped us out. Our overnight stay had some drawbacks, though: we could hear a lot of contact noise from the neighbours, especially the tap water. We didn't try the full restaurant, but the bistro menu had delicious food and a surprisingly good dish from a great cook.

The pool was okay, but having to pay separately for the sauna felt ridiculous. Our room was unbearably hot because the a/c didn't work, and the improvised machine from reception was useless. We couldn't leave the window open at night because of the highway noise. The view was ugly, straight onto the building's rooftop, and there was no coffee machine. We asked for an upgrade but couldn't get one. The shower had no curtain, so water went all over the floor.

We agreed on a final price over the phone for a room that was okay, though at €165 it was already heavily overpriced. The next morning, we were surprised by an extra city tax that hadn't been mentioned in the earlier pricing. After 20 minutes of discussion, the hotel still wouldn't let the €4 go. That left a really bad aftertaste from our stay.