What if true luxury was all about the experience. ? The gamble taken by a hotel in Brittany

What if true luxury was all about the experience. ? The gamble taken by a hotel in Brittany

21 August 2025

In Plouider, in the Finistère region, the La Butte hotel and restaurant is shaking up the high-end market. Its owners, Nicolas and Solène Conraux, have taken a bold decision: to rethink luxury, not in terms of spectacular facilities, but in terms of the experience enjoyed by their guests.

Focus on the essentials

Rather than investing in a heated swimming pool or an energy-intensive spa, the establishment has chosen to highlight what Brittany naturally offers : the ocean, the sea spray, and the changing light of the coastline. The swimming pool has been covered with flooring, the sauna operates at a low temperature, and mini-bars have disappeared from the rooms. ‘We want every choice to make sense,’ Nicolas Conraux told AFP. Running a heated swimming pool all year round, when the sea is right there, no longer made sense to us.

An authentic experience

Here, the experience is not confined to four walls. It continues outside, along the coastline, in direct contact with the sea. ‘Our guests don't need a swimming pool, they have the ocean right on their doorstep,’ says the owner. The hotel invites its guests to rediscover simplicity : cooling off in the sea, savouring the sea air, enjoying a naturally cool room.

 

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The air conditioning dilemma

Among the notable decisions, the decision not to install air conditioning is undoubtedly the most divisive. ‘Here, it's only used a few days a year. Investing in this type of energy-intensive equipment doesn't fit with our vision,’ explains Nicolas. Instead, La Butte relies on vegetation, natural ventilation and its proximity to the ocean to create a pleasant atmosphere. But this choice is not always unanimously welcomed. Some foreign customers, particularly Americans, consider air conditioning to be an essential standard. ‘We realise that this may come as a surprise,’ admits Nicolas Conraux. But we prefer to stand by our approach rather than give in to standardisation that goes against our convictions. As a result, the hotel has a strong identity, but at the cost of a certain commercial sacrifice.

A sign of change in tourism

La Butte's decisions are not isolated : they reflect a broader transformation in tourism. More and more travellers are looking for responsible holiday, where authenticity takes precedence over the superfluous. Hoteliers, for their part, must strike a delicate balance between ecological commitment and expectations of comfort. The Breton experience illustrates how bold, risky and inspiring this shift can be.

Reinventing luxury

By embracing simplicity, La Butte redefines what it means to ‘stay in a 4-star hotel’. Here, luxury is not found in infrastructure, but in the moment: a sunset over the ocean, a meal featuring local flavours, an atmosphere that exudes sincerity. ‘In our eyes, true luxury is not in what we add... but in what we choose to preserve,’ concludes Solène Conraux.