The resort town of Le Touquet, on the coast of Normandy, has a reputation as a cosmopolitan, semi-urban beach resort, frequented mostly by city types on weekend trips from London or Paris. A sun-bleached cottage on the sand just wouldn’t look right in such a style-conscious town. Instead you’ve got the Pol Hotel, a Twenties Flemish-style red brick building, just across the street from the famous Covered Market — here you’re less than a quarter-mile from the beach, but you’re just as close to the shops, boutiques and bars along the Rue Saint-Jean.
In some seaside resorts the mania for historic preservation too often takes hold, with owners turning hotels into museum exhibits. Not so here; the Pol is fresh off a thorough makeover courtesy of Flamant, the Belgian home interiors company. As such it’s contemporary in style, muted in color, and expertly coördinated — any more so and the Pol might start looking like a furniture showroom. Bathrooms are just as carefully planned, with Dornbracht taps, Alape basins and Molton Brown bath products. With no restaurant, the Pol is more discreet hideaway than full-service resort hotel; it’s a blessing in disguise, though, forcing guests out into the town to sample Le Touquet’s culinary scene.
author watson@mouselink.net, source www.tablethotels.com