A Holiday Between Salt Gardens, Dunes and the Ocean
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Le Phare, the oldest property in Collection Rivages, sits at the northern tip of the island, right where the world ends and the Atlantic begins. No hotel would ever have built what these cabanes are: quiet, considered, so deeply woven into island life that after two days you feel like you’ve always belonged here. That is a promise Le Phare keeps.
Location
Les-Portes-en-Ré, the village at the northern tip of the island, is the quietest corner the Île de Ré has to offer. No harbour promenade, no souvenir shops stacked three floors high, no queues at the ice cream van. Instead: whitewashed houses with green shutters, a village square that briefly comes to life in the late morning before settling back into a gentle stillness, and all around, the tides.
Le Phare is nestled between salt marshes and the Atlantic, 50 metres from a fine sandy beach, close enough to walk there barefoot after waking up, and far enough that by evening you can’t hear a sound from the beach.
If you’re coming in summer, try not to arrive at the weekend if you can help it. The causeway connecting the Île de Ré to the mainland is a test of patience on Friday and Saturday afternoons in peak season. Arrive on a Tuesday or Wednesday and you’ll be cycling to the beach while others are still sitting in traffic.
Accommodation
Le Phare offers two types of accommodation, and both are Signature Cabanes in the truest sense of the word. The Cabanes de Ré are modelled on the island’s traditional houses, small white buildings with a touch of Mediterranean lightness, available in two or three-bedroom configurations sleeping up to six. Inside: pale wood, clean lines, nothing superfluous. Outside: a terrace that invites you to linger.
The Beach Houses go one step further. Hidden in the vegetation, raised on timber stilts, they feel like a promise to anyone who has always wanted a holiday that feels like a cabin in the woods, only with two full bathrooms, air conditioning and Wi-Fi. Select Beach Houses are now fitted with a Nordic outdoor bath on the terrace, for that moment when the kids are asleep and the evening is entirely your own. Travelling with a larger family, or simply wanting more space and privacy? Take a look at the Villa Beach House: 65 square metres, up to six people, two bathrooms, beds already made on arrival and of course the Nordic bath, which comes as standard here.
Food & Drink
The restaurant Coucou – Île de Ré is the culinary soul of Le Phare. Breakfast through to dinner, regional cooking, generous sharing plates and dishes that taste of island life. Oysters from the coast, mussels from the Atlantic, homemade jam in the morning. The restaurant opens out onto the terrace, and on warm evenings families linger at the long tables until the torches are the only light left.
The new Bar Amer in the Club House is for the hours after dinner: a coffee in the morning, a glass of white wine in the late afternoon, an apéro that quietly slides into the evening. The name says it all, Amer meaning bitter, like a good bottle of Suze, and the atmosphere matches perfectly.
Wellness
Le Phare is not a spa resort. It is something better: a place that doesn’t organise relaxation into a treatment menu, but builds it into the rhythm of the day. The pool sits in the greenery, quiet, without the usual scramble for sun loungers. Morning yoga sessions led by visiting teachers who let the stillness of the place find its way into their classes. And if you’ve booked a Nordic bath on the terrace, you won’t need anything else.
The Mojo Mojo Festival (8–28 June) brings its mindfulness programme to all five Rivages locations. Breathing exercises between salt marshes and the Atlantic horizon carry a quality all of their own here. The same goes for the Art Camp (13–23 July): creative workshops and artistic encounters for the whole family, also at all locations, and on the Île de Ré set within an island landscape that feels like a work of art in itself.
You can find our full overview of all five Collection Rivages locations and our guide to choosing the right one here. If you’re torn between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, check out our favourite place feature on Salines on the Giens Peninsula.
