It is the latest addition to French thalassotherapy centers. The establishment Roz Marine opened its doors on 1is March 2023 on the ruins of the sea baths of Pierros Guirec, in the Côtes d’Armor, in Brittany, closed in 2017. From the lobby, imposing blocks of pink granite set the tone, we are indeed in Brittany. And certainly not in a spa treatment. The decoration, created by Breton interior designer Christophe Bachmann, is way too cool for that.
photo credit: DR
Here the objective was to “mix contemporary and comfort with a Breton touch, explains Laura Chevalier, marketing manager at Roz Marine. Everything has been thought of to pay homage to our beautiful region, its gastronomy and its pink granite coast (or pink, in Breton). Many frescoes recall the sea, notably the waves above the beds in the bedrooms, but we are not here in a classic thalassotherapy decoration. We wanted to break the codes by finding a lot of original objects. The goal is for customers to feel at home. We want to speak to young people, those not so young, couples, families… Because well-being also requires atmosphere. »
“We wanted to avoid the hospital side at all costs,” adds Nathalie Martin, general director of the establishment. And for good reason, here, we are in a thalassotherapy center, not a spa treatment. The proof is: we are talking about immersion.
A typically French concept
“After four to six days, you start to see the effects. When you do this for six days, the effects last six months. So ideally, you should do two immersions per year, she explains. Any more, it can be tiring. »
I’m new to this, it’s my first thalassotherapy. Nathalie Martin explains: “the particularity of thalassotherapy is that the treatments are based on sea water, the added value is the algae, the trace elements”. A short history lesson follows: “ At the end of the 19th century, biologists discovered 104 common elements between seawater and our bodies. Also, everything that comes from sea water is transported more easily through our body. »
« CIt is different from the thermal treatment, reimbursed by social security, and the spa which has an instant well-being aspect. In France, we have 53 thalassotherapy centers, it is a typically French concept. Brittany is the preferred sector for thalassotherapy, the first was founded in the region. »
Latest generation equipment
After a lunch which seems delicious but of which I am unable to perceive the smells or even the taste due to tracheitis which has been ruining my life for several weeks, it is time to visit the hotel. Or rather “the house”, as the Roz Marine team likes to call it. The latter offers 91 rooms. Mine, with a sea view, is lovely.
On the ground floor, there are two restaurants, The Suiteattached to the establishment (it already existed before the construction of the latter) and L’Haliotiswhich is integrated there, a magnificent sports hall equipped with wooden machines which operate on the principle of water resistance, without motor, an equally charming bar and, we finally get to the heart of the matter, the spa .
This is made up of 13 cabins, including four “duos” and two “suites” of 34 square meters, arranged around the winter garden, dedicated to relaxation between two treatments. On the first floor, we discover the thalassotherapy center, made up of 14 cabins offering treatments with names each more scholarly than the last.
“As the thalassotherapy center is new, we have brand new generation equipment”, she congratulates Laura Chevallier. Two treatments catch my attention. What is the aquatizer? This is a hydromassage bed inspired by Japanese tradition. “Designed for optimal comfort and relaxation, this water bed equipped with massaging jets guarantees instant and customizable relaxation,” they explain to me.
I also wonder about whole body cryotherapy. “The session is carried out under the supervision of a physiotherapist, it must be supervised. The treatment is at -85 degrees, it acts against inflammation and pain and contributes to well-being. It optimizes slimming and firming programs. It is also an ideal treatment for athletes, to help them recover more quickly. me dit-on. “We recently hosted the Vannes rugby team, they loved it! » Despite my curiosity and my desire to push my limits, I will unfortunately not be able to test the latter, due to tracheitis.
The winter garden where the mineral marries the plant in perfect harmony
But I will try others, all just as delightful. I start with the hydromassage bath. Around the bathtub, frescoes by local painter Maurice Denis illustrate scenes of life by the sea. I won’t have time to admire them for long, the therapist turns off the light, plunging me into absolute relaxation. Immersed in warm sea water, I feel the jets massaging every part of my body numbed by several weeks of illness. I’m about to fall asleep when someone comes to pick me up for my next treatment.
On this occasion I become a spring roll. Here I am covered in algae then wrapped in a sort of cellophane paper so that the algae can soak in as best as possible. “We call this a laminar wrap”specifies the therapist before placing me mummified on a hot water mattress and leaving the room, making sure to turn off the light. Lulled by soft music, I sink deliciously into the hot water.
I then go down to the winter garden, an enchanting haven of peace of 200 square meters where the plants (there are real tree trunks) marry the minerals (the famous blocks of pink granite which are found absolutely everywhere here) in perfect harmony. I barely have time to enjoy my herbal tea when I am called for my last treatment of the day: the Roz Marine massage, the house’s signature. For 50 minutes, a therapist with magical fingers massages me with pink granite stones, polished and heated. The relaxation is total. Absolute disconnection.
photo credit: DR
Discovering the Celtic route
The next morning, knocked out by a deafening headache, I skipped the longe-côte session offered by the hotel to stay in bed. This lie-in in the huge comfortable bed and my reading session on my terrace by the sea do me the greatest good. The afternoon program will finish reviving me once and for all.
After a two-hour bucolic walk on a sunny pink granite coast, I return to be pampered. My first treatment of the afternoon is a 50-minute, tailor-made facial treatment. To cleanse my skin, the therapist uses “crystalline cleansing oil”, “comfort tonic lotion”, “detox scrub mask”, “hydra-invigorating marine mist”, “mineral radiance and anti-fatigue booster”. For hydration, she uses a “24-hour hydration” serum and an “essential hydration” cream. She finishes her treatment with a relaxing look for the eye area. The products are from Thallion, a French brand of marine cosmetics. “They harvest the algae themselves in research laboratories”Nathalie Martin had explained to me earlier.
photo credit: DR
After which, I try the famous Celtic course, of which the Roz Marine team is so proud. “ Our Celtic journey offers both a therapeutic approach in the spirit of ancient baths and an active recovery experience that also helps with better sleep. The temperature rises, followed by a gradual descent into the seawater pools, which will activate the vasoconstriction process and optimize sports recovery, well-being and relaxation in general. »
“Start the detox process”
Good student, I follow the directions on each sign. First, the salt cave for five minutes. Heated to 40 degrees, this stage helps warm up and prepare my body for the rise in extreme temperatures that awaits it. The salt wall is believed to help combat stress, nervousness and insomnia. As for me, I can already feel my sinuses starting to unclog. It was about time!
After which, I enter a 60 degree sauna. The objective: a “first sweating of the body to activate the metabolism and start the detox process”, explains the panel which recommends that I stay ten minutes. I probably break down first. Third step, the sauna at 80 degrees, that’s no fun anymore. This involves “increasing the detox effect through high and intense sweating for five minutes”. My sinuses are becoming more and more unblocked. I, who was afraid of suffocating in this overheated room, am breathing better and better.
Reboosted, I try the ice fountain experience and rub my entire body with it before entering the hammam heated to 45 degrees.
Finally cured!
Five minutes later, I leave this part of the Celtic course (which also offers sensory showers between each activity to “stimulate the body to feel different sensations”), to enter a room where there are three large pools.
The first, nicknamed the “oven”, is very hot and it is very pleasant. “After the hammam, the body is stimulated to the maximum, you are at the highest point of the Celtic course,” it says. Relaxed as ever, I enjoy the heat for a little longer than recommended (five minutes) and then enter the temperate bath or “guruhaut”. Five minutes supposed to generate a “feeling that triggers the phenomenon of vasoconstriction, facilitating the detoxification process”. And to end the experience with the barrel or cold bath which, for its part, “further accentuates the phenomenon of vasoconstriction for an enhanced well-being experience”. Feeling cured for only ten minutes, I don’t tempt the devil and decide to cheat. I only stay there for ten seconds instead of the recommended two minutes.
Now for the highlight of the show: the marine course. Located on the first floor with a gigantic bay window overlooking the ocean, this space is a “real technical feat”, says the Roz Marine team. It is made up of two seawater pools. The first, at 29 degrees, is dedicated to sports activities (aquagym classes or others, swimming) while the second, warmer, fun and gigantic (150 m2), offers jacuzzis, bubble seats and geysers. My preference is for a bubble seat where I sit, facing the sea. Massaged by the diffusion of bubbles, I stay there for a good twenty minutes admiring the sun slowly sinking over the horizon.
photo credit: DR
In the evening, my sense of smell and taste restored, I will finally be able to enjoy the delicious cocktails at the bar and my dinner at the restaurant The Suite. On the menu: smoked salmon, roasted sweet potatoes and creamy feta and for dessert, roasted figs, too, on a bed of vanilla ice cream. The next morning, I rush to breakfast and continue with an aquagym class in the sports pool of the marine course with music from the 80s in the background. The enthusiasm of the coach is infectious and we pedal and jump in the right direction. mood. My energy has returned and it is good for my morale and body to spend time in the water in such a relaxed atmosphere.
My stay ends with a ten-minute jet shower. Ten minutes that seem like three to me during which a therapist sweeps each area of my body with powerful jets. A tonic treatment that loosens, massages and drains. Ultimately, this shower is supposed to sculpt and relax the muscles, bringing relaxation and vitality. I will sleep well tonight.
Source: www.topsante.com
