Douarnenez, Brittany 29100

An elegant coastal hotel with an indoor swimming pool, a guesthouse and a 1,000m² tree-dotted garden in France's Finistère department in Brittany. The name of this hotel - 'Ty Mad' - means 'good house' in Breton. The edifice has been called 'Ty Mad' ever since it was built in 1924. It has hosted travelling guests ever since then. It stands in a calm backdrop - a maze of narrow streets - near a 15th-century calvary and a 13th-century chapel. Its location is both remarkable and discreet. With its 15 bedrooms, this grand building offers a sweeping view of an unspoilt coastline from its commanding position. It stands less than 100 metres from a beach. It has four floors. Given its height, the edifice looks down at the houses that surround it, yet without blotting them out. Its elevations are made of rubble stone with pointing. They are plain and bear no distinctive ornamentation, apart from sculpted wooden ledges and wrought-iron guardrails fitted in front of the tall, evenly spaced windows. The slate roof was redesigned to integrate tall, broad dormers on the north and south roof slopes. A section with a flat zinc roof adjoins the northern elevation. It has two levels and is widely glazed along three sides of its upper half, like a conservatory. Its lower half, which leads out to the garden, houses an indoor swimming pool. This swimming pool room leads straight out to the garden through picture windows. The utility rooms have two levels and stretch to the western edge of the plot, sheltered behind stone walls.