A few weeks ago I went away for the most wonderful holiday to St Brelades Bay in Jersey for 3 nights. You may have already caught my Postcards from Jersey blog or my outfits posts, one and two, from my stay there. In today's post I wanted to share my experience of staying at St Brelades Bay Hotel. Due to my various chronic health conditions I have to take sight seeing and outings at a much gentler pace than most so I knew we'd be spending lots of time at the hotel and hence I wanted to find a really nice comfortable one and that's definitely what we got!
I hope you enjoy reading about the hotel and seeing how beautiful it is, prepare for a very picture heavy post...
Hotel | The hotel itself looks impressive when you first approach it, standing proud on the beachfront of St Brelade’s Bay on the South West of the island - said to be the gem of Jersey. We found it such a friendly and welcoming place to stay and I can see why it's so well loved by the locals. Considering I was still so motion sick after getting off the plane (I don't think make the best first impression!) they were so kind to me and got me up to the room very swiftly! The Hotel is steeped in history, first founded in the 19th century and even though it's been refurbished recently they have still kept the character of the building! It's utterly charming.
Our room is on the top left here!
Gifts from the lovely staff at the hotel!
Outfit Details: Kimono C/O Boohoo | Vest Top | Shorts | Sunglasses
Room | The hotel offers 74 beautiful rooms and suites with either sea view facing or garden view facing. Both are lovely but I'd opt for a sea view facing room with a balcony where possible for the best experience as the view is priceless! We were utterly spoilt and upgraded to one of the magnificent Penthouse Suites, ours was Corbiere on the far right of the hotel. It offered us the best view in our opinion. I particularly liked the fact that our balcony was private and not overlooked by any of the other rooms - so I didn't feel self conscious sunbathing on it! The suite comprised of a bedroom with dressing table, TV and armchairs, plus a walk in wardrobe (this girl's dream!). Then we had a large bathroom with twin sinks, shower & bath. A door separates the bedroom from the living room which included a sofa, armchairs, dinning table, TV plus a mini fridge and tea and coffee making facilities. Last but not least is the balcony which in case it wasn't obvious was my absolute favourite part!
Outfit Details: Vacay Pyjamas | Eye Mask
Views | As I mentioned the views from the balcony were quite breathtaking. We could see the church in its full glory when it was lit up at night (9pm on the dot) as well as the stunning golden beach with the little boats and paddle-boarders coming in.
Outfit Details: Jumpsuit C/O Quiz Clothing
Gardens | The gardens in the grounds of the hotel are absolutely stunning! I cannot express just how beautiful they are, hopefully the pictures will speak for themselves. Spanning 5 acres there are so many pretty hidden areas to explore and, of course, take photos in. With palm trees, lush greenery and flower beds bursting with colour, not too mention a cute little wishing well, it's the sort of place you would pay to go and walk around over here. I was also very taken with this giant chess set which was giving me all the Harry Potter & the Philosophers Stone vibes! There is also a tennis court and sun loungers spread throughout the gardens for relaxing on.
Outfit Details: Pink Crop Top River Island | White Shorts Pull & Bear | Bag Mango
Outfit Details: Pink Crop Top River Island | White Shorts Pull & Bear | Bag Mango
Decor | The entire hotel was recently refurbished and created a real warm & welcoming feel yet with a boutique style. There are lots of pretty accents everywhere you look and I loved that each floor had something different on the landing such as chairs covered in unique fabrics, quirky ornaments and eclectic accessories.
Dining | St Brelades Bay Hotel has several dining options including their main restaurant called The Bay, a sumptuous oak panelled room a wonderful A La Carte Menu. You have a beautiful view of St Brelades Bay from here too. This is also where you have breakfast each morning. Breakfast is served from 7-10am each day and is mostly buffet style offering both continental and English breakfast. I hadn't been to a hotel before where you could get the majority of the hot food at the buffet! This was fabulous as I could go back for as many hash browns and rashers of bacon as I wanted without looking like a greedy pig in front the waiters, haha! Along with the traditional savoury English breakfast items they also had waffles & pancakes available on a warming plate. A lovely variety of fruits, cereals, meats & cheeses plus a great selection of miniature croissants & Danish pastries were on offer each morning, what is it about miniature food that's so appealing?! I swear had way too many!
There is also a cocktail bar situated right next to The Bay where you can get hot food & snacks alongside their huge drinks menu. We enjoyed a delicious Afternoon Tea in the Sun Lounge, which had an array of very comfortable seating to choose from - something that is really important for me! You're also treated to a beautiful Bay from here. I will be doing a separate blog post on our Afternoon Tea very soon so stay tuned if you fancy seeing what
The Petit Port Café is set in the stunning gardens overlooking the outdoor swimming pool, offering a more relaxed outdoor dinning experience with fresh food from their grill. This is only open during the Summer months between May-September.
Breakfast with a view...
The Petit Port Café
Pools | This hotel is very special in that it offers two pools - one indoor and one heated outdoor pool. From what I found online there weren't many hotels on the island that offered this. The outdoor pool is situated in the gardens, so you're surrounded by beautiful views. As you can see from the pictures it was actually warm enough there for me to use which I wasn't expecting! The indoor pool is located in their spa and health club area where you can also book spa treatments. I'm definitely going to go for one of these next time as there were a lot of lovely choices!
Accessibility | The hotel is fully accessible if you're in a wheelchair. There is a lift up to all 4 floors if, like me, you can't manage the stairs to your room. The staff were really helpful and accommodating to my various needs too. The room and doors would've been big enough if I'd needed to have and use my wheelchair inside however, I decided to leave it downstairs at reception as I generally only need it for longer outings and at the airport. They also have fully wheelchair accessible taxi's in Jersey if you find it difficult to transfer. Just ask at the hotel and they will organise one for you.
I also found out that there is a charity called BeachAbility that provides manual, ballooned wheelchairs available for use on the beach if you need. I personally didn't need this on our visit, but I thought it was really useful to note. If you'd like to learn more here is the website: www.beachability.org.
Staff | St Brelades is a very friendly place. The staff at the hotel were so lovely and accommodating to my needs. They would hear my wheat bag cushions for me (which I use for pain relief) in their microwave at all hours. They left me all these little gifts (pictured above) of hotel merchandise in our room on our first afternoon which included jersey fudge, tote bag and teddy bear! They also made sure I had a wheelchair accessible taxi for our journey back to the airport which was so kind.
If you're thinking of planning a trip to St Brelade's Bay in Jersey I'd highly recommend staying at this hotel! It really is the most charming place. To book visit their website here, you can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter. I'd also recommend heading over to Jersey.com as it's packed with all the information you could need from where to stay, eat, shop, the sights & activities on offer and what's on throughout the year.
Have you ever visited Jersey before? Let me know where you went in the comments below!
*I was given a special press rate to stay at St Brelades Bay Hotel but all opinions and images are my own.
