Le Corps de Garde / La Maison du Port

These two hotels are interconnecting parts of the same maison d'hôtes. Both sit directly on the port in St.-Martin-de-Ré along with the Hotel de Toiras. The atmosphere at Le Corps/La Maison is beachy, not buttoned, and beyond charming, with antique tea gowns draped here and there, the glassy-crunchy feel of sea grass underfoot, organdy bed hangings, and swoon-making views of the harbor, sea, or both. A former watchhouse, it dates from the late 1600's, when the great military engineer Vauban wrapped St.-Martin in a beautiful starlike configuration of stone ramparts designed to accommodate and protect every man and animal on the island.