Day 5: Wallet took a hit!

[etx]

Saturday I woke up and drove over to Flamands and parked at the Colombier trailhead. I took the route to the beach and this was much easier than what we encountered coming up the hill on Friday. Nice hike but it was already pretty hot by 730-8 am. Stopped for some croissants and an espresso on the way back to the villa. We then drove over to the Christopher for a massage. I will echo what others have said about the Sisley spa - it was incredible. The service, the view, the therapists, all excellent. That resort has an amazing vantage point overlooking a large portion of the island. Hearing the waves crash up along the rocks was very nice. We enjoyed that quite a bit and elected to grab chairs at the pool for the afternoon. They were quick to charge 40e per chair, FYI. Had a light lunch and some champagne there and enjoyed the pool. It really is a great property and I would think about staying there on a return trip if we wanted to try a resort experience.

Dinner that night was at Ocean Club, a very fine venue and restaurant that we enjoyed. I had the octopus to start and then the A5 wagyu, which was delicious, though I felt the portion was relatively small for the hefty price tag. My wife was underwhelmed with her mahi plate, it felt a bit simple, but not in a good way. The truffle and pecorino frites were good, and the negronis I had were excellent. I will push back a bit at the overwhelmingly positive reviews the place has gotten here and on TA. It was very good but we did not feel overly wowed I think as we had expected a bit after reading numerous reviews. The service we got was fine but was still a bit lacking at times we felt - maybe this is just the French way or an island thing. Not taking away anything from those posters who thoroughly enjoyed this spot (for whom I am very grateful!), but this is probably not somewhere we would mark as a "must return to" type place when we come back. To each their own! We elected to skip out on dessert there and head to the Creperie for ice cream. Another great day.

Song of the day:

 

[GramChop]

While your day sounds divine, I’m surprised you were charged for using the post-massage chaise at The Christopher. We were not during our spa outing there a couple of years ago. Something must’ve changed between then and now.

I’m thoroughly enjoying reading your daily posts…btw!

 

[cec1]

Saturday I woke up and drove over to Flamands and parked at the Colombier trailhead. I took the route to the beach and this was much easier than what we encountered coming up the hill on Friday. Nice hike but it was already pretty hot by 730-8 am. Stopped for some croissants and an espresso on the way back to the villa. We then drove over to the Christopher for a massage. I will echo what others have said about the Sisley spa - it was incredible. The service, the view, the therapists, all excellent. That resort has an amazing vantage point overlooking a large portion of the island. Hearing the waves crash up along the rocks was very nice. We enjoyed that quite a bit and elected to grab chairs at the pool for the afternoon. They were quick to charge 40e per chair, FYI. Had a light lunch and some champagne there and enjoyed the pool. It really is a great property and I would think about staying there on a return trip if we wanted to try a resort experience.

Dinner that night was at Ocean Club, a very fine venue and restaurant that we enjoyed. I had the octopus to start and then the A5 wagyu, which was delicious, though I felt the portion was relatively small for the hefty price tag. My wife was underwhelmed with her mahi plate, it felt a bit simple, but not in a good way. The truffle and pecorino frites were good, and the negronis I had were excellent. I will push back a bit at the overwhelmingly positive reviews the place has gotten here and on TA. It was very good but we did not feel overly wowed I think as we had expected a bit after reading numerous reviews. The service we got was fine but was still a bit lacking at times we felt - maybe this is just the French way or an island thing. Not taking away anything from those posters who thoroughly enjoyed this spot (for whom I am very grateful!), but this is probably not somewhere we would mark as a "must return to" type place when we come back. To each their own! We elected to skip out on dessert there and head to the Creperie for ice cream. Another great day.

Song of the day:

I'm sorry that your experience at The Ocean Club was underwhelming. As you may have read in my review of eating there numerous times, I found it to be great -- on balance, venue, food, and service were excellent (with occasional, minor exceptions). Fortunately, I'd say that your trip so far has been pretty stellar -- adventurous enthusiasm and positive spirit ring in your writing. I'll be eager to read more!

 

[etx]

I'm sorry that your experience at The Ocean Club was underwhelming. As you may have read in my review of eating there numerous times, I found it to be great -- on balance, venue, food, and service were excellent (with occasional, minor exceptions). Fortunately, I'd say that your trip so far has been pretty stellar -- adventurous enthusiasm and positive spirit ring in your writing. I'll be eager to read more!

Our trip has been absolutely stellar, and truly any negative comments are only to hopefully benefit those that come after me so that they may be as well-informed as possible. I have spent hours scouring this forum for info to make the most of our time here and I hope to be contributing information for someone else to do the same.

@cec1, I didn’t realize it until just recently but we’ve been driving right past your lovely spot almost daily due to road closures on our way up to our spot in Vitet.