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ocated on Brittany’s Côte d'Émeraude, the seaside town of Dinard is sometimes referred to as the “Cannes of the north.” It’s a nickname that tells you practically everything you need to know about the place: it’s elegant, historic, exclusive, famous for its glamorous old architecture and white sandy beaches, a longtime getaway for the French and English elite. Naturally, there are a handful of classic hotels, grand dames on the beachfront promenade, to choose from. And then there’s the newly opened Castelbrac.

The buzzed-about hotel bridges the best of the old and new worlds. Until 1992 the building was the home of the national museum of natural history; generations of French schoolchildren have passed through its doors. Now it’s a 23-room hotel that feels like a destination in its own right. Designers Sandra Benhamou and Léonie Alma Mason have smartly kept many of the villa’s more charming Art Deco details, infusing the space with a clean, contemporary aesthetic and an ocean-inspired color palette of sand, seashell ivory, and a range of deep blues.

Nothing but the best for the Faber family who originally spent their holidays here: all of the hotel’s rooms look out over the water, and many have private terraces where breakfast can be served on request. The look is refined but relaxed, with a handful of decorative elements — moody floral wallpaper, retro headboards, antique gilded mirrors — enlivening the interiors. Standard features include beds topped with goose-feather duvets, marble bathrooms stocked with Thēmaē products, Nespresso machines, and ultra-flat HD TVs.

Downstairs at Le Pourquoi Pas, the hotel’s restaurant, locally sourced seafood is the plat du jour. The museum's impressive aquarium has been transformed into the Jules Verne–inspired Aquarium Bar, complete with porthole windows and curving retro love seats, and outside, a stone pool. Long and narrow, it’s more suited to swimming laps than splashing around, but there’s ample lounge space on Castelbrac’s various terraces. The property also features an intimate chapel which makes a popular wedding venue. Should you wish to make an excursion to the nearby Channel Islands, the hotel has a vintage motorboat, hand-built: an ideal vessel for reliving La Belle Époque.