The first "4 star" on the Ile d'Yeu opens its doors

Each summer, the Ile d'Yeu goes from 5,000 permanent residents to 40,000 vacationers.

A human tide that the island (10 km by 4), by controlling its future, avoids transforming into a tsunami.

There is little room for luxury and the Islais, enemies of

, resist.

The new hotel Les Hautes Mers, secluded in a bay of Port-Joinville, the "capital", is in unison.

The latest addition to the Les Domaines de Fontenille collection, the establishment faces the sea on a rectangle of lawn bordered by hedges of wild roses.

Seventeen rooms furnished with the exquisite taste of a marine decoration, where linen holds the rope, match the discreet building, whitewashed.

Each has a terrace on the ground floor or a balcony on the first floor and flirts, at sunset, with hydrangea bushes.

The swimming pool, located in front of the hotel, opens onto the open sea, blending the azure of its water with the Chagallian blue of the ocean.

When you leave your room, you leave the key on the door with this confidence that

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The table, prettily named Vent Debout and led by chef Nawal Rezagui, is punctuated by the catch of the day and products from neighboring market gardeners.

Because everything here is local, right down to the hotel manager, a native of the island.

Granddaughter of a fisherman, Agathe offers her clients a myriad of activities to discover the land of her childhood – electric bike, kayak and morning fitness walk.

We owe him some advice on finding the beaches frequented by the islanders, recognizable by the wooden huts passed down from father to son, at the Pointe des Corbeaux or at Sabias (sand in the local patois).

Read alsoTravel guide to Yeu Island, the wild haughty

Inimitable know-how

The table, called Vent Debout and led by chef Nawal Rezagui, is punctuated by the catch of the day and products from neighboring market gardeners.

Gaelle Le Boulicaut / The High Seas

Because far from the snobbery of Ré or Noirmoutier, the island of Yeu cultivates values ​​of authenticity.

We liked to travel along the coast on the GR 80, to sink into the flowery paths, to wander in the salt marshes, to linger in a rocky cove on the south side and to abandon ourselves in the dune hem of a face sandy north.

Along the way, a gourmet stop at the so typical Bar de la Meule, revisited by Les Hautes Mers of which it is an annex, lonely between two steep cliffs.

With our (electric) bikes on, we went to Ker Poiraud, Emilie's farm which perpetuates the family tradition of sheep farming and runs permaculture courses.

With around thirty other islanders, she joined the Les Produits de l'Île d'Yeu brand, an Island version of

, bringing together around thirty craftsmen with inimitable know-how.

Benoît makes handmade chessboards, Gilles produces saffron, Angèle and Rémi beer (Les Fous Brassant), Sophie crocheted knit pieces... A small army of volunteers who fight against seaside consumerism and bring happiness and truth in our vacation.

The High Seas