Best Western Plus Hotel La Marina

You come here for a proper seafront base rather than a resort sealed off from its surroundings. Best Western Plus Hotel La Marina sits on the marina, with a restaurant on the port, a spa, pools and enough practical comfort to make the return from a full day outdoors straightforward rather than ceremonial.

English is spoken by the hotel team, alongside French, so you can deal with the useful things without a phrasebook or a game of underwater charades at reception. The hotel works for couples, families and solo travellers, with room choices ranging from single rooms to family and four-person options. It is a conventional hotel in the useful sense: air conditioning, Wi-Fi, a 24-hour reception and services that do their job while you get on with your holiday.

The address is 30 Place de la Marina in Saint-Raphaël, on the Santa Lucia marina and directly by the sea. Saint-Raphaël town centre is 2 km away, so you are close enough to reach the town while keeping the boats and waterfront on your doorstep.

The Palais des Congrès de Saint-Raphaël, Port Santa Lucia and Plage du Veillat are among the nearby points of interest. The hotel is also positioned between Saint-Tropez and Cannes, making it a sensible base if you want to mix time around the marina with outings along the Côte d’Azur rather than spend the entire week looking at the same pool.

The setting is particularly practical for a day organised around the coast. You can walk out towards the port, return to the hotel for a swim or a treatment, and have the evening meal on the marina without first arranging an expedition.

There is a wide spread of room categories, so the useful question is not whether you can find a room, but what you want the room to do for you. Couples can choose between double rooms, twin rooms and suites, with views towards the sea, water, port, pool or town in selected categories. Balconies are also available in several room types, which gives you somewhere to sit with a coffee while the marina gets on with its morning business.

Families and small groups have family, triple and quadruple options, including a room for up to six people. Solo travellers have single rooms and single suites, including versions with a simple bed or a view. Private bathrooms are standard across the room range, while selected rooms add air conditioning, soundproofing, blackout blinds, a minibar, a safe, television, Wi-Fi, a desk and tea or coffee facilities.

For a recovery night, the details matter more than the category name. Air conditioning is available in selected rooms, as are soundproofing and blackout blinds; those are the features worth checking when you want proper sleep rather than a decorative view. Suites and some superior, prestige or privilege rooms add balconies, views, toiletries or a more complete set of in-room facilities. The room cards below give the exact configuration for each option, so you can match the space and view to the way you travel.

Quai Raphaël is the main dining address, set on Santa Lucia port with a terrace and a Mediterranean menu. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, which means the hotel can cover the important meals without asking you to leave the marina in search of food.

Breakfast is a buffet and starts at 7am. That is a useful hour for an early start.

The hotel also has a bar for the essential post-dive drink. The available meal arrangements include breakfast and half-board, while breakfast can also be served in your room. There is no stated continuous snack service or late dinner service, so the restaurant and bar are the places to keep in mind when planning the evening rather than relying on an all-day grazing operation.

The hotel gives you several ways to spend the hours when you are not in the sea, at the table or leaning on the bar. There is an indoor pool and an outdoor pool, with the outdoor pool available seasonally, plus pool and beach towels. A sun terrace provides the obvious low-effort option: find a chair, dry off and allow the day to become less ambitious.

Carrezen is the on-site spa, with massages, facial treatments, peels, body treatments, a hammam and a sauna. The fitness room has state-qualified instructors, while the gym and fitness equipment offer something more active for anyone who prefers a controlled session to another horizontal hour.

Beyond the hotel, the programme can include golf, cycling, hiking and cultural excursions. The available outings include a sea trip, a visit to a wine estate, an adventure course and a Méhari hike. Kayaking, jet-skiing and boat excursions are also available in the wider activity offering, giving you a few choices for a non-diving day that do not involve making a speech about how much you enjoy doing nothing.

Reception is open around the clock. Check-in runs from 4pm to 10pm and check-out is by midday; earlier arrival and later departure can be requested. Express check-in and check-out are available, and luggage storage gives you a useful place for your bags when the travel day and the room timetable do not quite agree.

Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel. Parking is available, and there is an electric vehicle charging station. The hotel is non-smoking, has a lift, and includes wheelchair-accessible facilities. Laundry and dry-cleaning services are available, while the concierge and excursion assistance can help with arrangements beyond the hotel.

Families are welcome and pets are admitted. A deposit is required, and pet-related charges and conditions apply, so this is one detail to settle before arrival rather than at reception with a tired dog, a wet suitcase and no patience left. The hotel also has six meeting rooms and business facilities, useful if the stay is part holiday and part work.

The hotel holds the Green Key certification. That gives the property a named environmental label to point to, rather than a vague promise printed in large letters and left to fend for itself.