Sowell Family Riviera

SOWELL Family Riviera is a four-star seaside hotel built for holidays where the beach, a proper meal and a pool are all within the same daily orbit. The setting is practical rather than theatrical: you can move from the coast to the hotel, then from the hotel to the restaurant without turning the evening into an expedition.

English and French are spoken by the hotel team, which makes arrivals, meal arrangements and the small practical questions of a diving trip easier to handle. Families have room to organise themselves, while couples can choose a suite or apartment with more space than a standard room.

There is a garden, a terrace and a sun terrace for the business of doing very little. After a day in the water, that is not a minor feature.

The hotel sits in Saint-Raphaël, at the foot of the Esterel massif and on the seafront. The Mediterranean is around 0.03 miles away, reached by a pedestrian path to a sandy beach with sun loungers and parasols.

The centre of Saint-Raphaël is several miles away, so this is a coastal base rather than a town-centre address. Nearby beaches include Boulouris, Salomea and La Pescade, while the surrounding Esterel landscape gives you walking country when you want dry land and a change of view.

The location also works for a mixed group. Divers have the coast close by, while non-divers can spend the day between the beach, the pools, the spa and excursions around the area.

The useful choice here is not simply between room labels. It is between a straightforward room for a couple, a suite for extra breathing space, and an apartment-style option when several people need somewhere to spread out. Standard double rooms keep things simple, while the two-bedroom suite makes more sense for a family or a group that would rather not live out of one small room for the week.

Several suites and apartments add a kitchen, dining area and fridge, with some also offering a balcony. That gives you somewhere to keep drinks cold, make tea or coffee and put together something small when the restaurant timetable does not match the dive day. The family suite adds a dishwasher, microwave and television, which is the sort of detail that earns its place once children and wet towels enter the equation.

Air conditioning is available in a number of the larger accommodation categories. Private bathrooms are standard across the room types, and suites can add a safe, toiletries, towels and television. The balcony suites bring in a little outdoor space; the plain suites keep the focus on room to settle in, unpack and sleep. Choose according to how much living space you need, not according to the grandness of the label.

Breakfast is served as a buffet from 7.30am, which gives you a reasonable start before a morning departure. Lunch and dinner are handled by La Casinella, a bistronomic Italian restaurant with a terrace. Pizza-and-pasta shorthand would undersell the description: the restaurant is presented as Italian cuisine with a more considered approach.

Half-board and all-inclusive arrangements are available, so you can choose whether the hotel should cover the main meals or whether you would rather keep more freedom for evenings in Saint-Raphaël. Packed lunches are also available, useful when an excursion or a long day away from the hotel gets in the way of a conventional lunch.

There is also a bar for the post-dive drink. The arrangement is refreshingly simple: eat on the terrace, have a drink, and avoid asking tired divers to make complicated decisions about dinner.

Two heated pools give you an easy alternative to the beach. The rooftop infinity pool has a sea view, while the outdoor pool keeps the swimming option at ground level. The beach itself is reached on foot and comes with loungers and parasols, so you can swap fins for a horizontal afternoon without leaving the property.

Eliospa is the place for the more deliberate recovery session, with massages, facials, a hammam, sauna and jacuzzi. That is enough equipment for an afternoon to disappear neatly, particularly if your legs have had a busy morning. The garden, terrace and sun terrace cover the less organised version of relaxation: sit down, dry off and see what happens.

For days away from the water, the hotel can lead you towards golf, cycling, hiking and cultural excursions. Boat outings, islands, waterfalls and markets are among the excursion themes available. Children have games areas and a kids’ club, and pets are allowed, making the hotel workable for a family holiday rather than a place reserved for adults travelling light.

The hotel is around 37 miles from the airport. Parking is available on site and is chargeable, while free Wi-Fi covers the hotel. Accessibility facilities are available, and the property has a reception desk for the practical business of arrival and departure.

Check-in runs from 4pm to 8.30pm, with check-out by 11am. Early check-in and late check-out can be requested, which may help when travel times do not line up neatly with a diving schedule. The breakfast start at 7.30am is useful for an early day, although the exact meal arrangement depends on the board option chosen.

Pets are welcome, with an additional charge. Payment cards accepted include Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Maestro and American Express. The hotel also has a conference room, should somebody in the group insist on bringing work along. That person can be left to it.