Le Lambablanc

Opened over a decade ago, Le Lambablanc has since been rebuilt room by room: after nine years of running as a guest house, its owners stripped each of the four rooms back to the floor, replacing parquet, doors, basins and kitchenettes. The stone jacuzzi area had already been redone three years earlier. The result reads more like a considered renovation than a fresh build, set on the edge of the Bras Pétard River near a national park in Bras-Panon.

Each room is fitted with a 180x200cm bed, a kitchenette, air conditioning and a private bathroom, opening onto its own terrace over a garden that runs down to the water. Breakfast is served in the room. The outdoor kitchen, known locally as the boucan, has a plancha, an open fire, a hotplate and an oven, so guests can cook rather than just eat what's given. It is a compact stay.

The river runs cold enough that a dip counts as a kind of therapy, while the garden jacuzzi holds steady at 35-36°C through the year, lit by sun, dusk or moonlight depending on when you go. Access to the jacuzzi runs to forty minutes per room. The airport lies 20 to 25 minutes away, making it an easy first or last stop on a Réunion itinerary.