16 Rue Frédéric Cailliaud , 44000 Nantes

SOZO Hotel

Name: SOZO Hotel
Address: 16 Rue Frédéric Cailliaud, Nantes, 44000, FR
Price range: 118 EUR
Rating: 4.35

Hotel 4-star with spa in Nantes

Presentation

The Sōzō Hotel occupies a former 19th-century chapel, just opposite the Jardin des Plantes, a four-minute walk from Nantes station.

As soon as you open the door, you discover the lobby set in the chapel’s former chancel, beneath a seventeen-meter-high vault. The original stained-glass windows filter the light onto the exposed stone. You pause for a moment, taking in where you have just stepped.

The rest of the hotel unfolds over three floors, with twenty-three rooms and a suite, divided into three categories: Experience, Temptation, Seduction. Furniture signed by Starck, Panton, Paulin, Eames, or Bouroullec sits alongside the original columns and massive stone walls. The challenge was to work with what was already there, and no room is really like the one next door. Room 308 has a round stained-glass window as its headboard. Room 208 nests its bed in one of the chapel’s apses. Room 309 sits in a glass cube suspended above the nave, with the vault and stained glass in direct view.

In some rooms, the windows remain small, a direct legacy of the original architecture, and daylight enters sparingly. In return, you gain a calm and privacy that are hard to find elsewhere, just steps from a TGV station.

In the morning, breakfast is served from seven to ten, with butter and yogurts from the Beillevaire creamery, homemade granolas, smoked salmon, and premium juices. The coffee arrives hot, and the freshly squeezed orange juice is brought directly to the table.

The Sōzō does not have an on-site restaurant. In the evening, it is better to head into the center for dinner, a fifteen-minute walk away, before returning for a final drink at the bar set in the chapel chancel, beneath the stained glass, in an atmosphere unique to this place.

In the basement, the wellness area includes a sauna, a hammam, and an ice room, with a sensory shower that changes scenery depending on the chosen program: Breton mist, tropical rain. Reception remains available day and night, for a taxi, a restaurant booking, or a last-minute massage.

One final tip: ask to extend check-out to one o’clock if you can. It gives you time to linger a little longer beneath the vault, coffee in hand, before catching the train.

Summary of a few positive reviews read on the Web

Temptation room with a round stained-glass window just above the bed, a nice change from standard hotels. Very comfortable bedding and good soundproofing; you can’t hear anything from the corridor.
On arrival, the person at reception took the time to show us a map of Nantes and suggest a few places to go for the evening. We were accompanied to the room.
Generous breakfast, freshly squeezed orange juice brought directly to the table by the staff. The coffee was also good, and the selection of local products was appreciated.
The hammam was a little cool at first, but the staff raised the temperature as soon as we asked. Pleasant sauna at the end of the day.
Room rather small but cleverly designed, Nespresso coffee machine available, comfortable bed despite the limited space.
Ordered room service on the first evening, pasta with generous portions and quick service, with no waiting.