Le Ponant becomes world’s first sailing yacht to obtain Relais & Châteaux label
After four years of regular ad hoc partnerships, PONANT and Relais & Châteaux are strengthening their ties. The three-master joins the large family of Relais & Châteaux establishments as a new member. It is the first sailing yacht in history to obtain the label and be included in its catalogue of the finest travel addresses in the world.
Both our firms are committed to sharing expertise and promoting the inimitable French lifestyle to design meaningful voyages. Aboard Le Ponant, the jewel of our fleet, everyone can reconnect with nature and their own inspirations and live out their desires under sail.
Hervé Gastinel, CEO of PONANT.
Dream destinations for Le Ponant and Relais & Châteaux in 2023/2024
Due to its small size Le Ponant offers exclusive ports of call. With only 16 elegantly decorated staterooms and suites and a dedicated chef, the travel experience is as if you are on you own private yacht. The first voyages aboard Relais & Châteaux member Le Ponant are tropical expeditions to Cape Verde and the Caribbean for the 2023/2024 season. The common denominator is the sharing of values and a personalised experience that meets the expectations of most discerning Relais & châteaux customers.
A movement with meaning
Relais & Châteaux, established in 1954, is an association of 580 unique hotels and restaurants throughout the world, owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs – most often families – who are passionate about their craft and deeply committed to forging warm, lasting relationships with their guests.
Relais & Châteaux members protect and promote the wealth and diversity of the world’s culinary and hospitality traditions, to ensure they continue to thrive. They are equally dedicated to preserving local heritage and the environment, as articulated in the association’s Vision presented to UNESCO in November 2014.
Embark on an odyssey to the rythm of the wind with freedom surging up on the horizon, in the soft calm offered by the interior of PONANT's emblematic yacht. An invitation to sail, revitalise oneself, contemplate.