Lovely. Simply lovely. What once housed an old water pumping plant- is now a little boutique…read morehotel with only 12 rooms that will satisfy your every need. But first- a bit of history. Back in 1884- the main building of the complex was a pumping station for fresh water for the residents of Arcachon. This remained a working station for about 100 years and was retired in 1984. The building then fell into ruin until some visionary developers turned it into the hotel it is today in the mid 1990's. There are 12 rooms located in three separate buildings which just adds to the overall intimacy of the place. There is an amazing restaurant on property as well (I'll cover that in a separate review) as well as a pool (very interesting as is located outside but below ground level), a spa and an extremely accommodating staff that went out of their way to make sure that my visit was perfect. There is a small parking lot out front for your car. Know that the main building that you check into still has signage from the old water plant so you may think you are in the wrong place- but enter through those arched doors and the reception desk is right in front of you. I was personally escorted to my room, along a pathway laced with foliage and beautiful greenery until we arrived at my spacious room. There are three levels of rooms at the hotel- the one I had was the top end and included a large bedroom with sumptuous linens that opened out to a patio with furniture on it overlooking the gardens. The bathroom was also well stocked with fluffy towels and other amenities and there was a small desk area with free Internet. Breakfast is available every day until 10:30 and they will bring it to you or you can enjoy it in the restaurant. There is also free bottled water in the room. The location can't be beat either. It is about a 15 minute walk to the beach and shops of Arcachon, yet it is removed enough that you almost feel as if you are in a country estate. My only wish is that I had been there for more than one night as I wanted to luxuriate in my surroundings. Don't know if your travel will take you to the town of Arcachon, France, but if it does- you should try to stay at the Hotel de la Ville D'Hiver. It's worth every penny (Euro) that you pay!

On your right, the Promemade des Anglais, on your left the Anglican Lane and in front of you :…read moreFleming Square. Where in France are you ? Because YOU ARE in France although the church in your back was in inaugurated by the archbishop of London 1878. And this is not, as you might have wrongly guessed the French Riviera, this is Arcachon on the West coast and more specifically its winter town La Ville d'hiver. The place was dug into a massive dune at the end of the nineteenth century to create a village dedicated to wealthy but not so healthy people who could rent eccentric villas were everything was planned to protect their health. Here the streets are organised to prevent draughts and keep the hot or cold weather out. The layout is a succession of narrow lanes, trees and flowers and, of course villas. Most of them are now historic buildings, all of them are a feast to the eye. The English were among the first to be attracted by this labyrinth and an Anglican reverent, Samuel Radcliff, even used to advertise the place by organising rally-papers for his guests. If you decide to come here, which I strongly recommend, you will find plans and directories of the villas on the internet but ,as you walk through the winding alleyways, don't trust any plan. Most of the villas (and streets) have changed names along the years. Take the time to stop in front of the Grand Hotel de la Foret, which is now called the Regina Hotel to avoid confusion with the Grand Hotel (as I say, don't trust the names). This was the scene of a very special event when, just after WW1, it's grand staircase was used to demonstrate the ability of army vehicles to climb up slopes. Allow at least half a day for the visit.

Our lunch stop nearby to Arachon…read more Beautiful setting right on the Atlantic. Service was great, friendly and efficient. For lunch it was a prix fixe. I got the oysters, caught right off the beach and a ravioli dish and ended with a Madagascar cheesecake. Very good. A beautiful place for a meal. Mark & Nancy.

(Last visited 7/11/2021.) So a day or so ago we were at a natural wine store in Bordeaux Center…read morestore and were just chatting with others. We were quickly made out to be "the foreigners" from America so we got to chatting it up. People were asking us what we were doing and stuff so we mention going to climb "The Dune" that's on the west coast of the country. Someone mentioned HAVING to check out La Coorniche since we'd be in the area. Well, after a grueling hike up and down that dune, twice, we treated ourselves to La Coorniche... Here's how it went. Atmosphere/Appearance: So, this place is highly sought-after. It was a Sunday evening and this place was packed. I highly recommend making reservations as far in advance as possible. So we rolled right up to the open-air chic, modern, lively restaurant in flip-flops, sandals, dingy clothes from the beach, messy hair and a sunhat... hoping to get a table. Lol. And we did. They sat us right away and this place is GORGEOUS. All the staff are dressed head-to-toe in white and are very friendly. This restaurant is attached to the La Coorniche hotel so you can sit next to a pool, at the glass barrier to look out into the Mediterranean. You can watch the sunset from the huge outdoor section or you can dine in the more conservative manner and eat indoors. Then at night, the DJ sets up and you can dance into the night! This place just has EVERYTHING! Service: Romain took excellent care of us and he was amazing. He was super funny, talkative and entertaining for sure. He cracked some jokes about us being from out the country and it was all in good fun. Lol. Food: Being in France and feeling like I'm at a prestigious restaurant, I didn't hold anything back. Lol. So I started with the "Plateau Cuit" which is "cooked platter" in French so I went for it! On this cooked platter was 1 whole crab or spider crab (depending on what had arrived in the kitchen), 3 langoustines (very small lobsters), 6 prawns, 250 grams of whelks (large snails) and 100 grams of periwinkles (small snails). This was A LOT of food and a bit of work cracking shells, yanking snails as well as keeping an appetite! Lol. Everything was so freaking fresh and so delicious. I had never eaten snails in this manner before and honestly, they were quite good! The sauces that came with them made them even easier to scarf down! The platter was quite decorative and "baller" if I may add. It was served on ice and very elegant platform. For my entrée I opted for their 2-coure combo which comes with a main course and a dessert. My entrée was a delicious piece of red meat served with a a thin later of fat still left on it that added extra flavor. On the side was a like, a fluffy, delicious sweet piece of cornbread. (I'm sorry if I'm doing a terrible job explaining what I had, but in reality, I don't know what I had! Lol, I just know it was amazing!) For dessert I had this sort of chocolate explosion which was basically the chef flexin' on us. It was like, 5 different desserts on one plate all composed of chocolate in some form. Just check out my pictures. Lol. Value: Based on what I just wrote... you already know this place was expensive, but... worth it? Absolutely. My seafood platter hit for 60€. The 2-course dinner was 73€. Totally worth it and would do it again in a heartbeat. It's not something I'd do everyday or even every weekend, but while in the western part of France, I had to splurge. In conclusion, I'm so thankful that someone recommended this place to us. It was such an experience and an amazing finish to a great day! If you're in the area, please come check this place out! You will enjoy yourself. Be sure to check out my YouTube channel, "The Hungry Road" for more restaurant and car-related content! You can copy and paste the following link into your browser to be taken directly to the channel! Be sure to subscribe, like, comment and turn on notifications! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEZJPcprSoq00kgDLUb57yA

First of all to get to the hotel. The hotel can't help it, but the city decided to ban all cars. It…read moretook us over an hour to get to our hotel, which was only 4 km away. All road were closed off to cars from noon to 11 pm and there were no signs how to get to the hotel. Finally we found the hotel, but there were no parking spaces. Mind you, we paid almost 400 euros for a room for 1 night. Thanks to a great parking guy, he parked our car for us somewhere else in a street. Then we could only get 1 key card to our room. Room looked okay, but you don't have a night stand. Where can you put your water glass, glasses, book? The bathroom looks cool, but there is no place to put your toiletry bag. I put them on the floor, but they were soaked after taking a shower. Then we wanted to eat dinner. We had the choice between tapas on the rooftop and a real dinner in the restaurant. We decided to check out the rooftop and had a drink there first. There is only 1 lift in the building, so it took 15 minutes to get the elevator. Beautiful view over the Gironde. Very kind and hardworking bartenders, but it was quite windy and cold, so we decided we would have dinner in the dining room. The dining room was beautiful. You could sit in or outside. We decided on inside. The menu was weird. It started with oysters, so far so good. Then tuna tataki, well look it up for yourself, but the were no real main courses except for cannelloni. I had the tuna tataki and the grilled eggplant. It tasted quite nice, but wasn't a real meal. The location of the hotel is great, right on the beach, the people working there are really nice and helpful, to get there is horrible and the whole experience was not worth the money.

From the owner: L'Hôtel Villa-Lamartine est un hôtel 3 étoiles qui vient juste d'être rénové, dans une ambiance…read morechaleureuse à la décoration soignée qui vous plonge hors du temps. Situé en plein centre-ville d'Arcachon, tout à fait au calme, il constitue un point de départ idéal à vos excursions pour découvrir le Bassin d'Arcachon.

My wife and I stayed here for a week. It was excellent! Very clean and quiet, 5 minutes walk to the…read morebeach and a few restaurants. There was a balcony outside our room. The staff was helpful and friendly. We highly recommend this hotel!

From the owner: Situé au cœur d'une vaste forêt de pins, l'Hôtel du Parc vous invite à découvrir un lieu privilégié…read morepour vos prochaines vacances. Détente, confort et services personnalisés vous sont offerts tout au long de votre séjour parmi nous. Hôtel 3 étoiles A 500m du Bassin d'Arcachon Piscine intérieure, extérieure & Jacuzzi Proximité immédiate thalassothérapie Ouvert d'Avril à Octobre Parking privé gratuit

Deux étoiles en face du casino, à 2 minutes du front de mer. Prix modérés même en haute saison: 155…read moreEuro pour une chambre familiale, vue sur cour. Propre, en particulier la SDB nickel. Petit téléviseur et Internet payant (3,50) mauvaise connection mais en même temps on ne vient pas à Arcachon pour ça. Lit confortable. Possibilité de louer une place de parking, indispensable en haute saison. Accueil mitigé, selon la personne : une des deux dames est charmante, une autre se laisse vite déborder. Déco vieillote des années 80 mais bon, c'est un 2 étoiles.

It is really a shame! This hotel has a great location in Arcachon, the staff were friendly and…read morehelpful but the MANAGEMENT is AWFUL AND SHAMEFUL! There was no hot water for two of the six days that I was there. The manager continually hid from clients and did not want to discuss the matter. Finally the staff said that I would receive a reduction in my final bill however they had not been told how much. When I checked out, I was given a 10 Euro reduction! 10 Euros! for going a third of my stay without the ability to shave or shower! I asked to speak with the manager but he was again hiding somewhere. Further, new guests were checking in and I waited to hear if the staff was planning to inform them that there was no hot water..... they did not.