Fantastic sangria and white martini Rossi on the terrace - beautiful view, even in the rain.read more

1. When we walk in, greet us. Don't say, "bar is closed" without asking if we have a reservation…read morewhich we did, especially if the website charges us $15euro pp to book 2. When we say we have a reservation at least pretend to know we did, or care 3. If we ask if you can put together two tables to seat our group when the restaurant is Empty try to oblige 4. Bring small plates for our appetizer dish so we aren't eating with our fingers like we're at a fast food restaurant The view is fantastic, the service and food are not worth it.

The Public pool in Biarritz is a salt-water pool with 2 basins (the one for swimmers is 25 Meters…read morelong) and 1 whirlpool. There are also some lounge-chairs from which you have a great view of the beach. Sauna and a Hamman are also available but I didn't use those. The entrance fee is dead cheap (2,50€ for a single adult, 10 entrances cost 18€) but the entrance system is needlessly time consuming. After paying they give you a plastic card with your entry code that you then feed to the entry turnstile literally half a meter next to the lady behind the counter, the card is then gone and has no more use - even if you buy ten entrances you still go through this procedure every time you arrive. You show your paper that says 10 entries to get and electronic card and It takes quite long to charge these cards for each customer. It would be a lot faster to just "buzz" people through the turnstile than do what they do with these cards. Lockers use 50cent pieces. Changing rooms and showers are separated for men and women - but there are only few individual changing cabins (at least on the men side) and those who are there are quite small. The Changing area and the showers are dimly lit, quite old and not welcoming. The basins are in good shape and the pool hall is a nice place to be. The (salt)water was a tad too warm for my taste though. Overall a nice small pool (that could do with some modernizations) that you can go to when the weather doesn't permit to swim in the ocean.

I am very surprised by the low rating ... and think it's not fair to the hotel that one of the…read morereviews gives them one star because they could not follow the hotel's cancellation policy. We did not know where to stay in San Sebastian ... and had it between the Marriott (fancy), this hotel (not too much known) and Hotel Favorita (does not allow kids). We are glad that this is the choice we made. It is a 5 minute (if that) walk to La Concha Beach ... 10 minute straight walk to Old Town ... and it is located in a district with lots of cute little clothing shops. The location was perfect, though we hoped to stay on the beach. The only downside to the hotel is that they are completely ripping up the street/plaza the hotel is on ... so the noisy is unbearably loud in the morning. Imagine a jackhammer but 3 times as powerful. Not only was the noise horrible, everything in the room vibrated from around 7:00 a.m. through 2 p.m. I would recommend getting a room on a high floor. We were on the second floor and light shined into our windows from the street lamps, which were right outside our balcony. Even though the darkening curtains, orange light seeped in at night. There is a Juliet balcony with just enough room to step out and look out on the street and the steeple. Other than that ... our stay was so unexpectedly great! The shower and bathroom was probably the best I've had in any hotel. The shower had 2 outlets ... including an overhead shower with 2 different rainfall features and a waterfall feature. After a long day of walking around the city, it was a pleasure to return and take a shower and relax. The electric bidet toilet was equally amazing! The room we booked (junior suite) had lots of space. The ceilings were very high and made the room very open and airy. The bedroom was separated by a door, so there was a lot of privacy for those in the living room or bathroom while others were sleeping. The bathroom was bigger than most hotel rooms in NYC. We were pleased to see that the mini-bar was all free ... stocked once per stay. There were local beers, waters, soda and chips. I love when hotels do this because it is a small cost but makes a big impact on feeling at home. The decor wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but regardless felt modern and open. Light woods, wood trim and dark green walls in the bedroom. It felt very Scandinavian ... sparse and modern ... IKEA-esque but all the furniture was locally made in San Sebastian. The amount of space (closet, dresser, etc.) was fantastic. When traveling with an infant, there is SO much stuff ... we felt like even after unpacking, the room was not cluttered. There isn't really a 'hang out lobby' and the restaurant on the side is small but seemed to be packed with locals. Overall, this was a very pleasant surprise and we really enjoyed the hotel (minus the noise and lights outside) ... at half the price of the Marriott, it was a great choice and I am sure the room/bathroom and size was way better than anywhere else we would have stayed. Don't hesitate to stay here ... the upgrade to a junior suite is worth the splurge.

I completely enjoyed my stay at this fabulous hotel. First, I cant say enough about this place…read more The staff are AMAZING. Professional, kind, helpful and they go out of their way to assist with anything. I can't send enough praise. The lobby has a real wood-burning fireplace that we sat at and enjoyed a bottle of wine two different evenings during our stay. It was very pleasant and comfortable. The rooms are very updated and the bed was super comfortable. Everything in the room was clean. They have a Marshall brand Bluetooth speaker in the room which is a very nice touch. The Bathroom and shower are incredible. A rain drop style shower head with a hand wand that made showering fun! Now for the star of the show....the bidet toilet seat was a sweet surprise and such a nice touch. A Coffee maker, small fridge, hairdryer, and safe round out the amenities. They have a nice gym, fully appointed in the basement with a steam room, dry sauna and shower area. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they include free parking with a stay there. WOW! what a nice option. I would return here in a minute and if you are looking for a place to stay in San Sebastián, you wont go wrong staying here. I can give it my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!

Stunning hotel in a charming town of Pau. Excellent service, everyone is very fluent in English (an…read moreissue we've faced at many a hotel in other places along our travels in France). Every last detail is thought of, things you didn't even know you'd appreciate. For instance, there's a wonderful comforting scent as you walk into the lobby, and a slightly different but equally wonderful scent into your room. The views of the park are gorgeous. Take some time to walk through it, the water and trees are beautiful and make great photo opportunities. Just note that it's also a slight hot spot for young teens to congregate near the trees after school for a bit of weed, but you can easily avoid them. We really got to enjoy the spa, pool, jacuzzi, and sauna during our stay. The steam room unfortunately was out of service while we were there, but everything else was great. The pool is pretty cold though, so it's a bit of a shock if you enter after using the other spa amenities first. The jacuzzi was a tad bit cooler than I'm used to, I wish we could have turned up the heat. The multitude of towels available right there at the spa was a great touch though. Overall, I loved being here off-season in early December. We basically had the majority of the amenities (park, spa, etc) to ourselves. Really do recommend a visit here if you can. Both the hotel and the town are great.

This may be what you get at a corporate-run hotel. The rooms are pleasant but beyond that few…read morethings work as they should. The wi-fi works in the lobby but not in rooms or the bar. In our room, our toilet isn't firmly anchored in the wall, the curtain holder in our bathroom is half pulled out and there's a hole in the hall rug that catches high-heeled shoes. If you eat at the restaurant, plan a few hours. They are so understaffed it feels like an imposition to ask for anything -- and if you do, plan to wait at least 30 minutes for the simplest glass of wine (wrong order and bottle that had turned) to arrive at your table. You're in France. Find a simpler, less expensive and locally-owned place. You'll spend less and get real French charm.

For a hotel with such an exalted name, and such great reviews on Booking.com, I had high…read moreexpectations. We were excited to have a luxury experience in a small boutique hotel, and I could tell the moment we walked in that it was going to fall flat, starting with the rather drab lobby--not at all what the website photos portray. Most of the hotel was clearly redone with some slick touches, but ultimately isn't very traveler-friendly. BREAKFAST - When I asked if breakfast was included, they were kind enough to give us one morning of free breakfast, which was very good, and served in a very pretty, elegant dining room. (The second morning, even though it was raining, we opted to skip the super expensive hotel breakfast and we found a place called Akeita in town that was fantastic and reasonably priced!) LOCATION - It's about a 15 minute walk from the train and bus station. It's not exactly in the "heart" of town--it's on the edge, but it's a small town, so...close enough. THE ROOMS - The bed was comfortable, and there were some comfortable chair in the room, which was nice. Otherwise, though, the rooms are TINY. I suppose if you're traveling alone it's not a problem. If you're sharing the room, good luck. First of all, there's no space to put anything. No luggage stands, so we had to make due putting one suitcase on a little bench, and the other on the floor. The guy who brought the bags up to our room was completely unapologetic about this. "Sorry--we have no more," he said before ducking out. In order to have space to put a few things, like a book and some tissues and my cell phone, on the nightstand, I had to put the phone and some of the decorative accessories on the floor. On the day we were leaving, they were kind enough to offer late checkout of 2pm, which really helped, since all the stores in town are closed every day from about 12pm - 2pm, so I wasn't sure what the heck I was going to do to until my late afternoon bus! BATHROOM - The bathroom is very small with very little vanity space. We had to move all the towels from the shelf under the vanity to put our toiletries somewhere. And of course, that makes it easy to forget everything when you're checking out. There's no place to hang a hand towel anywhere even remotely close to the sink. The tiny shower stall is equipped with a giant rain shower head, and then a little low handheld sprayer. If you want to take a proper shower, you're using the rain shower, and when that thing is on, it takes up the entire tiny space so there's no reprieve--water constantly dripping all over your face and head. You can't get away from it. It's a gentle rain, which means it take forever to rinse shampoo from hair. TISSUES - This was my biggest pet peeve. At a luxury hotel, everything should be luxurious. Including the facial tissues. I had a nasty cold the entire time I was there, and their tissues were like sandpaper. Really. Awful. I was so miserable that I eventually went to the pharmacy down the street and spend 5 Euros to get some softer tissues. THE SPA - Because I was sick, I didn't book a massage. But I didn't want to miss out on the thassalotherapy (sp?) pool and the other amenities, since that was the whole reason I booked this hotel. It was certainly a relaxing place to sit and read, and the pool was interesting--not what I expected. I thought it would be warm like a hot tub, but I'm guessing it was only about 80 degrees. The very bubbly jets are just weird. And then along one wall, there are some very, very, very strong jets at varying heights. I tried them all--on my back, my IT bands, and my achilles. It felt pretty good while I was in there, but the next day, I was so sore I actually had to look to see if my back was bruised. (It wasn't--at least visibly.) Also, my skin has been really itchy since being in the pool. I'm not sure why that is...

From the owner: Construit en 1909 sur la plage, face à la baie de Saint Jean de Luz, le Grand hôtel Loreamar est un…read moremerveilleux livre d'histoire. Son architecture, ses couleurs, ses couloirs peuplés de malles anciennes évoquent une belle époque brillante. Situé aux portes de l'Espagne et à 15 minutes de l'aéroport de Biarritz, c'est l'endroit idéal pour découvrir le pays basque. Ses 52 chambres, suites et appartements à l'atmosphère unique et délicieusement cosy offrent une vue exceptionnelle et un panorama paradisiaque. Dans sa salle en rotonde surplombant une magnifique terrasse en teck, avec une vue imprenable. Le restaurant de l'hôtel,"l'Océan" vous invite à déguster, grâce aux talents gastronomiques de son chef, une cuisine inspirée du terroir basque et des produits de l'océan. En rez-de-plage, Loreamar, somptueux espace thalasso spa élu parmi les plus beaux spas d'Europe, vous accueille dans un havre de bien-être et de sérénité. La piscine intérieure d'eau de mer semble répondre aux vagues de