Editor Pick
Hotel du Palais
- April 2, 2003
- Rated 5 of 5 by
kmclark from Blandford, Massachusetts
Napoleon III had this palace built for his wife Eugenie (of Spanish origin) and she loved it, making the small fishing village blossom into quite the place for "the rich and famous" to be (circa 1854) from that time on. Well, it certainly was a treat and had every amenity imaginable - among my favorites (difficult to select a single one) was the in-room full (from the menu) breakfast which allowed us to wake up in leisurely and pampered fashion. The personal items were Nina Ricci and plush monogramed robes and slippers (to keep) were also furnished by the hotel.
Our enormous room with its 20' ceiling was furnished with graceful fitting artifacts. We were greeted with 2 vases of flowers (1 roses), a basket of fresh fruit, and a hand-written note of welcome from the manager. Wow!
The bathroom was as large as a small motel room in itself and very modern in every way; stark style difference between each room with no drop in elegance. We were entitled to an upgrade but opted against it as we were situated in a diagonal mezzanine area just off the first floor lobby area so flitting in and out held no delays. We were quite content, believe me.
The place is large and sprawling bordering the eastern Atlantic (a surfer's delight) as well as having a fresh water pool of its own with fluffy towels "served" to guests, and a year-round outdoor bar and peaceful shaded patios where I caught up with my writing.
The service and staff were of the highest caliber, both professional and friendly. They never made us feel too weird for food shopping as we did (i.e.: hotel water was 60ff; shop water = 11ff) and returning with our bags of goodies. After each day's outing we'd return to made up beds with a boxed chocolate on each pillow...kept a couple tiny boxes for my memory album.
In truth, we hardly wandered the huge hotel as I would another time. A large distraction from exploring about the building was the novelty of television with full cable (we don't have it at home) with its diversity of languages. My teenage daughter was glued to the set as often as possible for its tri-nation MTV. Surely, each suite had to be at least as enchanting as ours.
The lawns and gardens were gorgeous and we quickly learned how to navigate to all the places we wanted to be; that was enough - then. The central promenade is nearby to the hotel and, with the ocean on the other side, this palace is as perfectly situated as it was centuries ago. I can certainly understand Eugenie's love for the place. If you're in France or Spain and have a couple extra days to explore, you're sure to be treated like royalty at the Hotel du Palais.
From journal Biarritz in the Basque Country