Hotel Sofitel Biarritz Le Miramar Thalassa (Biarritz, France)

This hotel is just outside Biarritz, 10 minutes' walk from the centre: a quiet location, not too far out. The five stars indicate the quality and fitting in the bathrooms, and room furnishings and the comprehensive facilities available for the use of guests.

Rooms with a sea view are very much to be sought after, and the hotel parking is a great convenience. The beach is readily accessible, and when the weather is not ideal one can use the hotel's pools as well as the fitness centre.

Guests with an allergy problem were impressed that their pre-ordered instructions for making the room safe had already been carried out, unlike their experience with other hotels. In general the staff were found to be helpful.

The breakfast was a disappointment, even compared with other hotels of the same chain in France. Whilst parking with the hotel is a convenience, there is cheaper parking nearby. A guest described the room as “like a motel room in a dying town”.

This is an expensive hotel, and a number of guests felt that staff quality was not great: they seemed not to understand what was required unless one spoke in French. When room service took nearly an hour to deliver morning coffee it was not appreciated, but when the staff member started to argue about it that was totally unacceptable.

Overall this hotel is let down by the lack of service: a guest who had to cancel their booking and gave 24 hours' notice, found there was no refund available. Guests who booked car hire through reception found there was no booking when they got there, and the price at the car hire location was not much more than half what they had been quoted at the hotel.