Mercure Thalassa Regina and Golf Biarritz Hotel, Biarritz

The hotel had a very attractive internal design and structure (early 20th century?), where bedrooms on 3 floors were accessed from a balcony which surrounded and overlooked an oval shaped lounge and dining area on the ground floor. A glass roof covered this central area. On arrival and registration, the staff were welcoming but we were shown to a ground floor room, which overlooked the car park and a rubbish skip for building work. The car park side of the hotel was scaffolded due to roof repair work being carried out following recent storm damage. Our booking had been made for a standard double room with view of the golf course. After complaint we were transferred to a 2nd floor room, which met the description of the booking. The room and facilities were clean but looked tired compared with those of other hotels at which we had recently stayed at (and at about 50% of the cost). Lack of attention to detail was evident when the self-service kettle and tray had to be placed on the floor because the power lead was too short. The service provided via the reception staff was helpful throughout the stay. The valet parking and courtesy shuttle to the local golf club was very convenient. We ate in the restaurant on a Saturday and a Sunday evening. The waiting staff were very courteous and efficient on the first evening and the meal was good. On the Sunday evening the same menu as the previous day was offered. The staff on duty were relatively inattentive, forgetting to bring the wine ordered and there was quite a delay before being served the dessert. We ate out on the final evening. Biarritz is an expensive town and on the settling our final bill we noticed a local tax of 3.30 euros per day had been added. Overall in relation to the cost of staying at the hotel we were disappointed with what we had been provided with, especially following the early attempt to locate us in an inferior room. The swimming pool that was advertised was never offered as a facility.