Hôtel les Hortensias du Lac

What a wonderful place! Sleek, stylish, with excellent facilities. Settle down with a drink on the balcony looking out at the lake, or stretch out by the pool with panoramic views for total relaxation. Lots of cosy nooks and glossy books to discover, great breakfast buffet at The Beach House (again, with THAT view), good spa treatments and a superb hotel team who looked after us so well. Every member of staff was welcoming, friendly and helpful, but a special thanks to Marion, who really went the extra mile (quite literally -- she even gave us a lift to and from a local restaurant!). The fine dining restaurant on-site was a gastronomic delight, again, with excellent service and a view which was even more spectacular when a rainbow arced across the water. One tip -- do take a car. We didn't, but we were able to explore on foot, walking into lively Hossegor and even further afield into CapBreton. This was our second experience of a hotel in the Fontenille chain, having visited 70 Hectares Et L'Ocean before this stop. We were hugely impressed and look forward to visiting other properties in the group. All in all -- magnifique!

The hotel is in a great location right on the lake and a 5 minute walk from some of the best beaches in Europe. Our room was clean and tastefully decorated but could have benefitted from a stand-alone shower rather than a bath (there’s a lot of sand around!). The vibe is relaxed and cool. The staff were attentive and very helpful. Great breakfast spread. We didn’t eat in the restaurant as we preferred the seafront bars and restaurants where you could watch the sunset. Nice pool, good wifi, free parking. Nothing to fault really.

We didn't know the village or the hotel and were very nicely surprised by both. The location of the hotel is amazing and the service was excellent.

Hotel is neat and calm, well situated at 5mn walk from the sea. Rooms are small and 45EUR overcharge for each child per night does not make sense when there is no extra bed. Hotel facilities are fine. Food at the restaurant is very good but the choice is extremely limited with only three starters and three main courses so that it does not make sense to stay longer than one night at the hotel. The poor choice means you must look out for some other places to eat a few kilometers away by car. The local alternatives from the bar menu like a 250g beef for +90EUR must be ordered 24h in advance is very expensive, inconvenient and boring. Service was unequal, apparently better done by younger and less experienced staff. Client management by Sophie, the manager, was absolutely despicable. Sophie tried to overcharge us 400EUR when she charged us the full cost for a cancelled night in a future stay although the contract stipulated the hotel can only keep the advance, which was half the price of the room. We had a pretty long argument although the written conditions are pretty clear. Her very dishonest behaviour is absolutely unacceptable, particularly in a hotel supposed to cater for high quality service. At the end, Sophie the client manager had to accept the reality of the sales conditions. I am wondering how such person can be fit for a client service role unless her assignment is to screw the clients. For the last ten years, we almost always visit Relais & Chateaux while in France and this has been our only bad client experience. Besides the horrible experience with Sophie, the client manager, the small room and the limited menu convince us that this hotel is not appropriate for family or stay beyond one night. We will certainly never return there and do not recommend it.

The hotel and its location are beautiful and very well maintained. However, it is a bit far from the center if you don’t want to take the car or rent a bike from the hotel at an extra €20 per day. The restaurant was either closed or fully booked on all three nights we spent at the hotel, so we were forced to eat elsewhere and the closest restaurants are at least a 20 min walk away…