I stayed here for a Thalassa Spa getaway, as part of a weeklong trip to the Basque Coast. As many have already stated, the location is perfect. It’s situated right off of a town thoroughfare, and just along a pathway that runs along the beaches. Also, Biarritz is a great base to explore the Basque countryside, and to reiterate a previous reviewer’s sentiments; the people of Biarritz are classy, but not snooty.

The hotel was very clean, quiet, but didn’t exactly have that that Sofitel ‘feel’, in terms of luxury and refinement. The hotel could use a renovation, given the price they charge, I think the rooms and furnishings could be a *little* bit nicer. The hotel staff was efficient and well taught in their duties, as well as being cordial, and accommodating. When I arrived, I had a little welcome gift, chocolates, and letter wishing me a pleasant stay. A few minutes later, the front desk called to make sure I was all right and getting settled in my room.

Restaurant is good, but not great. However, I did enjoy the meals. However, there are plenty of great places to eat and drink around town, which is about a 10-minute walk from the hotel. During the weekdays the bar area is quiet and dull, but come the weekend, there are special events (musical performances, etc.), and it seems like the place to be. Spectacular views are to be had from the bar/restaurant and the outdoor heated pool are worth sitting down for an appetizer or drink. Particularly sunset.

The rooms are large, clean, quiet, and comfortable. Supplied in the bathroom were Hermes toiletries, Bose sound system with an iPod/iPhone dock, and Wi-Fi is free. Also, the pools, gym, sauna are available for all hotel patrons.

If you are going for the Thalassa treatments primarily, do at least 5 days, preferable seven to derive the full benefit of Thalassa. I found the spa staff charming and very warm. The treatments were scheduled at intervals that allowed you to enjoy your sessions without being rushed or overwhelmed, but not so far apart that you were idly waiting for your next appointment and missing out on other activities. The treatment program schedule alternates morning and afternoon sessions don’t consume your entire day, so you can balance your spa time and vacation time seamlessly.

The Sofitel Thalassa has a lovely situation by and overlooking the sandy beach. It has an excellent heated (28 degrees C.) 25 metre outdoor seawater pool as well as an indoor heated seawater pool. The rooms are all well-appointed with balconies overlooking the sea.
The buffet breakfast has a wide selection of dishes but is expensive at 28 euros. For around 6 - 9 euros one can have coffee and croissants at a nearby cafe - La Ferme St. Charles in Rue du Lycee, less than 10 minutes' walk away - and watch the world go by and the interesting parking! For the evening meal the restaurant had a small choice of expensive dishes which lacked inspiration - there are several restaurants in the centre of Biarritz which offer cheaper and tastier meals.
The hotel is supposed to have a policy re towel washing - for every 5 used towels one tree will be planted - but the towels were changed unnecessarily TWICE a day. The maids who clean the rooms do not replenish the tea, coffee, bottles of water etc. in the bedrooms - there are separate staff for this!
The only English newspaper in the shop in the reception was the Financial Times - on Saturday only Friday's F.T. was available; then the shop is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

This hotel provides everything one expects from Sofitel or any 5* hotel.
As a prefferred guest we received an upgrade from our suite to one just above the beach, the hotel seems designed to give every room a beach view but our suite had a balcony overlooking directly onto the beach.

There has been a lot of negative reviews about the looks and condition of this hotel, and it is true that the 1970s design has not aged well, and the Alluminium cladding has fared even worse, some reviews suggest the hotel is in a poor state of maintenance, this is not true, the hotel is clean well maintained and everything works, the aircon units in our room worked perfectly and most importantly SILENTLY, as did everything else.

We did not use the restaurant as the menu did not suit my wife who is a vegetarian, there is a huge number of good restaurants in the old town or at the headland within 5mns walk, all doing a very good trade, we did visit the bar and used room servcice, both with polite and efficient service.
Our stay was in June but the bar did close a little early, too early for a nightcap when returning from Dinner.

Others have commented on the Spa which is excelent and does require a dedicated visit to enjoy properly, prices also seem reasonable, if your room is on the ground floor you will be advised to walk down from your room in your bathrobe, which involves waiting for a lift in the main lobby whilst standing in a bathrobe, if like myself you prefer to be dressed when standing in public lobbies use the lockers and changing rooms in the SPA.

Oh and do try the outdoor heated pool, the temperature is lovely and the salt water swim very enjoyable.

And yes... the indoor parking is expensive and limited, but no worse than most city hotels with Valet parking, yes Biarritz is a town not a city but if you can afford to stay there then you can afford the parking.

We will be back...

We stayed here in July with my 13 year old daughter and her dog. The hotel is right on the beach and has a heated outdoor pool overlooking the beach as well as an indoor pool. The bedrooms are modern and spacious and the beds amazingly comfortable however when we were allocated our bedrooms both smelt strongly of smoke although they were meant to be non smoking and it took alot of complaining to persuade them to give us another room . My daughter agreed to keep hers and was given a room spray but even after 3 days the smell had not gone from the room. We did not eat at the hotel as the prices were so expensive , 25 euros for breakfast and 50euros for lunch. There were many restaurants close by so it wasn't a problem