I was finalizing my reservation with Hotel l'Hacienda in Bidart, Pays Basque, France, when they forwarded me a copy of their rules and regulations. You almost needed a lawyer to go through all the points on these sheets. I quickly realized that this was not the place for us. A few examples of rules: Do not come ealier than check in time. "We will NOT hold your bags for you". Do not even bring a bottle of water into the rooms. Everything has to be purchased at their store on their premises, and eaten in a certain area. I asked why and was told that : This is because "AMERICANS go to the supermarkets and bring back alot of food to the rooms". "When they leave, there are insects in the rooms." The hotel looked nice on the web site, but they were the rudest people I have ever dealt with in all of my 10 trips to France. Thankfully, I realized this before I gave them my credit card number. p.s. I am Canadian, and was equally insulted.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
13 February 2007
Following the late awareness of this message, insofar as we do not know the existence of this site, we made the decision to bring from now on a response to each message so that the travellers can form a more reliable opinion by having also the point of view of the hotel one.
In 2004, following a massive destruction of one of our suites by American travellers who had introduced alcohols and food in quantity without our knowledge into their room, we made the decision by means of a strict regulation to proceed so in a natural way to the selection of our clientele and not to receive any more the persons who transform hotel rooms into unhealthy shanties and disturb the other customers.
Thanks to this regulation which we send to every confirmation of stay to take by surprise never the persons, the customers who confirm their stay, for the happiness of all, those are obviously concerned by this type of disrespectful behavior.
In the present case and what is not obviously notified, the problem concerned the alcohol consumption and the food in the room and on no account the mineral water as mentioned.
A room as its name indicates it is a space of sleep and rest and except when the place is fitted out for it is not conceived on the base to take meals there.
It is also important to remind that in France legislations on the consumption and the sale of alcohol exist and that a hotel establishment without restaurant is not authorized to offer this service.
We have an enormous respect for our customers contrary to what is insinuated and it is in the name of this respect that we stay up that for the comfort of our clientele the rooms of our hotel are always in a state of irreproachable hygiene.
However to achieve this mission we count obviously on the respect for our customers for places, what is in great majority the case except rare exceptions.
We had tempted with kindness in spite of their e-mails of insults sent to explain to the author of this criticism who stayed fortunately never in the hotel the origin of our regulation which it did not absolutely understood and transformed completely in this personal and deceitful interpretation which should for this motive not appear in this place.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
