Hôtel Maria-Christina — Hotel in Bayonne

I've chosen Maria Christina hotel according to that wonderful reviews I've read about it. Frankly, for me, it was one of the worst life experiences. I've never faced with such attitude before. At first, everything was fine. I was met by a wonderful girl at the reception, we had a chat and then I went to my room to unpack things. I should stay here for five nights. The design of the room was really nice but soon I understood that it wasn't cleaned in a proper way. On all the surfaces there was a layer of dust and a bit of dirt and sand. Not criminal but it was unpleasant. The floor was not clean enough and the toilet also was not really clean as well as the cups. In the evening I found out that my room was right over a restaurant of the hotel so I could hear music and people's voices well till 11:30 PM. I closed a shutter but it didn't help much. In the morning I was woken up by voices and squeak of chairs. I decided to ask to change the room. I've never done it before though I stayed in hundreds of hotels all over the world. I also checked on booking.com if there were free rooms. There were. I found an owner of the hotel at the reception and she began to urge me that all of my problems are not real problems. The room would be cleaned and I should just close the window not to hear voices. She spoke to me in a really disrespectful way. When I asked her why she was speaking to me in such way she said that it was her hotel and she could do here whatever she wanted. She suggested me to leave and to lose all the money (500 euro) and also said that "a lot of people are ready to die to come here, to my hotel and to be here near the ocean". She also said that she had finished the best swiss touristic college and she knew how to speak to guests. That awful conversation finished with no result. Next morning the owner greeted me like nothing has happened and asked what I wanted to do, to stay or to leave. I said that I wanted to stay but I didn't know what to expect from the hotel where an owner can say to a guest that she "can do what she wants". After that, the owner began to speak in a rude way again and said that I should leave. I didn't refuse to pay for two nights I've spent there. But she wanted me to pay an extra 188 euro. I said that I couldn't understand why I should pay for her rudeness because that was her rudeness the only reason I wanted to leave. Then she literally began to shout at me. And I could only continue to repeat that I couldn't understand why I should pay for her rudeness. I felt like it was a nightmare, not a real story. She said that I shouldn't travel anymore and she would call someone and I would never stay in any French hotel again. She took money for two nights and ordered me to leave her hotel. At the same time, she refused to give me a receipt and said that she could do it only in an hour and a half. So I had to wait for her. Finally, she came back and wished me good luck in a very polite way. I thanked her and went to the railway station with an intention not to come back to that town again (though it is...

We did make reservations a couple of days only before the actual arrival date. All the other hotels (we liked) where booked due to the Film Festival at St. at the same time we were there.||We arrived and the key and instructions were on the front desk. The room was comfy, and had two seperate beds (which we booked). The tv was rather small (the only minor thing we can say).||||Next morning we had breakfast in the cosy breakfast room. Ample choices (3 different kinds of breads, 2 homemade jams, mini croissants and mini chocolate breads, yogurt, freshly squeezed orange juice (!), honey, fresh fruits, coffee, tea (with real leaves), a local cheese and a local thinly sliced smoked Bayonne (?) ham and boiled eggs. And of course the home made granola which I loved||Not to mention the attendance of 2 lovely dogs, named Naomi and Wendy.||The owner, maybe she is called Maria-Christina (?) was very good in giving us suggestions where to go, where to eat, etc. The personal touch in this case - we were visiting Basque country both for the first time - is so very important. And I do appreciate this very much so!||If we were to come back in this region, we would for sure pick this hotel again, No...

I like to holiday by the seat of my pants which means never booking anything online. We'd spent a week cycling in the Pyrenees and drove to St Jean de Luz in need of sun, sea and relaxation. I saw a sign for Maria Christina, parked up and waltzed in. Spanish Susanna was on reception. She found us a room each for two nights with no fuss. The rooms were modern, stylish, clean and the beds were large and comfortable with good linen. They had a/c as well. The street the hotel is on is very quiet. I got a good night's sleep. ||The decor of the hotel was homely yet tasteful. I found the Basques have a sensibility for interior design lacking in the rest of France. It was refreshing.|In the morning we met Maria Christina and her dog and her son. He was helping out at breakfast. He was only around nine but was doing a good job. Coffee was tasty. ||What I loved about the hotel was how Maria Christina and Susanna were both professional but also very friendly and warm. It made me feel at ease, like staying with your favourite relatives. Only with more style. I couldn't recommend this...