Regina Experimental Biarritz — Hotel in Bayonne

We stayed in mid September, choosing this hotel from reading reviews, its quiet location and outside pool. Reception staff were all excellent, very friendly and helpful with suggestions and answers to our holiday questions. The hotel building is a stunning art deco design with a spectacular huge central atrium containing many sofas and tables, a bar area that leads into the restaurant area. We sat outside for breakfast ( weather permitting !) and the breakfast quality and varied selection of hot and cold food was superb. The golf room was lovely with views of the near-by golf course with countryside views in the distance. The room was a good size with an excellent bathroom, 2 basins, separate toilet,( + large flat walk-in shower). Lots of storage for clothes, a safe and fridge. Many room options in this hotel- the front facing sea- view rooms are brilliant for example. A large outside pool sunbathing area is an advantage for this hotel. The luxurious sun beds are the most comfortable we’ve used. The hotel location as reviews mention is at the top end of a very long hill from the centre. It takes about 10-15 minutes. 2 walking options; one is to walk along the main road path all the way or secondly to walk down the path for about 5 minutes then take one of the steep wide steps on the right of the main path down to the beach/ promenade and continue walking on a wide flat beach promenade all the way to the centre. ( one note - there is an area near the Hotel du Palais when the promenade goes under the hotel and where the waves come up to this path and the sea does make this part wet when the tide is high and sea is rough). The walk back uphill is a slow hard walk along the main road path or again use the flat promenade then take the steep steps up to the main road path again where you walk for the last 5 minutes to the hotel. The locals mostly cycle using electric bikes - you know why after walking around! There is an excellent free bus (N11) that stops outside the hotel and goes directly into the centre ( the return bus stop is outside too). It’s perfect except that it doesn’t run very late in evening. Getting the local taxis in Biarritz is near impossible - not many and they don’t always turn-up. Also they’ve resisted other competition from Uber etc ( even less of these & again not reliable) so that is a major negative for us in this town. We used the excellent buses and train services ( e.g. direct bus to Bayonne & train to Saint Jean de Luz) . The uphill location could be difficult for some people but the quiet location and the hotel facilities and proximity to the lovely walk to the lighthouse area close by are advantages to smaller central hotels. A luxury hotel with excellent staff. Highly...

We stayed in mid September, choosing this hotel from reading reviews, its quiet location and outside pool. Reception staff were all excellent, very friendly and helpful with suggestions and answers to our holiday questions. The hotel building is a stunning art deco design with a spectacular huge central atrium containing many sofas and tables, a bar area that leads into the restaurant area. We sat outside for breakfast ( weather permitting !) and the breakfast quality and varied selection of hot and cold food was superb. The golf room was lovely with views of the near-by golf course with countryside views in the distance. The room was a good size with an excellent bathroom, 2 basins, separate toilet,( + large flat walk-in shower). Lots of storage for clothes, a safe and fridge. Many room options in this hotel- the front facing sea- view rooms are brilliant for example. A large outside pool sunbathing area is an advantage for this hotel. The luxurious sun beds are the most comfortable we’ve used. The hotel location as reviews mention is at the top end of a very long hill from the centre. It takes about 10-15 minutes. 2 walking options; one is to walk along the main road path all the way or secondly to walk down the path for about 5 minutes then take one of the steep wide steps on the right of the main path down to the beach/ promenade and continue walking on a wide flat beach promenade all the way to the centre. ( one note - there is an area near the Hotel du Palais when the promenade goes under the hotel and where the waves come up to this path and the sea does make this part wet when the tide is high and sea is rough). The walk back uphill is a slow hard walk along the main road path or again use the flat promenade then take the steep steps up to the main road path again where you walk for the last 5 minutes to the hotel. The locals mostly cycle using electric bikes - you know why after walking around! There is an excellent free bus (N11) that stops outside the hotel and goes directly into the centre ( the return bus stop is outside too). It’s perfect except that it doesn’t run very late in evening. Getting the local taxis in Biarritz is near impossible - not many and they don’t always turn-up. Also they’ve resisted other competition from Uber etc ( even less of these & again not reliable) so that is a major negative for us in this town. We used the excellent buses and train services ( e.g. direct bus to Bayonne & train to Saint Jean de Luz) . The uphill location could be difficult for some people but the quiet location and the hotel facilities and proximity to the lovely walk to the lighthouse area close by are advantages to smaller central hotels. A luxury hotel with excellent staff. Highly...

Very very poor service. On the booking.com it says parking is available and also valet parking. At check-in we parked in a vacant spot in the hotel parking lot. After check-in we were informed that we could not stay in that spot and had to look for parking outside the hotel by ourselves. Valet parking services and assistance in finding a space was also denied to us. This is the first time we have ever encountered such a lack of service in a 5 star hotel, at a price of over 1000 euros per day. After a long search my husband managed to find a place outside, and shortly after that the reception staff informed us that tomorrow the streets are closed and we can't park on the street. Is this a joke? We had two small children with us and were tired after a long drive. As a result, we had to leave our car in a parking lot on the other side of town and return with the kids late at night for over 30 minutes. And when we returned there was no one in our spot, which was supposedly reserved for another guest. The morning of the same way there was a huge number of spaces in the parking lot. Next we saw a Lamborghini parked in the place for people with disabilities. Of course.

At breakfast very poor choice, for children there is no food except dry cereals. Waiters bring coffee very long, often forget to bring at all.

At the reception we were proudly informed that there was a restaurant concierge. I asked to call two restaurants to make dinner reservations. The concierge replied that this was not possible as the restaurants were busy. We arrived there on our own and got a table easily without any waiting time.

At check-in we planned to extend our vacation for one night, at the reception desk we were confirmed this possibility. When the day of the extension came another staff and said that he could not allow us to stay in this category of room, because he had problems with the internal reservation system and in the room for 4 can only put 2 people. But we already live in the same category of room. This day was a holiday in France and it was the last option in town, as a result we are traveling with small children to spend the night in another city. We will return to Biarritz in a day after, but will definitely stay in another hotel. Worse service than the Regina Hotel is...