Le Splendid — Hotel in District of Dax

Price too expensive for the quality of the hotel. A bit more than 200 euros for 1 night with breakfast and spa for 2. There isn't also a parking at the hotel. Luckily we were in august and the public parking nearby was free. The confort room is big but quite old in the end and very few beauty products given for a 4 stars hotel. The matress is nice and no noise heard from outside or other rooms. The hotel is quite nice specially the hall but it is getting old. The spa is nice but too many people are allowed in it (80 people) for half the day so hard to not be near people. Specially as we are still living with covid.. Kids & even babys are also allowed in the facility which makes the spa less nice when you are surrounded by them and you wanted a calm spa environment. You must book previous to arrival. If not you won't be able to go to the spa. We wanted a last minute massage or a skincare service and it was not possible. The spa doesn't have a real pool to swim in it. It is only several spaces with water massage and different temperatures and also hammam and sauna. There is a space with salt on the water to allow to float on the water which is nice but it is too little which means with only 2 couples there it is already too much. Don't drink the water nor the tea from the spa: the water there was dark dirty things inside and the tea was almost as if you were drinking hot water without barely any tea inside. The breakfast is very bad for a 4 stars: chimical scrumble eggs, the smoked ham & sausage have no taste, the cakes too dry etc. The only nice things from the breakfast are the on the spot cooked pancakes and the real orange juice. Also if you are hungry at evening and want a snake do not eat the mixed cheese and ham plate as the quality is not good and almost no taste. For a french "charcuterie" plate this is a pity. Also the staff doesn't know how to advice on wine which is also a pity. So in conclusion the hotel without the breakfast is nice but getting old and too expensive for the...

Location is good for the old town, the market, riverbank and the bull ring if you are into that. It's a hot walk from the railway station and taxis seem impossible to find at either end. Hotel was unable to find taxis too, but we discovered the free bus for the return trip which was ideal. ||||The hotel has a very large atrium which contains reception, a bar, grand staircase and adjoins the terrace. It creates a slightly soulless atmosphere, which is not improved by an awkward welcome at reception. The dining room looked too traditional and stuffy for us, so we used the plentiful cafés and bistros for food. ||||Room was OK, although the aircon was noisy. Large windows were fine until early morning when road sweepers etc. The bathroom was good with plenty of hot water, which given the nature of Dax is not a surprise. ||||Having been bombarded with advance requests and reminders to book the spa we were a bit surprised not to see its reception manned or to see any information in the room. We could easily have been persuaded to chill and relax for half a day, Maybe another time. ||||Luggage storage was a pain. We happily followed the member of staff to store our bags for the morning, but then had to fight through all the other bags to retrieve them. This is also a hotel with a lot of steps, there is a steepish slope, but it's not accessible for anyone with mobility issues. ||||Overall, it felt like it needed a general manager with personality and energy to make it all click, focus on its guests and really hum....

Great central location.

Room ⭐⭐⭐⭐ If I was reviewing just the room I would give this hotel 4 stars. The room was spacious and very clean. The bed and pillows were comfortable and smelled great.

AC: heaven 😇

Mini fridge: complementary still and sparkling water on your first day.

Mini kettle: Good selection of complimentary teas. Sadly, I couldn't drink the complimentary coffee as the cream had gone bad.

Bathroom: clean with very good water pressure. However, the high water pressure and design of the shower cause a lot of water to pour onto the floor.

Reception ⭐⭐⭐ We had no luggage assistance upon arrival. Weren't given any information unless we specifically asked.

Parking: no parking on site. You can drive around for free parking or use the paid public parking spots that are walking distance to the hotel for around €14 per night or pay an hourly rate.

Language barrier: Employees are polite, but communication is difficult for non French speakers. I didn't expect to have this problem at a 4 star hotel. Even a laminated note left for us was in French. It would be helpful if they at least had some written documents in other languages.

Spa The pools are part of the spa and cost extra. There is a discount for those staying at the hotel, but it's still expensive.

Safe: very small safe in room. My husbands iPad wouldn't fit.

Balcony: our mini balcony was very dirty.

Wifi: couldn't connect...