Grand Hôtel des Bains Spa

The Grand Hotel is ideally situated in a narrow street 50m from the Vauban fort, and 200 from the promenade and restaurants. Breakfast can be taken inside but many opt to sit at tables in the shaded, internal garden. Our room was small but fine for our purposes, and the hotel very kindly organised for us to stay in it for an extra night when disrupted rail services caused us to change our travel plans. We had a problem with an electronic buzzing noise that at first we didn't notice (we were so exhausted from travel and then a family wedding). However in our efforts to have a nap one afternoon we heard this buzz that was similar to a watch alarm and lasted about 4 seconds. This repeated every 70 seconds but was less predictable at night. We always travel with ear plugs and this helped to a degree but, since we had requested from the outset a quiet room, this was a bit annoying. That room was number 30 and I don't know if others in that part of the corridor were similarly affected. I explained all this to staff at reception before we left and they promised to deal with it before the next guests arrive. The spa was a bit of a bonus for my wife who only used it once. But it doesn't compare with those generally on offer in U.K. 'Spa' hotels. Breakfast was fine and good value in my opinion with the usual continental selection scrambled eggs and sausages (and an invitation to make any other requests). The big pluses for me with the Grand Hotel was the holiday vibe, the wonderful friendly staff, and the exceptionally pleasant surroundings.