Relais & Châteaux Hôtel Parc Victoria

I agree entirely with Larwe from Canada, although we stayed in the Pavilion rather than the hotel or its cottages. We lacked a balcony or terrace but had a wonderful roller blind to protect us from the savage sun. The location and gardens are a tranquil paradise away from the seafront bustle but close enough to it for a traditional French seafront meal, [plenty to choose from - see tripadvisor] at a fraction {30%} of the cost of the hotel restaurant (we did not eat there - the heat had stolen our appetite), lunch / evening drink in the old port or stroll out shopping in the town centre to be an easy and enjoyable walk. We were there in the middle of a heat wave in excess of 40 degrees C and the pool and garden were indeed an oasis. The air con in our room at 21 was initially like stepping into a fridge, but a very pleasant fridge at that - although you have to like Art Deco / shabby chic decor and idiosyncratic and no vista to see from your room, so no USP for us.. This is therefore a difficult one to score…..there is nothing really to fault it…certainly not the effort that has been put into it… It is not cheap, especially the evening meals in the restaurant; the breakfast is expensive but also expansive…and worth the money for the setting alone if you are able to sit outside…the service and courtesy from every single member of staff, from the gardeners to Madame herself is excellence personified. It just lacked something that did not tick our boxes. We are both retired professionals and easy going who have and are happy to mix with all levels of society so not the clientele - just something else lacking in overall ambience… This was the first relais et chateau chain hotel we had stayed at - indeed we did not realise it was a chain until some enthusiastic relais and chateau regulars, who were a joy to meet, pointed it out to us. (See website - all of which look good) So no nearer to understanding what was lacking. We are touring with our own car driving back along the Côte Atlantique from Bilbao to Caen staying in hotels of this standard in Spain and France. All have been five blobs-worthy but this one was just lacking any extra wow factor for us. Iriarte Jauregia in Bidania Goiatz was 6 blobs /5, Hotel Le B in Arcachon is easily 5.5/5 and 7/5 for their head receptionist, (who has been a complete star rearranging our booking 4x during Covid), so maybe we’re just being lucky with the hotels we’ve chosen. So it still gets 5/5 as I can’t really fault it, (and irrespective of this review, we still had a great time in St Jean de Luz and this hotel) but would not go back or recommend it other than to an Art Deco aficionado..or a gourmand with money to burn….or a couple looking for an oasis amidst a heatwave..