Hotel du Palais, Biarritz, France
Hotel du Palais 4 Stars
"A dignified grande dame that overlooks the Virgin Rock, with an ornate, antiquated interior and impeccable staff."
Hotel Overview
Review of Hotel du Palais, by Ramsey Qubein
This palatial gem of the Pays Basque is a resplendent throwback to an opulent era. A symbol of imperial grandeur, the ornate white and maroon structure was built as a summer residence for Empress Eugenie and Napoleon III, then rebuilt as a luxury hotel around the turn of the last century. Resplendent gardens line the short road past the gated entrance with security guards keeping watch.
The facilities
The main lobby of the luxury hotel is ornate and embellished, with plenty of marble and crystal on show, along with rugs bearing the logo of the imperial pair. Two cherubs frame a vintage clock over the entrance to the grand lobby, where veined pillars support an elaborate coffered ceiling graced with chandeliers of brass and glass. An ornate piano from Napoleonic times is a real showpiece, as are display cases of jewelry, fine china and antiques.
Mullioned doors open to the piano bar, which in turn opens to the fabulous rotunda restaurant overlooking the Atlantic. The famous Virgin rock (a symbol of the city) completes the background while diners take part in three highly orchestrated meals throughout the day. Starched white linens set the scene for heavy chargers on which meals are unveiled one course at a time from underneath silver domed covers. The French chef takes pleasure in using local ingredients in his Basque-French blend of cuisine. For more casual nibbling in the luxury hotel visit the white-linen poolside Hippocampe, reached via a long, canopied walkway across the grounds.
Filtered (and heated) seawater fills the plunge pool during the spring and summer months and a series of cabanas bunkered into the hillside flank one side of it, along with a putting green and a playground. The casino is a short walk down the beach promenade where the heart of Biarritz unfolds each day with locals on picnics or a beachside stroll. Tennis, golf, riding, pelota, petanque, and bullfights keep the area around the luxury hotel lively in season with plenty of Basque flavor.
The new Imperial Spa has become the haven for thalassotherapy and is the reason many guests stay here. A glorious indoor pool enjoys natural light from a glass sun roof, and a whirlpool relaxes the muscles in preparation for one of dozens of Guerlain-scented beauty and spa treatments. A beauty salon, sauna, steam room, fitness center, and elegant relaxation area complete the elegant offering.
The rooms
A series of beautifully dressed corridors lead to the huge guest rooms. These are graced with elegant period furniture and elaborate fabrics. The large suites in the luxury hotel take the names of French monarchs and some even feature a huge terrace, private sauna, and two meter whirlpool. The maritime penthouse suite is designed as a luxury liner with portholes and gangways finished in fine woods. Even the baths in many rooms have flat-screen TVs and ovular windows that could double as picture frames. Thoughtful decor throughout is an elegant reminder of the type of high end guests that stay here, and large bottles of Hermes cologne appear in the most expensive units.
Some guests have taken up full-time residence. The air of pretention is palpable, but modest staffers do all possible to contradict it encouraging smiles and calling guests by name. Superior to all competition here, this well-staffed luxury hotel draws a steady clientele of prosperous internationals and the occasional dignitary. As the most opulent luxury hotel in all of southwestern France, it is thought of as one of the best in the country.
Facilities
Who stays here?
This beautiful hotel that meets the needs of many. Frequent visitors include honeymooners, older travellers and families.Come for...
- The grandiose atmosphere
- Views of the Virgin rock from your dining table
- Gorgeous spa treatments
Not Suitable for...
- The untidy and unkempt
Children
The luxury hotel is designed to make families feel at home. There is an outdoor children's playground and pool to keep little ones occupied. Extra beds and cots can be added to the rooms and children are given a discounted rate.Eating in
The sumptuous restaurant is formal and refined, serving up haute-cuisine that's heavily influenced by the Basque region.The Press Say
“For a spot of grandeur, stay at the Hôtel du Palais, once the summer mansion of Napoleon III.” Telegraph 06“Follow in the footsteps of Frank Sinatra and Ernest Hemingway and indulge in a night or two of chandelier-clad glamour at the Hotel du Palais.” The Times 05
Reviews
Review of Hotel du Palais, by Jamie Dunford Wood
This former Imperial Palace of Napoleon 3rd and his queen Eugenie makes much of the fact that it played host in its heyday to Kings, Kaisers, Prime Ministers and the ubiquitous Duke and Duchess of Windsor. A plaque in reception informs us that Edward V111 made Asquith PM of Britain here in 1908. The former palace had been burnt down some years previously, and was rebuilt as a massive E shaped red brick and cream structure facing out to see from a bluff about the rocky town of Biarritz. This is not a particularly attractive building, but the line up in the drive of Porches and Bentleys (including one of their own, like the Sacher in V ienna) with GB license plates hints - nay shouts - that this is THE place to stay in Biarritz, or enroute south. Biarritz, too, is a strange kind of town, Victorian and weathered from the severe winter weather, but clinging on to glamour like a moneyed mistress to her younger beau.
Outside overlooking the sea and the beaches the hotel boasts a comfortable pool and private cabins, while inside is a delightful terrace restaurant - La Rotonde - with 270 degree window views over the ocean and massive portraits of Napoleon and Eugenie. The reception area has all the imperial airs and graces you would expect. Upstairs, the corridors are floored in old and well worn wood, with a blue carpeting strip along the center which carries on the imperial laurel motif found of the hall. Still, the wood gives this a seaside air which is appropriate. The 156 rooms and suites are of many colours - oranges, blues, greens - and at various stages of renovation. The renovated rooms however manage to retain the old world charm of the originals, replacing Napoleon 3rd antique furniture with lighter, hand-painted pieces which match the generally light tone of the rooms, with the cream wall paneling, picked out in burnt orange, lending them effortless class. Deluxe rooms have separate showers.
In a hotel like this you obviously want to try for the seaviews and the highest ceilings - the views affect the price, (although many have side seaviews and beach views), while the ceiling does not. You will be disappointed with the 4th and 5th floor mansard eaves, whatever the view, as their windows are small. Go for the 1st or 3rd floors, both with outside balconies. 2nd floor rooms are fine too, though with slightly lower ceilings.