Sofitel Thalassa Biarritz

I am very sorry to be writing this review, but this hotel simply is not deserving of the 5 stars it has. I am surprised and saddened that it is allowed to remain a Sofitel since up until I was here I had only made good experiences in their hotels. The hotel is old, run down and all around terrible looking. The service staff do their best and are very good at what they do; nonetheless the experience of staying here was terrible simply because I never felt good being in this old building that has not been renovated in a very long time, even though there is desperate need. This experience still comes with a regular Sofitel price tag, which is absolutely unacceptable to me, hence the low rating.

Don't expect a long sleep at this hotel. Housekeeping bang doors from early in the morning. On one of the two nights we were there we were woken up with a knock on the door at 9:40am by housekeeping despite check-out being hours away. The facilities are really poor, the downstairs "spa" is like something from seventy years ago. Outside of the rooms and the lobby, the hotel is really really tired. Obviously we tried to ignore it, but for €324 a night, that's very difficult to do. I would only visit this hotel if there was nothing else available.

Ok, to be fair, we knew what we will get. The whole complex is simply way overdue for a complete renovation. As a matter of fact, you should rebuild from scratch. Rooms are very dated. All is a bit filthy, rusty, simply in desperate need for an overhaul. But! The setting is simply crazy cool! If you are looking for the best located hotel in Biarritz, nothing beats the Sofitel. Pool is nice, service is excellent. We booked surf lessons, that’s in front of the hotel! Direct beach access; towels are provided. Easy walking distance to the old town. A quick dip and swim in the ocean before breakfast - easy if you stay at the Sofitel. So in summary, it’s a trade-off: location vs. quality of amenities.

When booking a 5 star SOFITEL you do expect something nice. All we can say is: the people working there where nice and location perfect BUT the maintenance and cleanliness of the place is not even worth one star. We would not stay here again and I actually hope getting a message saying my review has been deleted due to renovation. There were water leaking from a shower into the gym. The outside walls dirty dirty dirty and we had dog/human hair on the balcony. How the SOFITEL-group can be known having this low standard is surprising. This if maybe the first time ever I only post bad pictures because it is needed. I would never recommend anyone this hotel in Biarritz. Many better options!