Sofitel Biarritz Le Miramar Thalassa sea & spa

Like everyone else I read these reviews and thought "it can't really be that bad, it's a Sofitel". But the hotel just disappoints in so many ways, and given what you will pay to be there, the disappoint genuinely grates while you are there. We thought we would end our Basque holiday in a nice resort hotel, and pay a bit extra to finish the holiday in style. But like everyone else here, I just feel ripped off. The pool is lovely, and the view over the Atlantic is really beautiful. But, as everyone mentions, the hotel looks really, really tired. The cladding on the outside of the building is rusted, including over and around the pool bar - where you are paying €9 for a softdrink, €16 for a glass of wine, and €18+ for a cocktail. The carpets are worn and just torn up in some places. Its dingy. So many little elements of this hotel rob you of any feeling of luxury. You might go to the small indoor pool if the weather isn't good enough to sit outside, but for some reason they close the pool for 2 hours in the middle of the afternoon, and you'll be told this by an apologetic staff member who has also unceremoniously knocked off the jacuzzi to herd everyone out. Exit the pool and discover the towels they offer are the size of hand towels. Why? It's a 5 star hotel! This kind of stuff doesn't matter unless you're paying through the nose for a what should be luxury experience. The highlight by far is the beach, and I'm grateful to the staff member by the pool who gave us directions and unprompted offered us some nice towels to bring there with us. But you could stay at the Mercure for half the cost and bring your own towel. I wouldn't stay again. I wish I hadn't paid to stay here in the first place. Sometimes these "faded glory" hotels are really charming, but you cannot charge people a 5 star price and expect them to appreciate a 3 star experience. Avoid. Don't pay for this.

We had a wonderful stay as a family. Thank you to all the staff. The view from the room is magnificent and the heated pool is perfect.

Before arriving I was a little scared of the other bad reviews in here. But for us it was perfect. We stayed here for 3 nights with bed and breakfast. For us it was excellent. Room was nice, cosy clean and very quite. Breakfast was very good quality. Beside what you get at the buffet, you can order eggs in all forms, omlets, veggies etc. They had the most tasty fresh pineapple I had in a hotel. We’ve tried both outside / inside pools. Both were excellent. The location is perfect, with a gorgeous beach just few steps from the hotel. At low tides the scenery is very beautiful.

The location is very good ..the outside pool is very good .. the staff are very friendly but the hotel needs a full refurb its over priced I have never paid such prices over 1000 euro per night .. 70s bedroom .. spa needs to be fully renovated

Large hotel on the beach on the outskirts of the town. The rooms are average sized and clean but the hotel is quite dated and I was shocked when we arrived at how dated and old it felt (70’s?). The amenities were ok, nothing spectacular, especially for the price we paid I was expecting much newer and much nicer. Hotel staff was very friendly. The breakfast buffet was very good. Quite a trek to the city center especially in August in 85 degree, 80% humidity (just like Florida).