Hotel Mercure Le President Biarritz Centre

We really enjoyed our three night stay. The hotel is very central and the room was modern and very well maintained. It was also very quiet tonight despite the down town location. The staff were all very friendly and helpful which meant for a really pleasant stay. Catherine was a delight, and Esmail also, but all of the other staff we encountered were excellent.

Stayed for 3 nights in July. Excellent location near beach, restaurants, shops etc. Staff were polite and helpful. It’s peak season, but hotel is understaffed. We couldn’t access our room until 5pm on day of arrival. Room cleaning was late/incomplete on other days. Issue with TV was never resolved (multiple requests) as maintenance guy wasn’t working that day/didn’t appear on other days!

As much as I commit to supporting European businesses like Accor, French inadequacy in the style of "non" sans expliquer/rien ne marche, does not fail to surprise even the most well-intended. I made a simple one night reservation via the Accor's somewhat inept app obviously backed by a credit card that I was told was cancelled upon my arrival in Biarritz. The front desk didn't seem upset, she just said it's not her fault, it's Accor. No explanation given, no previous attempt to contact me via telephone. She told me my reservation was made via booking, non madame, the reservation was made direct on Accor's app. She looked at the original reservation, and gave me a room with an extra bed, which I did not need, she called it an upgrade for extra €20 and a "lovely" parking lot view. No drink was offered. The municipal parking lot next door is very convenient for €25 a night, however the centrally located Mercure President Biarritz Plage has only one temporary spot in the front which was occupied and nowhere else to stop while checking in. A simple sign to lead the hotel guests inside the parking lot can be a relief to the impatient honkers that are in a rush to enter the garage. The breakfast was decent but definitely not worth the quality of €20 there are plenty of restaurants around. In the morning the 2 people from the stuff seemed quite polite, and allowed my elderly partner to use the toilette on the 1er etage. I still have several reservations left with Accor, one in Spain went very pleasantly, we will see how the rest are. Perhaps it's the French. Should I avoid Accor in France and stay else?