Hôtel Arcé

A truly charming experience. First of all and perhaps most importantly, the owner and manager welcomes her guests with genuine kindness and has treated us like close friends the entire visit. The inn itself is exactly what one hopes for when exploring this magical countryside- the location is idyllic, rooms and decor are tasteful and clean. The dining experience was the highlight. The chef happens to be the husband of the woman who owns/runs the hotel. His food was amongst the best I’ve had throughout my weeklong trip through Basque Spain and France. The wait staff were a joy - beaming with smiles and expert at creating the very personal touch. The country breakfast buffet was extraordinary. A++++

We returned home only yesterday from this lovely hotel that has been in the same family for generations. The setting is wonderful - next to a fast flowing trout stream with glorious views up and down the water course. The outside dining terrace next to the stream is shaded by impressive pleached plane trees but inside the hotel there is a magnificent dining room displaying some of the strong and colourful Basque art that is a feature throughout the building. Our room (28 also known as Suite 1 I think) was on the second floor - a very large quite plain space with an enormous comfortable bed, a rather upright sofa and just about enough storage for a week's worth of clothes. There were doors leading to a small balcony with seating and a table, plus another set of large windows, both overlooking the garden. We wished at first that our room had been on the stream side of the house because of the lovely sound of water but soon discovered that our side was cooler - and it was over 30C during most of our week. The bathroom is small, sadly no bidet, has good storage but unfortunately a very poor shower being the over-the-bath hand shower hooked up on the wall type with poor temperature control and very little head of water. This room had a kettle and hot drink making facilities but no fridge in which to keep milk (which was readily supplied from downstairs) but we gathered from others that not all rooms or suites had this facility. There is also a secluded swimming pool that is accessed over a pretty bridge on the other side of the stream. We did not use it but others did and said lovely. We were staying in the hotel as part of an 18 strong group of walkers and could not have been better looked after by all staff. We had a special menu each night and two members on restricted diets were well catered for. The food was in almost all instances absolutely delicious, as were the local wines and cheeses. This is not a luxury hotel and has downsides like no lift or air conditioning (no fans in the rooms either) and the poor shower, but it more than makes up for it in quality and character. We would definitely return but preferably in cooler weather.