beckmesserish
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The bad news first: This jewel of a historic hotel can unfortunately not accommodate people who have difficulties climbing stairs because it lacks an elevator.||Originally, the property, owned today by Madame Maiden Etchayde, belonged to the village doctor of Bidart. Her great-grandfather, an immigrant from the Spanish Basque country, acquired it at the beginning of the 20th century. His son enlarged the building in the 1920s in the traditional timbered Basque style.||From then on it had been a guest house which finally was transformed by a complete renovation into a wonderful design hotel with 15 modern, tastefully decorated rooms that offer every comfort.|| “Itsas Mendia” (“Sea and Mountain”), the Basque name of the hotel, very accurately describes the views that the hotel offers: When you look out of the hotel room on the 2nd floor over the green hinterland the view inevitably gets caught by the Rhune, the mythical mountain of the Basques, which marks the border between France and Spain.||As regards the sea, the lovely Bidart beaches are within walking distance of the hotel. Just around the corner you will find the “Table d'Orientation”, which is located on the coastal hiking trail and offers a beautiful panorama of the Atlantic coast. Looking at the closed “Plage d'Erretegia” you will also get an impression of how the Atlantic, driven by the force of fierce storms, causes rockfalls and landslides, pushing the edge of the coastline further and further back. At some point, the houses, perched on the cliff near the sea, will be at risk of being devoured by the sea.||For the time being one can take the path down the coastal slope to the “Plage du Centre” which is reached after a good 5 minutes (for the way back uphill add a few minutes more). Here the waves are used by the students of a surf school who had the beach for themselves in the middle of June. At this time of the year, the heated swimming pool of the hotel – 20 metres long – is the better choice for people who prefer warmer waters.||They will also like the XXL-shower in the bathroom which one would not find in other 4-star-hotels. The bathroom as well as all other parts of the hotel were spotlessly clean. Our generously sized, air-conditioned room was equipped with a very comfortable king size bed. The WiFi reception in the room was good.||The breakfast buffet featured many high-quality products as freshly pressed orange juice and home-made jam. We particularly liked the Basque tart which was exquisite.||The owner and the staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful in every respect. There is free parking on the hotel premises behind an electronically operated gate.||The hotel is a perfect departure point to explore the Basque Atlantic coast and its hinterland up to the Spanish border. Glitzy Biarritz, the playground for the rich, lies only 6 kilometres north, the charming harbour town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz 8 kilometres south. The border town of Hendaye is 20 km away and can be reached by enthusiastic hikers on the coastal trail.||It is also in the evening that the Itsas Mendia hotel stands out for its ideal location: A few steps will bring the hungry guest to the pretty historic village square around which you will find several restaurants. I can hardly believe that I am going to recommend a pizzeria as the best place to go but the “Pizzeria à Bidart” is really worth a visit. This restaurant, a very busy place with a remarkably efficient and friendly service, offers meals of good quality. What a nice way to end a summer day in the Basque country by sitting outside on the balcony-like terrace, enjoying the evening sun and a perfect thin paste pizza with a glass of chilled wine!||IMPOPRTANT NOTE||“Avenue de la Grande Plage”, the street on which the hotel is located, has been rebuilt recently. In the process, a section of the street was converted into a one-way street, which has not yet been taken into account in the navigation devices of rental cars. Probably, the navigation device will guide you from the D 810 road wrongly via “rue Erretegia” and the village square, which would land you in the forbidden direction of the very narrow one-way street. The best access to the hotel from D 810 is the roundabout from which "Chemin Tarte Berria" departs. At the end of this street, turn left into “rue Tarte Berria”, which leads to “Avenue de la Grande Plage” (right turn to the hotel).
