Hôtel Ville d'Hiver

Located in Arcachon’s Ville d’Hiver, perched high above the sea, the hotel is surrounded by remarkable villas. The architectural range, from neoclassical gems to whimsical Swiss chalets, feels like a step back into the Belle Époque. The interiors honor the neighborhood’s origins as a winter retreat, blending heritage with a warm, quiet elegance. Pine-infused amenities echo the lush, wooded landscape surrounding the property. It’s dog-friendly too: my greyhound gave it a firm paw of approval! And the restaurant, with its sun-drenched terrace and generous desserts, is well worth a stop.

Okay, lets start with the disclaimer. If you want a corporate style chain hotel with exactly the same stuff as you can get anywhere in the world this hotel is not for you. If you want a homely chic place with great service and beautiful rooms spaced out in the gardens then I would highly recommend it. There are a lot of steps and no lifts so if you have mobility issues you will struggle. Otherwise the walk is worth it. We had a balcony room. Beautiful and very well maintained with a lovely bathroom. The team are great, our welcome on arrival was second to none, and we were offered a choice of rooms and allowed to see them all. |The restaurant is excellent, I highly recommend the evening meals (but make sure you book as it is very popular).|Breakfast is an enhanced French breakfast, with beautiful artisan breads and limitless fruit accompanied by "boil your own eggs" and lovely pastries. We struggled to eat it all.|The pool is lovely - make sure you visit it at least once!|Overall a great experience. Not cheap but worth every penny!

We stayed three nights at this hotel exploring the bay of Arcachon and surroundings. The main house is a quiet place with a very nice garden and the pool is a converted old water cistern. It is an old building but well maintained. Arcachon downtown with the Ferry pier is about 15min walk from here. Breakfast is classic French, and everything is served (no buffet), time to slow down. It's a place to relax with no rush. Recommended to book at least once dinner at the restaurant, the food was excellent, good selection of French wines.

Another visit to this stunning hotel! We have been coming here every year for years - and shall continue! Great staff and fabulous restaurant - make sure you take the breakfast too! ;). Update as I drink a strong and tasty coffee (from the room) on the little calm terrace - feels like I am in Costa Rica with the singing birds on this fresh Saturday morning. For those with dogs (welcomed here), there is a great forest literally next to the hotel as well.

Hôtel Ville d’Hiver blends Arcachon’s heritage with boutique comfort. Once a 19th-century waterworks of the Compagnie Générale des Eaux, the restored red-brick station reopened as a hotel in 2009, preserving industrial details while offering a leafy retreat in the historic sanatorium district. Rooms are intimate, with deep tones, vintage desks and balconies overlooking gardens of palms and pines. The reception and restaurant carry Belle Époque charm with curated art, tiled floors and warm service. Dining highlights include local fish, Pauillac lamb and monkfish risotto – rooted in regional produce and elegantly plated. A stay here feels connected to Arcachon’s history of health, air and water.

We were on a two week trip to France and this hotel was due to be our ‘special treat’ as it was expensive. We were very disappointed. Whilst the reception staff were lovely the hotel is in need of a major refurbishment -especially for the price they charge. The main problem was the communal areas which were grotty! The bed throws and rugs and cushions on the balconies of the bedrooms were also dirty and tatty.||The hotel describes itself as having a private beach club. However it’s not private it’s open to the public. We were completely mid-sold. ||The place is a haven for mosquitoes as there is so much stagnant water. The pool area was equally tatty with dirty rugs and cushions everywhere.||We paid for what should have been a 4-5 star experience based on the cost. The standard was two star at best.

Nice hotel obtained by revamping an historical villa in a quiet part of Arcachon. The room that was assigned to us was in a separate building, few meters away from the main site. Room was spacious and well equipped. Unfortunately lighting was quite low and insufficient for reading in the evening. We were not satisfied with the service, which was not very professional: on a couple of occasions there was no one at reception; at arrival we were not told that breakfast was included and this led to a misunderstanding. Overall, I cannot recommend this hotel.

Highly recommended. This is a fabulous boutique hotel: gorgeous rooms, great restaurant and lovely people. We didn't use the spa but bet it's equally fabulous. It's on the site of the town's old water pumping station and has been brilliantly converted into the hotel and restaurant with additional new rooms added in the lovely grounds. It's a short walk to the seafront, with an uphill climb on the way back ... but so worth it. We had dinner in the restaurant which was utterly divine. We had their Monkfish with chef's risotto... OMG it was superb. Great wine list too. Breakfast was delicious, high quality, continental. It was a gorgeous two night stay. We'll return.

Lovely. Simply lovely. What once housed an old water pumping plant- is now a little boutique hotel with only 12 rooms that will satisfy your every need. But first- a bit of history. Back in 1884- the main building of the complex was a pumping station for fresh water for the residents of Arcachon. This remained a working station for about 100 years and was retired in 1984. The building then fell into ruin until some visionary developers turned it into the hotel it is today in the mid 1990's. There are 12 rooms located in three separate buildings which just adds to the overall intimacy of the place. There is an amazing restaurant on property as well (I'll cover that in a separate review) as well as a pool (very interesting as is located outside but below ground level), a spa and an extremely accommodating staff that went out of their way to make sure that my visit was perfect. There is a small parking lot out front for your car. Know that the main building that you check into still has signage from the old water plant so you may think you are in the wrong place- but enter through those arched doors and the reception desk is right in front of you. I was personally escorted to my room, along a pathway laced with foliage and beautiful greenery until we arrived at my spacious room. There are three levels of rooms at the hotel- the one I had was the top end and included a large bedroom with sumptuous linens that opened out to a patio with furniture on it overlooking the gardens. The bathroom was also well stocked with fluffy towels and other amenities and there was a small desk area with free Internet. Breakfast is available every day until 10:30 and they will bring it to you or you can enjoy it in the restaurant. There is also free bottled water in the room. The location can't be beat either. It is about a 15 minute walk to the beach and shops of Arcachon, yet it is removed enough that you almost feel as if you are in a country estate. My only wish is that I had been there for more than one night as I wanted to luxuriate in my surroundings. Don't know if your travel will take you to the town of Arcachon, France, but if it does- you should try to stay at the Hotel de la Ville D'Hiver. It's worth every penny (Euro) that you pay!

On your right, the Promemade des Anglais, on your left the Anglican Lane and in front of you : Fleming Square. Where in France are you ? Because YOU ARE in France although the church in your back was in inaugurated by the archbishop of London 1878. And this is not, as you might have wrongly guessed the French Riviera, this is Arcachon on the West coast and more specifically its winter town La Ville d'hiver. The place was dug into a massive dune at the end of the nineteenth century to create a village dedicated to wealthy but not so healthy people who could rent eccentric villas were everything was planned to protect their health. Here the streets are organised to prevent draughts and keep the hot or cold weather out. The layout is a succession of narrow lanes, trees and flowers and, of course villas. Most of them are now historic buildings, all of them are a feast to the eye. The English were among the first to be attracted by this labyrinth and an Anglican reverent, Samuel Radcliff, even used to advertise the place by organising rally-papers for his guests. If you decide to come here, which I strongly recommend, you will find plans and directories of the villas on the internet but ,as you walk through the winding alleyways, don't trust any plan. Most of the villas (and streets) have changed names along the years. Take the time to stop in front of the Grand Hotel de la Foret, which is now called the Regina Hotel to avoid confusion with the Grand Hotel (as I say, don't trust the names). This was the scene of a very special event when, just after WW1, it's grand staircase was used to demonstrate the ability of army vehicles to climb up slopes. Allow at least half a day for the visit.