It is a traditional Basque house, with its white facade, half-timbering and red shutters. On its pediment, we can read: Hotel Saint-Julien. Built in 1895, it first housed a guesthouse, before becoming a hotel more than a century ago. Located near the Basque coast, the establishment has some rooms with ocean views on the upper floors. A major renovation carried out last year created six new bedrooms, spread between the garden level and the ground floor.
101 overlooks the hotel’s large paved terrace. Almost everywhere, rounded shapes recall the waves of the ocean, from the headboards to the arches of the doors, including the bench, the pedestal table, the wooden armchairs and the lighting. As a welcome gift, a small box of Kanougas, the soft caramels from the Biarritz confectionery Pariès, is placed on each bed. To reconnect with the history of the place, the common areas have been designed like the rooms of a family home.
When you return from the beach, you can sit down to read under subdued light on the large sofa in the living room or play a game of Mikado on the coffee table. Breakfast is served in a large, bright room or on the planted terrace, weather permitting. It includes local specialties, such as Bayonne ham, sheep’s cheese, black cherry jam, as well as scrambled eggs that can be sprinkled with Espelette pepper.
From €120 per night in a double room.
At 160 meters: share sea tapas
Carøe is the last name of Joséphine, the thirty-year-old from Biarritz of Danish origin who opened this fish bar in 2016. We meet there to share plates of the sea. Depending on the arrivals, we can taste steamed skate wing or sea bass back in sashimi. Or one of the dishes signatures of the house, like sea bass head and cockles covered in a sabayon with miso, lemon zest and white wine. The two hundred references on the wine list make it, moreover, an excellent address for dinner aperitifs.
51, rue Gambetta. Open every day from 7:15 p.m. to 11 p.m.
At 280 meters: pick local cheeses
Anne Balhadere and Frédéric Menisent, former lawyers who love dairy products, bought Fromagerie Gambetta in 2019, after training in their new profession with the previous owners. They warmly welcome loyal customers as well as vacationers and happily detail the provenance and manufacturing of their selection, which includes several ossau-iraty and a few curiosities such as sheep’s cheese with black garlic or sheep’s blue cheese. In summer, they prepare boards to take with you to peck on the beach.
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