Best Luxury Hotels in Aquitaine

Take a five-star spa holiday at Les Sources De Caudalie. Set beside a peaceful lake, you’ll feel like you’ve arrived in the countryside, yet it’s just a 20-minute taxi hop back to the city centre. The hotel’s menu of ‘vinotherapy’ treatments has been inspired by the region’s produce and there are both indoor and outdoor pools. Additional alfresco amenities include a tennis court, a 3-hole pitch and putt golf course and free bike hire to explore the surrounding Château Smith Haut Lafitte vineyards. The building is grand, but it was crafted using reclaimed materials from local farms. And, combined with its own kitchen garden, Les Sources De Caudalie boasts an excellent carbon footprint.

On Biarritz’s headland, sandwiched between a golf course and the sea, sits Le Régina. Opened in 1907, the architecture has an early Art Deco leaning, with classic modern interiors. A glamorous riviera terrace has a seasonal, heated pool, loungers and a chic restaurant, serving fine French cuisine with plenty of Basque specialities. Inside there’s a spa with steam and treatment rooms, 65 bedrooms and a lobby bar – hosting frequent live music –  that’s just made for quaffing champagne. Valet parking and a shuttle to the aforementioned golf club (one of the nation’s oldest) are free and the MGallery property frequently features art exhibitions.