La Tamarissiere Vacations from $1,530

Beds were comfortable and room was clean.

First impressions of the hotel were awful. On pulling into the parking area in front of the hotel, I thought, "Oh no. What have I done". The parking area felt unsafe. The hotel, and particularly the gardens, looked tired, dated and unkempt. It got worse. When we checked in, they had not got our reservation from Expedia so that took a while to sort out. We had paid extra for a better room but when we eventually got to the allocated room, it was a basic single - so we headed back to reception to get it changed. So why is this not a 1* review ? Once we were past the initial disappointment, we found that there was a separate, secure parking area. The room itself had been renovated and looked like the photos on Expedia. The bed was comfortable - so we got a great night's sleep. So, overall, we had to say that it was "OK".

Perfectly positioned for the arena next door, surprisingly quiet in the room (we were looking away from the road) and very friendly staff. A special mention for Christophe who was exemplary in his customer care and help!