Okko Hotels Bayonne Centre

Great view Cool design Good breakfast Free parking on the street

Rationality lost against design (Fancy but useless interior concepts) - Bathroom door can not be closed from inside by design - Too small tables in the breakfast area

Not possible to get hotel parking space

This a really high-class hotel. Certainly four-star, I might even say five ... Lovely facilities, stylish, impeccably clean and comfortable with staff who are endlessly helpful. Wonderfully comfortable bed and a tranquil night's sleep. Flawless wifi. Delicious buffet breakfast. Not the cheapest hotel in town but at the price I paid, it was worth every euro. And a summer evening eating by the banks of the river Nive - in the old part of Bayonne - was memorable. Just one snag: that's not where the Okko hotel is located ...

I chose the Okko thinking it was next to Bayonne's old town. My mistake. It's not. While Bayonne's old quarter is charming, most of the city now is modern - largely 20th century so far as I could see. And the Okko is in the modern part, right next to a busy roundabout leading on to one of the main bridges. Its 9th floor club room is brilliant as a place to relax and eat your gourmet (and gourmand) breakfast, overlooking the fine river Adour. But what you see, along the river banks, is a vista of modern villas, commercial premises and (further off) industrial units. Maybe if you just arrive and leave by car, this wouldn't matter. But for me, really keen to wander into the old town on foot and wander back again, it was disappointing to find that I had a 15 minute walk along boring modern streets before getting to the old quarter.