Mercure Hotel & Spa Aix-les-Bains Domaine Marlioz

They advertise this as family-friendly, but families aren’t welcome. The spa is restricted to people aged 16 and up, and they only tell you after you’ve booked. In my case, I’d already paid and couldn’t get a refund.

This wasn’t the standard I’m used to at a Mercure. The one in Troyes was much better. At breakfast around 7:45 AM, there was no staff around, the tables were dirty, and there were no glasses or tea cups. The buffet had run out of cheese and had barely any fruit. My room was missing a bathrobe and amenities, and there were no towels at the pool. When I asked, the staff member wasn’t very friendly.

The rooms were spacious and nice, but the hotel is a long way from both the city centre and the lake. I won’t be back, and I can’t recommend it. The restaurant was one of my worst experiences: a dirty table, rotten black avocado in a €22 smoked salmon bagel, and a tomato and parmesan salad served without the parmesan. They replaced the avocado and brought parmesan, but there was no apology, they had an attitude, and they offered no discount. The service and kitchen don’t match the prices or pretensions. The deposit was another major problem. For a €1,500 stay, they tried to take €3,800 from my credit card on arrival without telling me first. I had no chance to refuse; luckily, my bank declined it. That’s more than 250% of the stay, which is far beyond the couple of hundred euros other hotels I know ask for. Be ready to raise your card limit, or you could have your card maxed out and blocked for the rest of your trip, leaving you unable to pay for anything else. They also weren’t family-friendly. They insisted that a family with a three-year-old toddler had to book two rooms. They repeated this, so it wasn’t a mistake, then eventually provided a bed as promised in our booking. Children can’t use the hotel pool, and families are sent to the very dirty Ibis hotel pool instead. Why not say that upfront? Edit: I’ve now seen the hotel’s reply, and it only confirms my impression that they take no responsibility and act in bad faith. They claim Mercure has a pool reserved for its guests, which is simply false. Families are sent to the Ibis pool, which isn’t in the hotel or on its grounds. It’s not far away, but why lie or muddy the waters? They also say they charged €800, when they tried to take €3,800, quite a difference. And I didn’t decline payment; I never got the chance before they tried to take it from my account without telling me. Thankfully, my bank stopped it. Their response about the restaurant says the bagel was €20, not €22, as if that excuses the rotten avocado. I don’t mind paying €22 or €30, but does a €20 bagel come with rotten avocado? Come on, use fresh ingredients and do better instead of making things up and offering excuses.

The dinner at the hotel restaurant tasted very good, although the portions were small and it felt a little crowded. Breakfast was very good, too. There’s a pleasant lobby, the room is a good size, and the spa has a heated indoor pool. The location is excellent and there’s plenty of free parking. The staff were nice, professional, and pleasant, but English clearly isn’t their strong point. I don’t understand how a hotel at this level can have a receptionist who doesn’t know a word of English. I was also surprised they charge €2.50 to use a bathrobe at the spa. And first thing I noticed, there’s no bidet in the bathroom. Still, I’d very much recommend the hotel.