Hotel Richelieu

After an 11-hour motorbike ride through heat, cold, and rain showers, we arrived to find a wonderful meal waiting for us: local soup, a main dish, and wine, all prepared for our arrival. Such a great welcome, thank you, Vivianne! Our room was simple but had its own character, with a good bed and a reasonable shower. Breakfast was great, and the staff were friendly. Recommended!

I can’t really judge the hotel because we never got to stay. We were passing through and desperate for coffee, so we went in through the main entrance. A man kept repeating, “We’re closed, we’re closed,” without giving me a chance to say anything. As I turned to leave, I ran straight into his wife coming in. Our two friends didn’t even reach the door, and spent the next few minutes laughing in disbelief. We watched some tumbleweed go by in the street, then moved on.

We chose this hotel partly because it’s dog friendly. The room was clean, but very old fashioned, and there was no AC. We kept it cooler by leaving the shutters closed and opening them later in the evening. Breakfast in the restaurant the next morning was good. For dinner, though, we should have booked ahead: the hotel restaurant was full, and every other place in Eaux Bonnes was closed. The tourist information staff gave us a map of restaurants nearby, but getting to them meant driving on unfamiliar Pyrenean roads in the dark. In the end, the only open shop in town made us sandwiches with local cheese and ham, which were very nice. We ate them in our room, though it wasn’t the restaurant meal I’d pictured. It’s a shame to see the town so run down and seemingly quiet. I imagine it was lively in its heyday, with wealthy visitors coming for the local spas and helping keep it going.

We both loved our weekend here. My boyfriend and I checked in so we could ski at Gourrette, and the food was a particular highlight. The staff were awesome, and the hotel was well heated. We loved it.