Tribe Le Touquet

The restaurant situation was frustrating: we were told at check-in that we could eat there, but when we arrived it was full. It serves three neighboring hotels in the same group, so book ahead. We also had to drive into town, as it isn't walkable from the hotel. We often stay at Accor hotels, but this was disappointing enough that we may try another group next time. Our first room was a cramped attic room on the top floor, with a Velux roof window and not enough headroom on one side of the bed. It felt claustrophobic, and there was no blind on the window, so daylight came straight in. Reception said the hotel was full when we asked to move. We checked online and saw another room available; after pointing that out, they reluctantly gave us one. The rooms were all small.

The courtyard is charming, the pool is a good size and wasn't too busy, and breakfast had a steady supply of fresh pastries. Coffee came from several machines. The rest of breakfast was less appealing: eggs were either gloopy scrambled or boiled, with no fried or poached option. I can imagine the courtyard being lovely in summer, and it was a nice place to sit and read in the heat. We were there for four nights. The layout is smart and the staff are really nice, but the room felt too cramped for two people over that length of stay. I paid to upgrade to a balcony overlooking the courtyard, but the bed blocked the doors so they barely opened. The room had a small fridge and fresh coffee machine, and the bathroom was fine, with a good shower. There was an individual air conditioning controller, but guests couldn't use it until the hotel switched the system on, which they said wouldn't happen until May. Temperatures were above 20, the patio doors barely opened, and there was no cool air. The hotel is about a 30-minute walk into town through lovely residential streets. That's fine earlier in the day, but less welcome late in the evening after you've already walked there and had a few glasses of Provence. A cab usually costs €20. You won't really find an Uber, though a concierge at a big hotel luckily gave us the number of a local driver. Parking is €8 a day. I've stayed recently in central Valencia, La Rochelle, Prague, Malaga, Exeter, and Stratford-upon-Avon, and none of those hotels charged extra for parking. The balconies and shared areas also need a dusting. I could literally write the word DUST on the table in our room and on the photocopier at reception. For the price, I wouldn't say it was good value. Probably wouldn't return. The hotel gave me the impression it wasn't finished yet, as the photos show.

The room's design was appealing, but the bed quality let it down. We liked the quiet spot just outside Le Touquet and received a warm welcome. The room was extremely hot, so we waited to see if it would improve. When we went to reception that night, they quickly moved us to a cooler room. The service was very friendly. The pool was nicely designed, though it could have been cleaner, and the bar and restaurant looked inviting. Dinner and breakfast were good.

Breakfast was a stressful mess. There weren't enough tables, used ones stayed uncleared, staff hurried around empty-handed, and the buffet area was far too small for three hotels. The three coffee machines were painfully slow and often out of hot milk, so there were queues everywhere. Not relaxing at all. The hotel is a nice complex with a holiday-style courtyard and garden, but the outside bar was just being used for storage. The garden looked good from a distance and seemed neglected up close; things were getting rusty or falling apart. It's grouped with an IBIS and a Mercure and is far from the town centre. The rooms were clean and the beds comfortable, but they're tiny. You can use the bedside table or open the fridge, which gives off a lot of heat, but not both. The bed also stops the balcony door from opening fully. One person has to go out, shut the door, then the other can squeeze past the bed and open it to follow. Ridiculous. There was no soap by the sink. I told reception twice and nothing happened, then asked a maid on the second day and she sorted it. A cigarette butt was still on the balcony when we left. We also ordered two coffees to have outside. The waitress said she'd bring them, but they never arrived. When I went back in, I was told she'd finished her shift. The indoor pool is lovely, it's dog friendly, and parking wasn't a problem. But for what we paid, I wouldn't recommend the complex.