Mercure Saint Nectaire Spa & Bien-être Hotel

The only small letdown was the evening meal that came with half board. The kind, welcoming staff more than made up for it, and we'll definitely come back. My husband and I stayed one night during a long drive from Spain to the UK. The hotel was charming, our room was clean and comfortable, and the spa was just right, with a small indoor pool, hot and cold showers, and a lovely hot sauna.

We were very disappointed. Our superior room looked out over a derelict hotel beside a busy road, and there was no air conditioning. The publicity shows the back of the hotel without mentioning the derelict building. The restaurant was a beautiful double-height room, but elsewhere the hotel felt tired. The ground-floor front windows were visibly dirty from the traffic and clearly needed more frequent cleaning. The restaurant also couldn't provide some of the menu items. Hopefully this was just a poor example of a Mercure.

We came back for a second stay and still think the hotel is brilliant. The pool is excellent, and the sauna is among the best I've tried outside Finland. It's a shame the Jacuzzi costs extra to use. The place is a little run down, but somehow that adds to its charm. It's not the cheapest, either.

Out in the countryside, this is a nice place. The spa is limited, but what they do is done really well, with an indoor pool and sauna.