Le Cap Hornu

We felt very welcome thanks to the reception staff, and our room was clean, fresh, and newly restored. The hotel sits in peaceful countryside, a couple of hundred yards from the sea or river and its beach area, and a couple of kilometres from the main town. St Valery is quite touristy, with plenty of shops and cafes, though most restaurants don't open until 7pm, which isn't ideal with younger children. There's lots to do in the park outside and places to explore. I'd highly recommend visiting and staying the night.

Breakfast was rather chaotic. The eggs and sausages were cold and seemed cooked rather than baked, so they didn't taste good. The coffee machines kept breaking down and staff had to run around with coffee cans. For the price of the rooms, we expected more. In two rooms, using the shower left half the bathroom wet, and stepping out of the tub and shower combination in the other two felt dangerous. I wouldn't recommend it for older people. One room's door barely closed and had to be slammed, which wasn't nice at night. We couldn't get the heating to work either.

We spent two nights here as a family of four and enjoyed it all. The peaceful natural setting was really relaxing, with lovely bay views and walking and cycling trails you can access directly. Service was top notch, and dinner and breakfast were both amazing. They even have outdoor ping-pong tables.

The bar closes at 21:00, which is a real letdown for such a remote place, and the staff seemed not to care at all. The website makes it look nice and the location is pleasant, but that's where the positives end. The rooms are desperately small, and getting to them in the dark is dangerous. I'm quite happy never to return and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. There are plenty of other nice places to stay around the estuary.