ibis Le Touquet Thalassa 3 stars

We had a cheaper room , but considering the hotel was not very busy I would have thought we may have been offered a sea view with a little extra cost.

We were a party of 6 adults across 4 rooms; 2 married couples and 2 widowed ladies. I had booked all 4 rooms for two nights and had been paid for their rooms by the other 3 sets. We entered via the Ibis sign by the car park and then had to negotiate, with cases, the stairs down and up and labyrinthine corridirs to get to the shared Ibis/Novotel Reception, then back up another set of stairs. Better signposting would have saved a bunch of pensioners unnecesary stress at the start of our stay. Although prepaid, I was a bit surprised that I had to guarantee ALL 4 rooms to the tune of Euros 960. Although it isn't charged to my Amex Platinum account, I have had instances where it has been done mistakenly and I then lose money on the foreign exchange charges - out and in. The receptionist was insistent that I had to guarantee all four, rather than each room be guaranteed by its occupant; all of whom offered to do so. Anyway, we made our way back downstairs and all 4 rooms were towards the end of the corridor and close to each other. After that, all was well. Rooms were clean, bright and modern. The bed was comfortable; the air conditioning was effective. So we felt comfortable and secure despite the initially inclement and windy weather. We had breakfast both mornings and choice was good, although we didn't spot the hot food (right at the far end of the restaurant and a bit out of the way) until the 2nd morning. Views out to the beach were great despite the storm on the Monday/Tuesday dumping lots of sand on the balcony. But the wind was so strong, we didn't try to venture out on it. On the 2nd day, a handyman to came to clear it, but I declined as my wife was napping at the time. The two ladies tried unsucessfully to get a light lunch in the hotel on Wednesday, as any food outlets were closed or closing by 2 p.m. So they had to venture back into Le Touquet centre. For check-out, we had learned our lesson and drove both cars to the Novotel entrance and Reception. There was no queue, but I had to wait while the male receptionist chatted on the phone to one of his mates, ignoring me who was making indications that I wanted to get one. After about FIVE MINUTES another came out of a back office tocheck out my account. Not a great leaving image of Ibis/Novotel customer service. Why didn't the first chap not just drop the phoen to his mate? He probably didn't know I speak pretty fluent French and could understand most of what he was saying - purely social chit-chat. We always come to France with these friends at this time of year and have been doing so for 38 years! Obviously, this is the off-season and so the hotel, town and beach are quiet and calm. Not sure it would be the same in the height of summer.

Room was clean and nice view, however, hôte was extremely noisy with what I’m guessing is poorly serviced HVAC system. Sound radiates through walls. The ibis rooms are a long walk from reception and poorly signposted. Ignorant receptionist upon arriving. Thankfully there was a friendly one there too. They also seem to want to charge you extra for every little thing. Would never stay here again.

We are coming regularly at the IBIS or Novotel in Le Touquet for more than 20 years . We like the location, and facilities at the hotel as well as the surrounding.

Good location Welcoming staff Excellent spa Nice swimming pool