Château de Brindos, a landmark in the Basque Country, has reopened under the guidance of the Millésime group after a highly successful renovation. Just a ten-minute drive from the ocean, it now offers a poetic experience, with floating treatment cabins and rooms, and a yoga platform on the water. Pascal Languillon, director of Luxe Wellness Club, investigated for you during a romantic getaway. Here’s the story of a delightful moment in this timeless gem.
An enchanted interlude just a stone’s throw from Biarritz
The location of such a lake, where herons live in peace, is surprising. Brindos is located in a residential area of Anglet, close to Biarritz airport (don’t worry: you won’t hear many planes because the Brindos estate runs parallel to the runway, so they don’t pass over it). When you consider the real estate fever that has gripped the Basque country, it’s reassuring to see that there are still some emblematic places that haven’t suffered the ravages of concrete development!
What dominates on arriving at Brindos Castle is the feeling of surprise. Indeed, Brindos Lake is entirely surrounded by lush vegetation, giving it an almost tropical feel. It’s almost as if you were in a faraway land, and when you’re sailing on its waters, it’s a guaranteed escape.
The daring Millésime hotel group seeks to re-enchant hotels with character, and here it has achieved a feat by renovating all interior spaces, including 29 rooms and suites, and adding 10 floating lodges. The group’s artistic director, Marie-Christine Mecoen, has succeeded in blending the ancient with the modern, creating an original and enchanting atmosphere throughout the hotel, with many nods to the Basque country’s heritage.
From the first moment you step on the site, the magic happens. The renovation is a great success, and the addition of pontoons and floating cabins has really given the lake a whole new dimension.
Comfortable white sofas line the length of the pontoon, so you can sip a delicious house cocktail while admiring the view.
A beautiful heated outdoor pool surrounded by trees, and a spa with four indoor cabins and two floating cabins complete this more than tempting offer.
There’s also a chocolate shop serving hot chocolates from the Casenave house, a local icon, and a small fitness room to work off any excess.
The Millésime group is said to have invested around 20 million euros in this renovation, and it shows. Everything is beautiful! Here, everything is luxury, calm and pleasure…
The dreamlike experience of floating lodges
While I love the château’s rooms, all of which are different (especially the superb suites) and much more spacious than other 5-star establishments in the Basque country, my favorite feature is the floating lodges delicately set on Lake Brindos.
Indeed, the experience offered here is unique. To get to your room, you have to take a small, silent electric boat across the lake, which takes about five minutes.
When we arrived at our floating lodge, what a feeling! The wind rustling the curtains like sails, the lodge pitching slightly… and the feeling of being on a boat, with all the comforts!
We stayed in a 30 m² cocoon lodge with a lovely wooden terrace, complete with garden tables and chairs, and two deckchairs for admiring the view. –
The bathrooms are all beautiful and extra bright, and come complete with Gemology courtesy products. The lodges are also equipped with mini-bars, a small desk and a wood-burning stove, which comes in handy in winter…
In the distance, you can see the heron proudly watching over its lake. What a pleasure, at night, to be lulled to sleep by signing frogs… Note that there were no mosquitoes during our stay in June, the hotel having invested heavily in mosquito control.
We loved everything about it: the comfort of the bed, the furniture, the light…and the romance of this timeless experience .
A magical spa
The Brindos spa may not be huge compared with others we’ve visited on our various travels (see“We’ve tested it for you“), but there’s something very special, even unique, about Brindos. This is a far cry from the codified treatment cabins that all look pretty much the same. Here, it’s all about the light, the reflections on the mirrors, the play of green-blue-gold colors…
Even more exceptional, in my opinion, are the two cabins on the lake between the water lilies. One of them is only accessible by boat… what an experience! It’s like being in Bali, or another tropical paradise, for a gentle open-air massage.
I experienced an excellent massage from Magalie, a very gentle therapist with a strong technique. Lulled by the music and her expert hands, I let myself go as I rarely have before. In fact, I almost fell asleep during the massage, which never happens to me! Treatments are performed with the Gemology range, the world leader in natural mineral cosmetics.
I also fell in love with the wooden platform, which lends itself wonderfully well to letting go for yoga or meditation sessions (see cover photo).
Last but not least, the spa would not be complete without a hydrotherapy area, and rather than adding an indoor swimming pool, the house preferred to create SPA “bubbles”. Once again, what originality, and what success!
The spa also has a hammam, which was not yet operational at the time of our stay. However nowadays it is open and you can enjoy its splendor.
Inventive local cuisine
The bright dining room with its large glass roofs, continues with terraces offering beautiful views of the lake. The cuisine is tasty and inventive. I was impressed by the lunch menu (though at the very reasonable price of 35 euros), with maki-style “Rolled mullet with avocado and preserved lemon” as a starter, a succulent “Half-cooked Bonito de Saint-Jean” as a main course, and a light and colorful “Peach Melba Hibiscus, Vanilla Ice Cream and Crunchy Almonds” as a dessert.
I also loved the “crab au gratin” in its bisque, and the pasta with langoustines for dinner…
The restaurant also offers dishes with the “ec(h)o” label, which are lighter and offer the perfect combination of gustatory pleasure and dietary balance. For example, you’ll find organic scrambled eggs, oat milk, gourmet quinoa, fish from the catch of the day…
For those of you who have read my other articles in the “Hotel reviews” section, you know that I love hotel breakfasts, especially when they’re served in your room.
Brindos’ experience in this regard has to be one of the most memorable of my life. I’ve heard of breakfasts served in tree houses with baskets that you hoist up with a pulley, but where else in France can you get a delicious breakfast delivered by boat?
Finally, what can we say about the welcome? Warm and relaxed, we’re a long way from the rigidity of some French palaces, and that’s also the signature of the Millésime group. The short boat trips on the lake were a great opportunity for us to chat with the staff, all of whom were passionate about this extraordinary project. Hats off to the team behind this project!
Our feeling
We fell in love with Brindos, Lac & Château, a magnificent, soothing hotel in a surprisingly beautiful setting, with an original spa and excellent treatments. All this just a stone’s throw from the ocean in one of France’s most beautiful regions. A highly recommended wellness break, all the more so as prices are reasonable.
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Rates: From around 250 euros per night for rooms, 400 euros for lodges.
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