038 - Les Grandes Vagues  Hossegor

In our opinion

What makes Les Grandes Vagues a great holiday rental

It's pretty obvious really! You won't often find a holiday apartment at the beach and of this quality and size. Little wonder it's one of our biggest sellers year after year.

Best for:
The apartment works best for guests who want surf and nightlife on your doorstep. 

Suitability for:

• Toddlers - unsuitable*
• Teenagers - nirvana!
• Reduced mobility - unsuitable

* the apartment is on the first floor
* there is a large balcony (with safety railings of course) on the first floor
* there is an open-tread spiral staircase in the centre of the living area
* night-time noise is likely although windows are double-glazed

Anything to watch out for?
Place du Landais is Hossegor's main venue for nightlife with clubs, bars and live music events. The apartment is double-glazed but guests should expect noise - 'Les Grandes Vagues' is for guests who want to embrace the nightlife.

There is no dedicated parking with the apartment (it's a pedestrian zone) but there is street parking and car parks a short walk away.

Why Hossegor?
An established surfing resort with a very 'cool' vibe. The resort offers great beaches, good shopping, a lovely lagoon and plenty of activities (surf, golf, tennis, cycling, sailing & more).

Accommodation

Stunning and stylish beach-front apartment with balcony overlooking Europe’s best surf beach.

Stunning! What was once a dilapidated French horror is now a stylish, light and contemporary apartment which fully exploits its unique and enviable beach-front position. English owner Sam Elliott has done a fabulous job - you can sense it's been a passionate project and one which demonstrates her boutique hotelier skills.
And with 140m2 of living space plus an additional 80m2 of balcony, it's as spacious as most villas.

Inside:

Basement & First Floor
The fun starts in the entrance hall which has been converted into a vibrantly decorated surf storage area - ideal for putting the boards away securely and keeping the wetsuits out of the main accommodation.

Up the stairs and you are on the first floor where the open-plan design fully maximises the sunlight and emphasises the summery, beach 'vibe'. This living area is loosely divided into three parts: the lounge, dining area and integrated kitchen.

The lounge has pleny of 'kit' to keep guests happy including wall-mounted TV with UK satellite plus dvd player. There are two sofas for relaxing and sliding doors to the balcony.

The dining table comfortably can be extended to seat the maximum number of guests. Sliding doors lead to the balcony - marvel at the most amazing sunsets and starry nights above the Atlantic Ocean.

The kitchen is recently finished and benefits from all mod cons including dishwasher, washing machine & dryer, microwave and conventional oven. This is a property used by its owners for their own holidays and they like to do a lot of entertaining - it is therefore very well equipped. A further set of patio doors lead from the kitchen to the side balcony.

One of the 5 bedrooms is on the first floor - a twin bedroom with its own shower room. A separate WC is located between the bedroom and shower room.

Second Floor
The main sleeping accommodation - a further 4 bedrooms - are upstairs.

A winding wooden staircase (open-tread) leads from the centre of the living room to the upstairs landing. Immediately to the right is the master bedroom. This is a super double bedroom, very stylish and benefiting from excellent sea views. A huge feature of this room is the slightly elevated bath-tub which allows the bather to look out to sea without being overlooked by the crowds on the Place des Landais! The bathroom also has double wash-hand basins.

Of the other three bedrooms, one also commands unbroken sea views. Most of the clothes storage space is provided by wardrobes in the corridor and study area.

There is a first floor shower room and separate WC.

There's also room upstairs for a study area - internet access is available.

Outside:

Balcony
At 80m2, this is a vast outdoor terrace overlooking the sea and Place du Landais - in the summer time the Place will be packed with diners eating and drinking alfresco outside the numerous bars and restaurants. The balcony is double-aspect with the main section looking directly out to sea - a lot of time will be spent here!

As from June 2011 there is now a seriously attractive salsa bar below Les Grandes Vagues called 'La Villa Boca' - great food and ambience, all black, white and sensual. You will be right in the middle of the action on La Place des Landais - sea, surf and huge FUN!

Prices & Availability

Location

GPS: (43.66267071, -1.442679763)

We endeavour to be as accurate as possible using Google maps but some error is possible.

Things to Do & See

Nearby Activities
Surfing · Kitesurfing · Windsurfing · Sailing · Jet-skiing · Golf · Cycling · Horse-riding · Birdwatching · Fishing · Spa & thalassotherapy · Pelote Basque · Course Landaise · Degustation · Adventure Parc · Aqua Parc ·

Day-trip Ideas

• Belle-Epoque Biarritz - style & surf chic combined
• Pretty Basque fishing port & resort, St Jean de Luz
• Discover the 'postcard' hillside villages of the Basque Country
• Hop over the border into Spanish for San Sebastian or the Guggenheim
• Explore the superb Pyrenees National Park for great walks & wildlife
• Visit the under-rated city of Bayonne, the Pays Basque capital

Our Personal Highlights

• Walking just 50 yards to the surf!
• Rise early-morning and watch the fishermen return with their catch
• Retail therapy in the town's many surf boutiques & outlet centre
• Hire bikes and explore the coast, forests and lagoon
• Catch an exhibition of Course Landais or Basque Pelote

TOP PICK BARS AND RESTAURANTS (thanks Mark, Ollie & Joe from Surf Hossegor - the owner's sons!)

• Dick's Sand Bar - "great bar, great atmosphere, shows all of the English sport and if you're lucky you'll get your mug shot on their wall!"
• Rock Food Hossegor - "one of Europe's best known surf bars, cracking burgers and good DJ's and don't miss their surf memrobilia!"
• Le Napoli - "our absolute FAVOURITE restaurant. These guys make the best pizzas in all of southern France."
• Hotel de la Plage - "delicious food, amazing views and the bar's always rammed!"
• Casablanca - "don't over look this hidden gem! They've got the best live music in town and their mojitos are off the charts"!
• La Villa Loca - "amazing atmosphere and food, great tapas which you can order and have delivered to the apartment."

The Local Area: Hossegor

The local region of Sud Landes is typical Aquitaine - endless stretches of sandy beaches buffeted by the Atlantic ocean, vast pine forests punctuated by the occasional lake and criss-crossed by a network of cycle trails.

Capbreton and Hossegor are neighbouring seaside towns which between them offer an appealing contrast. Hossegor is the more famous, largely through its surfing heritage. It's a 'feelgood' place offering boutique shopping, great bars, nightlife and restaurants, world-famous surfing beaches, casino, and a lovely golf course pllus a beautiful lagoon for safe bathing.

Like most of the south west coast, the area is something of an outdoor playground. Take your pick from surfing, canoeing, sailing, diving, fishing, cycling, tennis, horse-riding and golf to name a few.

Golfers will enjoy the local course, the 1930s-built Golf d’Hossegor. The traditional club house is also a delight. A short drive up the road is Seignosse, a water and forest monster of a course ranked in Continental Europe’s Top 50. There are other great courses within 45 minutes drive including Moliets and several around Biarritz.

Hossegor regularly holds major surfing competitions; the whole Aquitaine coast is a perfect venue for surfers but here, the presence of an offshore hollow in the sea-bed gives the waves here that extra edge. If you don't fancy a go yourself, just sit on the sea-front with a drink of your choice and watch the surfers ride to shore. Surfing visitors will also want to visit the outlet centre at Soorts where the major brands have factory stores selling boards, accessories and clothing.

Cyclists can enjoy the many safe forest tracks that connect between the towns along the coast. Sailing enthusiasts should head for the marina. Being so close to the Pays Basque border, sporting life also includes the legendary game of pelote; you can watch a game at the fronton in Hossegor.

Capbreton lives in the shadow of Hossegor but it's the place the locals prefer for eating out and for beaches. It's definitely the more authentic of the two, largely because of its fishing port and daily fish market. In fact, the town thrived in the 19th century as a whaling port and this sea-faring heritage is still very much apparent today.

It also has a charming town centre and market. Capbreton is just more French than Hossegor, if you see what we mean. It remains, admirably, something of a French (and Spanish) secret.

Capbreton sea-front is a bustling place, day and evening. You can walk all the way along the marina and sea-front. The jetty, known locally as l'estacade, offers excellent coastal views. There's normally a few locals here trying to catch a fish for supper. It makes for great viewing!

Surf School
In Hossegor we recommend surfing lessons from Kevin Olsen, South African ex-pro and legend - see link on the right of the page.

Customer Reviews

Mr J Maguire, stayed in 2010

“The apartment is fantastic and we enjoyed the stay immensely.”

Mr M Chancellor, stayed in 2009

“The property was fantastic and met all of our needs and expectations.”

Mr M Evans, stayed in 2008

Ms E Pace, stayed in 2010

Ms P Hobson, stayed in 2009

Mr L Petts, stayed in 2009

Mr N Kirk, stayed in 2009

Ms Jane Stark, stayed in 2008

Mrs C Reid, stayed in 2010

“A wonderful self-catering apartment, with fabulous sea views, overlooking the main square (writing for the Daily Telegraph). ”

Mr C Starmer-Smith, stayed in 2009