036 - Maison Marcq  Hossegor

In our opinion

What makes Maison Marcq a great holiday rental

A charming house with peaceful terrace and just a short walk to the attractive town centre and lagoon with sandy coves. Ocean beaches, golf, tennis, and cycle paths are all close by too. The house is modern and tastefully decorated and enjoys a pleasant and secluded terrace for relaxing and eating out.

Best for:
Ideally suited to one or two couples or a family with one or two kids.

Suitability for:

• Toddlers - enclosed terrace plus lagoon has safe sandy beach & play area
• Teenagers - great as they can walk to the town centre
• Reduced mobility - not suitable as both bedrooms upstairs

Anything to watch out for?
Not really. Just to note that the houses are detached but are joined to their neighbour by their garages.

Why Hossegor?
A famous 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

Modern, tastefully decorated house with peaceful terrace.  Close to town, lake and sea.

The house is owned by a French-American couple who bought the property recently and re-modelled it entirely, making the ground floor completely open-plan. They live here 10 months of the year which means the house is furnished and equipped as a main home - this is a distinct advantage.

It is attractively furnished but has a really informal ambience and provides a really relaxing holiday home.

Inside:

Ground Floor
The open-plan style works really well - the large living room is accessed from both front and back. It's a large room, very tastefully furnished but not at all formal - quite the opposite in fact (the owners, Seb and Nellie are a young couple).

The lounge area has comfortable corner sofa, coffee table and an impressive fireplace and a distinctly 'homely' feel. Facilities include TV & DVD and satellite TV.

The kitchen/dining area feels very French but again has a really informal touch. Given that the house is used all year round by Seb and Nellie, it comes fully-equipped with cooker, large American-style fridge freezer, microwave, dishwasher, washing machine, tumble-dryer, kettle, coffee maker, etc. The kitchen 'island' also functions as a breakfast/dining table.

Just off the kitchen is a laundry area - very handy of course but not the place where you want to spend too much holiday time!

There's a handy WC on the ground floor too.

First Floor
There are two stylish double bedrooms on the first floor:
Master bedroom - large room with plenty of storage space. West-facing and overlooks terrace.
Double bedroom - double bed and looks out to the front garden.

There's a small shower room with WC.

Outside:

Leafy and spacious decked terrace (west-facing) around the back of the house. It is very private and there's a large outdoor dining table plus comfortable chairs. A BBQ is provided.

At the front is a small lawn. There is a gate so that children can play safely.

There is parking in the small driveway and on the road (not a main road). The garage is closed off for personal use during house lets. The houses in the street are joined by their garage, so effectively the accommodation is detached.

Prices & Availability

Location

GPS: (43.66498357, -1.421649903)

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 · Water-skiing · Jet-skiing · Kayaking · 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 Spain 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

• An early morning run or bike ride around the lagoon
• 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
• Rise early to see the fish market being set-up at Capbreton

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 plus 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. Contact from a non-French phone: tel: 00 33 5 58 47 91 04 (landline), from a French phone tel: 05 58 47 91 04. Email: koontour@yahoo.com, web: www.kosurfhouse.com.

Customer Reviews

Mr J Cooper, stayed in 2009

Mr J Whitehead, stayed in 2008