La Belle Aurore

"So, so, so disappointed in our room at the Belle Aurore. We had stayed there the previous year and had waited all year to go again for the amazing sea views from our room. When I booked I asked for the same room or something similar. Instead we were given a room with only sea views if you went up three terrible steps onto, I must admit, a lovely balcony. I could not manage the steep steps. There was no sea view from the small bedroom with certainly no "so called" bathroom. The only thing going for this hotel is the sea views and the expensive restaurant but our very expensive bedroom was awful."

"I discovered La Belle Aurore when searching for hotels near St Tropez, I had a work commitment in St Tropez but did not want to stay there. Once I found La Belle Aurora I became quite obsessed with it and was lucky they had one room available. We loved our two night stay. Charles the manager and the entire staff were wonderful. The view from our lovely terrace could not be beat and hearing in the waves lull you to sleep was wonderful. The area by pool is so relaxing and easy to swim in the sea, we alternated between pool, sea and lounge chair. Close to the town but feels so remote. I look forward to returning to this gem on the Mediterranean."

"The hotel itself is in a fantastic location, right on the beach in Sainte Maxime. It has an infinity pool and 2 very small strips of private beach. It has an extremely expensive restaurant with a beautiful picture window looking out towards St Tropez. We booked online fairly last-minute so that maybe accounts for it, but the room was awful, surely the worst one they have? It looked like it had been tacked on as an extension. The decor was ancient, with some bizarre bits of furniture. The bathroom was awful - so disappointing. No shower! Just a showerhead attachment on top of the bath. More suitable to a hostel. I've never seen a bathroom like it in a 3* or 4* hotel. We had a better bathroom/shower in an Ibis Budget hotel. The hotel purports to be 4* - this has got to be wrong. How can you have a bathroom with no shower in a 4* hotel? Perhaps the location of the hotel, plus lovely wee pool and small bits of private beach have managed to get 4* rating, but surely it would be impossible with a room and bathroom like this? Mystified. Make sure you know what your room and bathroom are like before booking - I'm afraid we felt ripped-off for what was supposed to be a treat of a stay. Just not worth the money."