Sowell Hôtels La Plage

We did enjoy our stay overall. There was a problem on arrival when we were allocated a room that was far below the standard we were given to expect when booking the holiday. The matter was complicated by my poor French language skills and the limited English of the two young ladies manning the reception. However, they , having consulted with a senior manager by phone, asked us to accept the inferior accommodation for the night and the matter would be resolved by reallocation the next morning. This was done and the matter resolved to our satisfaction. We were very grateful for the assistance given to us by the manager/administrator and also by Micky, the porter, who assisted us with moving our quite heavy baggage around the hotel. He is a credit to your hotel and we were very grateful for his helpfulness and his great and cheery disposition. On the matter of location, I felt the hotel was more suitable to clients with a car. Although the address is Nice we were surprised to find Cannes was nearer and it took a train journey by relatively infrequent trains to and from from St. Raphael to access both. The bus service into St. Raphael seemed reliable though less frequent than one would have liked and it took us 45 minutes before a taxi was available to bring us to the hotel when we arrived. Overall though we did enjoy our stay and remain grateful to all the hotel staff for their part in that. Thank you.

Excellent hotel. Really impressed with the clever breakfast to lunch system which starts at 7:30 and finishes at 1pm. No rush or stress for breakfast. No crowd for last minute dash. We were provided with container and bag to take food away for lunch or snack. Very friendly and welcoming staff. Great location and beautiful view. Plenty relaxing place on the rooftop terrace, swimming pool and bar lounge area. Everything is running smoothly. Thankfully no loud drunk people even with open bar. Even the ticket lady on the train commented it’s a great place to be in this part of France.

Unlike the pictures, this is a budget family hotel, not a 4 star boutique hotel. Overall felt overpriced for what you get in the ‘all inclusive’ - which is very little relaxation and comfort that a 4 star hotel should have. I’d recommend staying in Cannes or Antibes instead. Pros: Staff is friendly. Location is quaint, far from nearby busier towns. Seems attractive if you have kids/ drive. Cons: Lots of families and children staying so the main rooftop pool area and all communal areas are crowded and loud with splashing and shouting. Very hard to relax. The second pool is quieter but dirty with lots of twigs in it. Limited food options in the buffet, left hungry and unsatisfied. No labelling of pork items. View overlooks a busy road and the creek out front is dirty. Construction on-site started at 9.30am daily with loud banging. Need to take a bus or drive to the attractions or beaches worth visiting. Narrow pavements means it’s hard to go on long walks too, or explore the area on foot. There’s no door on the shower and there’s a strong foul smell in the rooms.

Avoid! This establishment is not a hotel! It is certainly not a 4* hotel by any stretch of the imagination. It’s a deception and if you stay here you will feel ripped off and it will ruin your holiday. They allowed us to stay with our small dog for 10€ extra a night but beyond that they are NOT PET FRIENDLY! We were excluded from everywhere except our room and the poorly maintained grounds. We prepaid for breakfast but our doggie was excluded from even the outdoor terrace. He was further excluded from the bar, inside and out, plus the pool area. Consequently we felt cheated. We sat on a bench outside the canteen style restaurant and took turns to collect the odd plate of breakfast food which was in anyways appalling. The coffee was undrinkable gravy and the restaurant was over run with queueing guests. There was no room service as an alternative! We paid for a junior suite and it was so cheaply decorated with broken plastic furniture and nylon shabby bedding and poor quality towels that we could have cried! A caravan might have seemed more luxurious. A thoroughly awful place and the worst ‘motel’ we’ve ever had the misfortune to stay in. The advertisement and photos are a deception and false advertising. The local area and restaurants and people were however fabulous and in every restaurant outside of this despicable place we plus our doggie were made to feel warmly welcomed.