Villa Eugénie

The Hôtel du Palais began its life in 1854 as the Villa Eugénie — Empress Eugénie's summer residence, commissioned by Napoleon III and built in the shape of a monumental "E". The hotel has been operating in one form or another since 1893 and is now part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection. Following a three-year restoration completed in 2022, the signature restaurant reopened as Villa Eugénie — a reference both to the hotel's imperial past and to its renewed ambition in the kitchen.

Chef Aurélien Largeau, previously at Château Cordeillan-Bages and Le Louis XV in Monaco, directs the kitchen. The cooking is classical French — white tablecloths, silver service, gueridon tableside finishing — updated with Basque-coast ingredients (linecaught sea bass, Espelette pepper, jambon de Bayonne, Irouléguy wines). Signature dishes include a turbot roasted with citrus and seaweed butter, a Pyrenean lamb in three services, and a rum baba tableside-finished with a selection of eight rums.

The dining room itself is the draw: a 200-seat Belle-Époque ballroom with frescoed ceilings, full-height French doors onto the terrace, and a direct view of the Grande Plage and the Atlantic surf. At night, the surf is floodlit; at sunset, the dining room catches a gold light unique to the Basque coast.

The wine list runs to 900 references, with a particularly strong Bordeaux section (expected, given the proximity) and a respectable Champagne selection. Cocktails are served in the adjacent Bar Impérial before dinner.

Villa Eugénie is the Basque coast's definitive proposal room. The historical grandeur of the building, the direct Atlantic view, the formal service, the tableside finishings — every element is engineered for a once-in-a-lifetime evening. Request a window table at sunset (18:30 in summer, 16:30 in winter). Brief the head sommelier 72 hours in advance; the team will have the ring brought to the table in a specific service (a flute of vintage Champagne, a dedicated amuse-bouche, or the classic dessert presentation) according to your preference. The hotel's Impérial Suite is often booked as the post-dinner continuation.