We stayed here whilst touring around France. On arrival, I found the receptionist could have been friendlier & more helpful. When we got to our room, there was a horrible "drain" smell coming out of the bathroom. We changed rooms, but you could still smell it, slightly. When we complained again, the receptionist said that all the rooms smelt like that, & hinted that we must be imagining it! Apart from the smell, which was slightly better with the bathroom door closed, our room was adequate. Breakfast was ok. We enjoyed our visit to La Rochelle, but wouldn't stay here again.

Depuis qu’il a été refait cet hôtel est devenu l’une des bonnes adresses de La Rochelle. A moins de 10 minutes à pieds de la gare, à côté de l’aquarium et face à la partie la plus calme du port. Les chambres bénéficient des nouveaux aménagements : luminosité et fonctionnalité. Pour un plus grand calme et la vue demandez les chambres situées en étage face au port et les plus éloignées des ascenseurs ( au bout du couloir ). Restauration au premier étage avec vue sur le port dans un cadre fashion –zen que l’on retrouve habituellement dans les hôtels du groupe. Personnel sympathique.

Being in La Rochelle you have 2 alternatives. Staying in the medieval city, where it is crowded day and night. Or somewhat off the city without being too far away from the town's highlights. We found Mercure Oceanide (the new name is mentioned above) a good solution, because it offers a good quality accomodation and free parking. Nevertheless the place was crowded too, because of a sailing boat fair including some sort of demo regatta. But we liked it, enjoyed the lively atmosphere on this day and almost closed a deal on a second hand sailing boat. Breakfast is above average at the Mercure, enjoy a fine view at the harbour. La Bodega in Vieux Port offers a good French formula menu, but we can also recommend the restaurant of the Mercure or the Japanese place in Gabut (between Mercure and old town) Avoiding to indulge into downtown traffic by car, you reach the quai restaurants in just 7 minutes walk or by spending € 0.60 on a ferry from Cite de Bois/ Les Minimes, close to the museum boat (3 min walk from Mercure). While sightseeing, dont miss Hotel de Ville or spend half a day on the pleasant and quiet Ile de Ré. When planning a boat trip, be aware that the schedules differ from day to day because of the tides. (At least that is what the boat companies said). During low tide it is really hard for larger boats to enter Vieux Port.