A century-old history
The origins of the district
THE DUNES OF AÏCE ERROTA, “the new seaside town
In 1880, under the impetus of the town council, Saint Jean de Luz was transformed into a seaside resort. It was against this backdrop that the Aïce Errota dunes, once home to a windmill (Haize errota in Basque), were transformed into a housing estate. The developer promises that this wasteland will become the “new seaside town”.
And in 1884, the oldest housing estate on the Basque Coast was created, the AÏCE ERROTA estate, with a view of the sea, the old town and the mountains, with its tree-lined avenues, sewage system and public gas lighting.
The first villas were built in the 1890s, and the development intensified in the early 20th century.
The villas
“Artzaïn-Chola” “Gulls and Schooners
In 1906, the 3 houses that now make up the Hôtel LES GOELANDS were built.
the adjoining villas Aitze Eder (“Beau Vent”) and Toki Eder (“Bel Endroit”), quickly renamed Goélands-Goélettes, commissioned by Mr Roger, a lawyer in Vendôme, and Mrs Jullien, both of Chartres. The transitional spaces between indoors and outdoors link the two villas to holiday architecture: the balconies and belvedere of Les Goélands, and the tower-belvedere of Les Goélettes, facing the ocean and the Pyrenees.
Between the wars, at the height of regionalism in architecture, the facades of the two villas were neo-basqued with the addition of false half-timbering, inspired by the vernacular dwellings of the Labourd province.
Mr BERGER built his chalet Artzain Chola (“The Shepherd’s Hut”), whose Basque name plays on his surname, artzain meaning “shepherd”. The sloping half-timbering on the main façade, rare in Basque homes, is borrowed from the Neo-Norman and Anglo-Norman styles.
The BERNARD saga, 3 generations of hoteliers
From boarding house to Hôtel-Villa Les Goëlands
My grandmother (amatxi in Basque – pronounced amatchi) Geneviève BERNARD
In 1935, Amatxi, originally from Lorraine, bought the villa Les Goélands and opened a boarding house like the ones that existed at Les Goélettes. 2 years later, she bought the villa Les Goélettes to enlarge the boarding house.
During the 2nd World War, the boarding house was requisitioned to house German soldiers. At the same time, Doctor DARRICAU rented the villa Artzaïn Chola to set up the first clinic in Saint Jean de Luz. The Resistance doctor took in a number of false patients (British pilots, etc.) and turned the garage into an operating theatre to treat wounded Resistance fighters under the Germans’ noses.
After the war, during the six-month tourist season, other neighbouring villas, Sea Shell and Errota, were used as annexes to the first-rate boarding house, which was transformed into a three-star hotel.
Without realising it, she invented the Airbnb concept by renting out rooms in local houses to tourists.
My parents Jean-Michel and Annie BERNARD
In 1962, my parents enlarged the hotel by buying the villa Artzaïn Chola. The architect Amédée ARAGON was commissioned to convert the chalet into a hotel.
For several years, Jean-Mi. and Annie managed the hotel pension Hôtel-Villa LES GOELANDS and its annexes, upgrading it from ** to ***.
Season after season, they welcomed large families from Paris and the north of France. Their children will have the pleasure of meeting the children of their guests every summer. We’ll remember the méchouis organised on the banks of the Rhûne and the ping-pong competitions.
My wife Cathy and myself Pampi BERNARD
We took over at the end of the 90s. We have developed our hotel and continue to improve it so that it meets the needs of 21st century guests, without losing the spirit that has always made “Les Goélands” famous: the charm of the “family guesthouse” atmosphere combined with the special character of these holiday homes.
It was with this in mind that we pioneered our ecological approach back in 2000. We were one of the first 6 CLEF VERTE hotels in France and have remained faithful to this label for over 15 years.
And with you, the adventure continues…
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