Regina Experimental, Biarritz, France
Belle Époque grandeur meets Dorothée Meilichzon’s playful vision of the Basque coast
Why DNA Hotels Loves It
● A 1907 Neo-Basque landmark by Henry Martinet, centred around an extraordinary 15-metre-high atrium beneath an Eiffel-style glass-and-metal roof.
● Dorothée Meilichzon transforms the historic interiors with ocean-liner curves, Art Deco references, Basque colours, and Experimental’s unmistakable sense of fun.
● Frenchie Biarritz brings Gregory Marchand’s cooking to one of Europe’s great food regions, backed by Experimental cocktails and a superb Atlantic-facing terrace.
The Grand Dame Gets Experimental
Biarritz knows a thing or two about grand hotels. By the early 20th century, the former fishing and whaling village had become one of Europe’s most fashionable seaside resorts, attracting royalty and aristocracy to its villas, casinos, beaches, and therapeutic Atlantic air. The Regina arrived in 1907. Designed by architect and landscape designer Henry Martinet, its white Neo-Basque façade and monumental proportions belonged to that first golden age of Biarritz. At its centre was the building’s defining feature: a soaring 15-metre atrium flooded with daylight beneath an intricate glass-and-metal roof. More than a century later, Experimental Group took over the landmark and handed its interiors to Dorothée Meilichzon. The architecture stayed grand. The attitude changed.
An Atrium Made for Drama
Everything revolves around the atrium. Meilichzon treats the enormous space almost like an indoor town square, breaking its scale into intimate clusters of voluptuous sofas, low tables, sculptural lighting, and tactile objects. Brick red, Prussian blue, and deep green reference the colours of traditional Neo-Basque architecture. Sandstone, ceramics, straw, and natural fibres introduce a more vernacular layer beneath the Belle Époque grandeur. Even the furniture looks locally for inspiration. Curving sofas reference Henri Godbarge’s 1920s Itsasoan footbridge in nearby Guéthary, while Art Deco tiles come from century-old French manufacturer Winckelmans. At the rear, the long cocktail bar pays homage to modernist designer Eileen Gray. Come evening, cocktails, piano music, and DJ sets transform the historic atrium into exactly what Experimental does best: a grand room that people actually want to inhabit.
Sleeping Aboard the Atlantic
The 72 rooms and suites take their cues from 1920s ocean liners. Curved forms meet strong horizontal lines. Marine stripes appear alongside Japanese straw, rope-like detailing, lacquered headboards, shell motifs, and carpets patterned with aquatic forms. Whites, blues, and mint greens soften the palette, punctuated by the deeper colours seen downstairs. The references could easily have become theatrical. Instead, Meilichzon keeps them abstract enough to feel contemporary. Depending on their position, rooms look towards the Atlantic or Biarritz’s historic golf course. The sea is never far from the design, but neither is the Basque Country.
Frenchie Goes Basque
Food gives the hotel another reason to matter. At Frenchie Biarritz, chef Gregory Marchand turns his attention to the extraordinary produce of the French Basque region: fish from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Banka trout, Gascon pork, local lamb and beef, Ossau-Iraty cheese, and Espelette pepper. The restaurant is deliberately more than a hotel dining room. Its large terrace overlooking the Atlantic draws locals alongside guests, while red lacquered furniture and sky-blue banquettes continue Meilichzon’s colour story outdoors. The wine list ranges from local bottles to Champagne, established French producers, and natural wines. And this being Experimental, cocktails are taken seriously. Very seriously.
Atlantic Rituals
The spa provides the quieter side of the experience. Treatments combine products from Austrian natural skincare specialist Susanne Kaufmann with those from local brand Alaena, while a small Technogym fitness room sits nearby. Outside, the swimming pool becomes another social space during summer. Beyond the hotel are the pursuits that define contemporary Biarritz: surfing, golf, cycling, yoga, and long walks beside an Atlantic that can shift from serene to ferocious within hours. It is this contrast that makes the location work. The old aristocratic resort and the modern surf town coexist. So do they inside the Regina.
Why It Works
Regina Experimental Biarritz works because Dorothée Meilichzon does not attempt to tame the grandeur of Henry Martinet’s 1907 landmark. She plays with it. The monumental atrium, Neo-Basque architecture, and Belle Époque history remain unmistakable, but ocean-liner curves, Basque colours, Art Deco geometry, straw, rope, ceramics, and wonderfully eccentric details give the building a new rhythm. Add Gregory Marchand’s Frenchie, Experimental’s cocktail culture, and the Atlantic just beyond the windows, and the Regina becomes something rare: a historic grand hotel that feels genuinely alive again.
