Staying amid plush velvets, silks

FIRST-TIMERS to Bordeaux could do worse than to immediately base themselves at the 130-room Grand Hotel de Bordeaux & Spa. The only five-star hotel in town, it was built in the late 18th-century by Victor Louis, the same architect who designed the equally grandiose Grand Theatre, home of L'Opera National de Bordeaux, across the square, La Place de la Comedie. The generously proportioned rooms are furnished in plush velvets and silks and extravagant trompe l'oeil wallpaper, while bathrooms are kitted out with Nuxe and Guerlain toiletries. Some suites are specially tailored to families travelling with children - they're outfitted with Bonpoint accessories, while a Concierge des Enfants is on alert for the most mundane child-related query. Ask for a room facing the opera house. The rooftop Nuxe Spa with its Jacuzzi terrace and wraparound views of Bordeaux is a real treat.