L'oasis - Argelès-sur-Mer

Expecting a hotel we were surprised to let ourselves in with a key lock key. A room with thin mattress, thin duvet and one soft pillow. A coffee communal machine but no restaurant, no foyer, no facilities. This was not made clear on booking .com. Not cheap either£70 for a self service room. Dreadful.

We booked via airbnb and were sold a room with terrace overlooking the beach. When we arrived we were told there was not one available and were given room number 6. A small room with windows on two sides, both windows are overlooked by the houses opposite and there is no terrace. The second night we were given room number 2 which had the sea view. A slightly bigger room. We didn't eat in the restuarant, there is no fridge in the rooms and although there is a fridge at reception it wasn't on. Free wifi, staff were helpful and it was immaculately clean.

We stayed for one night at the Oasis, which was comfortable and simple. Whilst there is no reception, the check in was easy and the stay was nice. The hotel offers breakfast in the morning, which was a hearty sandwich and coffee, but we found it to be a little expensive, especially as they were not offering hot options. The hotel itself was great value though and the sandwich did fill us up and was tasty. Overall a simple stay.

Visited Le Racou for lunch, very convenient car park (free) and so excellent access for someone with limited mobility. There is a boardwalk close by for wheelchair access to the beach near the coast guard lookout. We had not booked and there was plenty of space. Lunch was rather elegant for a cafe/bar in a charming little resort with a 1950s feel to it. Much prefer this to the larger resorts along the coast. We had salad to start, very pleasing presentation and good portion sizes, steak and fries and ice cream desert. Nothing to rave over, they seem to have found a balance between French and euro-style dining without too much compromise. Not the cheapest but a beautiful view, good service and happy to accommodate our basic French. All in all very pleasant and probably would recommend.

Have been to La Racou a number of times and have usually had a beer at theL'Oasis as it has quite a nice open seating area suitable just for a drink or a bite to eat. It is facing the beach so not a bad spot to pass an hour or so. This time, we decided to have a bit of lunch, me with a beer and the wife a glass of rosé. We both plumped for the Catalan salad, which, like most salads in this part of France, were huge though, as usual, the tasty bits, come on a large bed of lettuce. However, there was a reasonable helping of tuna and anchovies while there was also plenty of other ingredients cucumber, olives, hard boiled egg slices, radishes, onions and tomatoes to add to the taste. We enjoyed it but just wish they, and most other restaurants offering salads, would cut down on the lettuce.