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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel Splendid, today Grand Hotel Mercure Splendid, rises in Dax on the site of a medieval castle, seat of the Viscount in the 11th-XIIth centuries, then residence of the military governor. It was converted into a barracks in the 19th century and was razed in 1891 to give way to a thermal establishment, destroyed by fire in July 1926. This sinister allowed the construction of the Splendid Hotel, inaugurated in 1929 as a symbol of Dutch luxury and thermal activity.

The project was entrusted to architect André Granet, assisted by Roger-Henri Expert and Albert Pomade, with an interior decoration signed Genet and Michon for glassware. The building, a masterpiece of Art Deco, incorporates remains of 19th-century thermalism, such as basement care rooms. Its emblematic spaces – large hall, lounges, staircases with remarkable stained glass – were protected by an inscription to historical monuments in 1991.

The hotel, initially equipped with 149 rooms and a 1800 m2 spa, illustrates the golden age of spa resorts in the interwar period. After a major renovation, it reopened in 2018, perpetuating its central role in the coastal and architectural heritage of Dax, while retaining its original elements, such as the thermal fountain of the West Hall or the period chandeliers.

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