Maison Donamaria

I highly recommend staying here at the start of your Camino if you can. It is located a short walk along the river from the town centre (more quiet here than staying in town). I had a spacious double room with a large private bathroom on the first floor. The space is tastefully and thoughtfully furnished. Breakfast is included (fresh bread, marmelade, butter, cut fruit, maybe an egg if the hens have been productive). The price is certainly more than a basic albuergue, but so worth it to help you orient yourself. The owner, Marie-Hélène, is very kind and accommodating. She is also a knowledgeable source of information for the Camino as she has walked some of the different routes. On arrival she kindly prepared a herbal tea to help me sleep. She orients guests to the town with excellent recommendations. She also organized a taxi for me to pick me up at La Croix Thibaud to take me to Valcarlos where I had already booked my next stay - the weather turned out so well I could do the route Napoleon.

Beautiful place to stay. Situated on a picturesque stream close to downtown St. Jean Pied de Port and a few minutes from the start of the Camino. Hostess is wonderfully welcoming and helpful. Highly recommended.

We’ve been travelling for over 4 weeks only booking one or two days in advance. We found this Chambre d’hote via google and so glad we did. We booked directly via WhatsApp with Marie Helene 2 days before and our communications were quick and efficient . We were warmly greeted upon arrival, given all the information we needed for our stay and then shown to our lovely room overlooking the river. Bed was very comfy , beautiful clean linen and good shower. Extremely quiet , fell asleep to the sound of the river. Gorgeous pool , friendly dog and cat and homely atmosphere. Marie Helene was happy to share her detailed knowledge and experiences of caminos with us which was very helpful and offered to stay in Touch ID we had any more questions as we are planning our first Camino. We weren’t pilgrims but this would be a lovely place to start the Way of St James or finish the Camino from Le Puy. Thoroughly recommend we hope to be back soon ! Thank you Marie Helene.

Excellent. The property is really lovely and in a gorgeous setting on the river and it has been well looked after. Marie-Hélène is a very helpful and amenable host. The room was comfortable with good anenities. Breakfast was a great start to the day. Easy stroll along the river to the town centre.

Maison Donamaria is a wonderful experience! The rooms are very comfortable, the garden and swimming pool above the river beautiful, the breakfast delicious and the very friendly and accommodating owner, Jean-Francois, is generous with his time, full of interesting information about the Camino and Saint Jean. Not to be forgotten is the beautiful Zubi who will befriend all comers. I have stayed at Donamaria twice and would love to make it a third time soon - it is a real gem! The Maison is well-situated about 800 metres stroll along the river across the old Roman bridge into town; sufficiently distant so you miss virtually all traffic noise - you are guaranteed to sleep well listening to the river however. Outstanding value!