oliverz5

My fiance and I are heading to Provence for our honeymoon in August and hope to spend two nights on the coast. We would like to find a charming beach town with a quaint (but somewhat luxurious) hotel and restaurant. We love Hotel du Cap Eden Roc in Antibes, but we cannot afford that level of luxury! We are hoping to avoid the crowds as much as one can in August. We would love your suggestions - both on where to stay and on which hotels...Thanks.

oliverz5

Adding on - has anyone tried Chateau Eza? It seems quite nice and kind of off the beaten path...

Edward2005

There's always Beaumont Sur Mer. But beware of the con artists that congregate there.

RSSmith

Chateau Eza is in the hilltop village of Eze. The village itself it very quaint and has some of the most spectactular views of the Med on the Cote d'Azur. We stayed at the Chevre d'Or, which was fabulous. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I peeked into the reception area at Chateau Eza and it seemed a bit dark and dreary to me. We found Eze to be an excellent place to just relax and enjoy the pool and excellent food at Chevre d'Or for 2 days, then explore the surrounding coast for 2 days. If you want easy beach access, however, this would not be the place for you. (There is a footpath down to the water but it's a very long, steep walk back up!!)

orval

Try the Chateau Valmer, which is west of St Tropez, in a wonderful area. Right over a few mile drive through lovely hills.

http://www.hotel-chateau-valmer.cote.azur.fr/

Underhill

Beaumont-sur-Mer...brings to mind Steve Martin and Michael Caine.

Underhill

Have a look at the Hôtel La Pérouse in Nice. If you get a sea-view room you would have beautiful views, even more so with a terrace. But in August one of those rooms could be hard to come by; you'll need to get reservations somewhere very soon for high season.

What about the Royal Riviera or the Voile d'Or on St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat? Or the Métropole or Réserve de Beaulieu in the town of that name? Any of those would be good for avoiding the crowds, as they're fairly secluded.

Underhill

I meant the hotels are secluded, not the crowds!

daph

Beaumont sur Mer - don't you mean Beaulieu sur Mer? We stayed for over a week in this nice little town in 2003. You can take the train or bus to Monaco, Eze, Nice and can walk to Villefranche, where the large cruise ships dock for the day and best of all, the walk to the port of St Jean and to St Jean Cap Ferrat is very pleasant. At the tip is the very posh Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat, where many celebs have stayed.

oliverz5

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the very delayed response and thank you immensely for all of your great input. I am finally getting around to reserving a hotel room for my honeymoon in August and have spent some time reviewing all of your suggestions (plus some additional options). I have a list of possible hotel options that I have come up with - and I was hoping to get your great advice as to which is the best option (both in terms of value and location). We are definitely not looking for a big night life, but would like to be able to go to a nice restaurant for dinner (possibly one in the hotel if it's good). We are more interested in relaxing by the beach/pool and enjoying a great view, and feeling like we're in a remote and charming location. Here's the list I have so far (any additions??):
Hotel Belles Rives - Juan-les-Pins www.bellesrives.com
Hotel Juana - Juan les Pins
http://www.hotel-juana.com/default_z.../framesfr.html
Metropole - Beaulieu -
www.le-metropole.com
Hotel La Perouse - Nice http://www.hotel-la-perouse.com/tarr...ers/index.html
Chevre D'Or http://www.chevredor.com/uk/indexsommaire.htm

I'd love to get your help on the best hotel to go with. These hotels all have availability for our dates. We are only going to be staying for a night or two so we are willing to incur the great cost, as long as it is worth the $$!

Thanks so much for your help!

Lisa

cigalechanta

I can only comment on my stay at La Perouse. Loved it. Ask for a room overlooking the water. Pluck a lemon on the terrace at breakfast. They taste almost like grapefruit.

Underhill

The Metropole would be the most luxurious, and you could wander over to the 1* restaurant at the Réserve de Beaulieu. Next would be the Chèvre d'Or, with its own excellent restaurant, although it's definitely not in a beach town. The others aren't quite in the same league, much as I love the La Pérouse (which doesn't have a particularly good restaurant, alas).

fluffy

Dear Oliver,
I can't tell you how disappointed I was with Juan le Pins.It did not have that charming Cote Azur vibe I was looking for.Alot of touristy shopes; I would not recommend it for your honeymoon.I am not an expert in this teraine, which is probably why I ended up in Juan les Pins to begin with. Sorry I can't suggest an alternative, but do yourself a favor and avoid Juan les Pins.
Congrats on your up coming nuptules.
Fluffy

Tulips

I do like Juan les Pins, but if you are looking for quaint and secluded, it's definitely not the place to be.
All these places are going to be busy in the summer.
There's a big difference between staying in Eze or in Nice; do you want to be in a city, with lots of restaurants within walking distance, and walking distance to the beach? Or do you want to be in a small hilltop village?

Another suggestion: Hotel Imperial de Garoupe, on Cap d'Antibes. Charming hotel, in a quiet area, just across the road from a sandy beach.

gracejoan

Villefranche sur mer and the Welcome Hotel are quite popular. Villefranche is charming and many enjoy their beach area.

Weadles

I just wanted to mention that the Palais de la Mediterranee in Nice which is in an excellent location on the Promenade des Anglais ( very close to Vieux NIce) is offering a summer promotion with reduced rates for its rooms. I booked two sea view rooms there for our upcoming July trip at a reduced rate through Leading Luxury Hotels of the World. This is a 5-star hotel. Good luck!

Weadles

I forgot to add that we stayed at Le Metropole a few years ago, and didn't really care for the rather stuffy atmosphere. Also fell in love with Nice while we were there, and generally find it much more lively and interesting than Beaulieu.

RonZ

Not a town really, but I can heartily recommend the Chateau Valmer in La Croix Valmer, which is a little west of San Tropez. The perfect romantic getaway. There are beach privleges at a sister hotel a short distance away.

We have stayed at the Metropole and that too is a fine hotel. I would characterize La Reserve next door as being more on the stuffy side.

oliverz5

Thank you all for your very helpful responses. Now, I am left wondering how to select. I think we would prefer a smaller, more romantic town (as opposed to a larger city like Nice), so I think that helps us narrow down some of the options. It sounds like La Metropole is top notch based on all but one report here. They only have the really expensive rooms available when we will be there, but I am still trying to figure out if we shift the dates around at all, whether we can make it work somehow. Does Chevre D'Or have any sort of town? I can't tell how isolated it is. I know it does not have a beach, but can you reach the beach by car without too much trouble? It sounds like we should steer clear of Juan les pin - thanks for the warning. We don't really like touristy. Any other options we're missing? Also, Chateau Valmer looks interesting - perhaps a little rougher around the edges than some of the other options, but nice too. Does it have its own beach and restaurant?

Underhill

The Chèvre d'Or is perched way up in Eze-village, high above the Mediterranean. So if you want to hit the beach, it's not right at your doorstep. Keep in mind that beaches along the coast here tend to be rocky instead of sandy; you'll need to find out which ones provide some degree of comfort.

You might think of heading west to Le Lavandou, which has a fine hotel (Les Roches) with a good restaurant and an excellent beach.

For a change of scenery you could drive up (in about 5 minutes) to Bormes les Mimosas, an absolutely charming village along the lines of Carmel, California. Come to think of it, you could stay in Bormes at the Domaine du Mirage. While it's not really quaint, it's a delightful place--and if you get a room on the top level with a terrace, the view is gorgeous. The town itself has any number of good restaurants, including the 1* Escoundudo.