We have read in Rick Steves that there is a hotel in Villefranche "for drivers" called Hotel La Fiancee Du Pirate.

It appears to have no star designation at all, but is apparently very well priced - air conditioning and pool facilities, although a 5 minute drive from the beach.

Is anyone familiar with this hotel and can they advise as to pros and cons for a proposed 2 night mid-July stay?

Many thanks.

topping up for the lunch-time crowd.

Is there anybody out there?

An early week top-up.

Can anybody help?

I see you're not having much luck finding someone who's stayed there so I guess I'll jump in with the very little I can offer regarding location. I noticed this place as we drove by on the middle corniche just above Villefranche. It would be very convenient for daytrips by car; however, if you want to be able to walk around the harbor area and more interesting parts of Villefranche you'll probably prefer to drive in and park closer to the center of town. Villefranche isn't very large but it's hilly. Most of what's of interest to a tourist is down in the lower part of town and it's quite steep to walk up as far as the middle corniche.

Have you looked at the Hotel La Flore or Versailles? They are next to each other on the basse corniche in town and I think they both offer on-site parking and pools. Probably more expensive though.

Maddy - thank you for your response.

We do realize how far the hotel is from the town and harbour, but we will be there for 3 days after 3 days in Cannes at the Grand Croisette(1 block from the sandy beach), and are looking at La Fiancee mainly as a less expensive a/c'ed gateway to the hill towns, Nice and Monaco, with probably only 1 day actually spent in the Villefranche/Cap Ferrat area.

I was just hoping for some info. from someone who may have been familiar with the hotel, but, based on Rick's recommendation, I think that we will give it a try.

Thanks again for your input.

Nevertooold, I checked it out online. It looks very nice for such a reasonably priced hotel. Views will be lovely and it has a pool! Location sounds right for you since you want to visit other towns. Will you have a car? If so, you can drive into Villefranche-sur-mer - there are spots to park and then walk into the old town and to the harbor/beach area. We stayed in an apartment close to the town and beach but we still would sometimes drive into town and we never had a problem finding a parking space.

Please tell us about the hotel when you return.

Happy travels!

Marianna - thank you for taking the time to comment.

Yes, we will have a car, and I promise to report.

Welcome back, Maddy. Hope you had a great time. Don't forget to tell me about hotel Darse.
Nevertooold, if you post this question in Trip Advisor, VF forum, you might hear from some experts there. There are several of them who live there.

Ha! I just read about that place, skimming the Steve's book at Borders yesterday! We were thinking it might be a good spot to stay as we've not been to that part of Provence, and we like to base ourselves in a good location for daytripping (we always drive). I'll look for your report when you get back as we sort of planning to be there in early October.