roberto24

I need help deciding on a hotel in Nice and would welcome your perspective on the beaches.

Is it worth paying up for a hotel with a private beach - e.g., Beau Rivage? Does that hotel have a pool? The reviews on Trip Advisor are mixed.

The pool at Palais de la Mediterranee looks very nice, but it charges Euro 20 per person for the neighboring beach (and the base rate is much higher than Beau Rivage).

We are going in July - will we have a problem getting a spot at a beach club if we were to stay at hotel without a beach relationship, say Le Grimaldi or Le Perouse?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Dukey

All I can say is I hate to pay to go onto ANY beach much less one that is more gravel than sand...but hopefully someone else will respond with better information for you.

zootsi

We were in Nice 2 years ago and loved it. Realize that Nice is quite a big city - the beach is ok, but I wouldn't consider Nice a 'beach' vacation spot. The beach is gray pebbles. We stayed at the hotel Rex, a modest hotel a few blocks from the water. There is no problem just walking down to the beach and putting your blanket down. I do believe there are private areas further down the beach that are part of the large hotels.

Tulips

You don't need to stay in the hotel in order to stay at their beach. Early July is still fairly quiet. After the 14th it gets busy. You can reserve lounge chairs at any beach in advance.
Some hotels offer their guests a free lounge chair at their own beach. Years ago at the Martinez, in Cannes, they even charged guests for use of the lounge chairs by their own pool. So check with the hotel!

suec1

Le Peruse has a (small) pool, very convenient to the beach where there are many public areas - it is all big pebbles. You might want to do a day trip to Antibes or Villefrance where there are public, sandy beaches.

PeaceOut

We stayed at Hotel le Grimaldi in Nice and liked it a lot. No pool or beach front, though. Just a charming hotel at a good price. We walked everywhere from there.
http://www.le-grimaldi.com/

Underhill

That would be the hotel La Pérouse, which is just below Château Hill. If I remember correctly, there's no crosswalk, and it's a very busy corner. However, the La Pérouse has a pool. Besides Villefranche and Antibes, there are good public sandy beaches in Cannes.

Echnaton

Nice is not a beach town. As said, the beach consists of large grey pebbles and just behind the beach is a very busy 9-lane highway. If you want to go to a beach, go to Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Juan-les-Pins, Antibes or Cannes. All beaches in France are public, and on any beach you find a space to put your towel. However, parking might be a problem.

abbydog

HI! I stayed at Beau Rivage last fall. Definitely no reason to use the private beach -- if you have a towel you can find a spot right next to it (although I don't know how crowded it will be in July). I loved the beach for just watching people, enjoying the water, and seeing the fishermen come in each morning. I also loved the sound of the waves rolling the pebbles around. Amazing!

Beau Rivage was pretty dark and a bit too modern for me, but the location was terrific and I enjoyed being able to walk half a block to the water. Great combination of being in a city but by the sea. Sadly, the hotel has no pool, so that could be a deciding factor for you.

Surfergirl

Love Le Grimaldi; not fond of Nice beaches; love the beach at Juan les Pins, nice and sandy, lounges not too expensive.