Finalized accommodations, would like feedback
 

Hi once again,
This is a repeat of mine, but I did not get much feedback on the accommodations that I made myself for the nine days we will be in France. Any imput would be great. Sorry this is a question I already asked earlier this month.

Paris-- Hotel O'deon

Lyon-- Phenix Hotel

Arles--Jules Cesar

Avignon- Chateau des Roches

Nice-- Radisson SAS Hotel

Our trip is less than a month away, and we are really looking forward to it. My husband is in the wine business in Napa, California so our concentration will be on the wineries. Merci beaucoup for all you info.

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Vera

Phyllis, Greetings from Petaluma! We are finalizing a trip that includes Paris, Lyon, & Arles. While we aren't staying at any of the same places - I clearly think that you picked lovely towns/cities. Also, we stay at a hotel within a block of O'deon and think it is a great area. All the best!

Bonjour trobbe...

Greetings from Vacaville. My husband works at Merryvale Vineyards in St. Helena. Have you ever been there? I know we are really excited about our trip as well. I researched all of our accommodations on the web, and hopefully they will be what we are hoping for. You have a great trip as well. Phyllis

Trobbe and Phyllis

There's a Fodor's get together in the works for Marin in the spring. Be sure to come and tell us about your trips. Watch the board for specifics later on.

Phyllis,

I go to Nice often, and have not heard good things about the Radisson SAS. When we last visited, other tourists were complaining that the maintenace was really poor, and rooms were small and shabby. Also, it is quite a hike from Old Nice and the flower market area. Maybe you should check tripadvisor.com for recent comments on it?

Have heard consistently good things about La Perouse and Hotel Grimaldi, as well as the West End. We always stay at the Westminster, but that, too, has had some maintenance issues lately. Good luck!

hi Weadles...

Thanks for your input about the Radisson Hotel. They have already charged my credit card for the rooms even though we will not be there until the end of April. I am going to definitely investigate further. Thanks so much for the heads up. Phyllis

Hi, Phyllis,

The Jules Cesar in Arles in wonderful.

I stayed at le Grimaldi in Nice andgive it a hearty recommendation. It's ablock or two from the pedestrian shopping zone, maybe a 15 minute walk to the old town, and perhaps 6 blocks to the Promenade des Anglais. So, you might check it out. Joanna Zedde, the manager (owner?), is fantastic as well.
Have a great trip.

John H

I've stayed at the Radisson SAS Nice. I thought it was pretty good -- a business hotel, though. The location is excellent, on the Promenade des Anglais. If you are on that, you will not be near the flower market, but personally, I'd rather be there. I do NOT remember the rooms being small.

Thanks to all of you. I made the reservation at the Radisson for the 4 of us that are going, and they trusted me to do a good job. The couple we are going with are accustomed to living rather well, and I don't want to disappoint them. I checked out other places such as La Parouse but that hotel seems rather expesive. However, I really want to have a decent room with a view of the sea and good size room. I will still investigate further. Many thanks for all your comments. Phyllis

Bonjour:

After further review and comments on Radisson SAS Hotel I cancelled our reservations. All the reports on the hotel that I read were absolutely terrible. It is hard to believe that this hotel has a 4* rating. Anyway, I am in the process of making reservations at the Hotel la Perouse, but wow is this hotel ixpensive. So I am not sure. I really don't want to pay $428.00 for a room for one night. I am also looking into the West End Hotel. Any comments or experiences with this hotel. Would love your comments as our trip is less than 1 month away, and I want to get our final accommodation done. Merci..Phyllis

phyllis friends just returned from Nice and they stayed at a very reasonable hotel and were quite pleased..Hotel Aria near Mozart Park. I am not familiar with this hotel, but my friends are eclectic and seasoned travelers.This is not a luxury hotel but it apparently was nice.For what you save in one night you could splurge on dinner(s!). I do not know the location of Mozart Park.

Hi everyone...

Just want to thank everyone who reponded to this thread. Now all my accommodations are done.I went ahead and made our reservations in Nice at Hotel La Perouse. It looks absolutely fabulous on their webpage, and all the reviews that I read were all very positive. The recommendations that I read on tripadvisor.com really helped to make up my mind. The hotel is a little pricey, but what the heck you only live once. We want to have a nice experience in Nice, so a little extra money for a room is okay with us. I will post a thread about our trip when we arrive back home on May 5th. Thanks again for all your input. Auvoir, Phyllis

Hi Phyllis,

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time at La Perouse! It has a fabulous location practically on top of Vieux Nice, and the hotel itself is supposed to be one of the best in Nice.

Thought I'd mention a favorite restaurant of ours-- LA CHAUMIERE, which is just outside Nice (about six miles) on the way (as I remember it) to Eze. The restaurant serves provencal style food-- chicken or beef is grilled to your taste in the main dining room's fireplace! Vegetables from their garden are the appetizers, along with homemade dips. Desserts are heavenly. It's pricey, but an unforgettable meal! If you're interested, I'd try reserving soon for either lunch or dinner.

Anyway, have a great time in Nice!

Phyllis - totally off your subject but I'm taking my husband to Napa/Sonoma for his 50th birthday in three weeks. We're looking at going to the following wineries: cakebread, opus, mondavi, duckhorn, silver oak, markham and quintessa. any suggestions on how to organize our 1.5 days up there? We're going into SF, staying overnight, heading out to the valley the next morning to have a spa treatment and then see 1 or 2 places the first afternoon on our own. Planning on getting a driver/limo for the next full day of touring so we can take full advantage! Then, home on Sunday morning. thanks!

Hi cmeyer54..

That is quite an ambitious itinerary you have planned. I don't think you will be able to visit all the wineries you listed in just 1.5 days. Some of them you might need an appointment to taste their wine as well. One you left out is Merryvale in St. Helena. As I mentioned in my thread my husband is the Retail Manager there and the winery is one of the best in Napa Valley. Their wines are all fabulous, and I really recommend that you try to visit them. They are open 10:30am until 6:30pm. We like Duckhorn (rather expensive to taste, Quintessa, Cakebread etc. are good choices. If you would like I can mail you a weekely magazine or two of the wineries in the area. Just let me know. You can email me directly rather than post it to this thread. What date are you arriving in April?

Phyllis

Phyllis,

Hi from U. C. Davis, another major player in the California wine industry.

La Pérouse is really a lovely place to stay in Nice, even if you don't choose one of the pricier rooms. You can always go up to the large terrace area at the top and look at the view!

One other possibility if you want rooms with a sea view at a reasonable price is the Mercure Promenade des Anglais. It appears to be a standard chain hotel in the medium-price range, but the front rooms like right across the Prom. des Anglais to the Mediterranean, and the hotel is only a short distance from Vieux Nice.

What are your plans for visiting wineries? Since you'll be in Lyon, I assume some time with the Rhône Valley wineries is on the schedule.

I am not sure why you are staying in both Avignon and Arles. While both cities are charming in their own rights, they are very close to each other (15 mins away). IMO, you should stay at the Jules Cesar in Arles and make Avignon your day trip. No sense spending the money for a hotel that close by in proximity, you could at least save the money you were planning to spend on that hotel stay and use it for other things (wine, souvenirs, travel, etc) :-)

Hi Underhill..

My husband is doing all the appointments for our wine tasting excursions. He is still researching the many different wineries in the Rhone Region. There are so many he would like to visit, but I will let you know which ones he decides to visit or hopes to visit. Our reservation at Hotel la Perouse is already confirmed, and we have reserved a Superior Double room with a sea view and balcony. It should really be nice. Thanks for the info on the other hotel. As far as staying in Arles and Avignon, there are so many wineries that we want to visit we want to stay in that area for at least 5 days. So we are staying 2 days in Avignon, and 3 days in Arles. Thanks again for your information. Auvoir for now...Phyllis

Phyllis,

Your sea-view room at the La Pérouse will no doubt be lovely. We had one of those back in the days when Club France members got upgrades--and we also received a big plate of the famous Niçois candied fruit as a welcome, all wrapped up in pretty cellophane with a bow.

If you don't want to pay hotel prices for breakfast, walk 2 blocks down to the end of the Cours Saléya where the underground garage entrance is and have a lovely meal at Le Pain Quotidien. It's a bakery/café with (of course) wonderful breads and pastries, homemade jams, and the best tea in France.

I hope your husband plans to do some tasting of Bandol rosés; they are really wonderful for warm-weather drinking.

Nice restaurants: Café de Turin, which specializes in seafood and is known mostly to the locals, and L'Ecurie, in Vieux Nice. You'll enjoy looking at the displays in the confectionary shop across the way.