Hi: My wife and I will be traveling to the French Riviera in September, 2004. Could someone please recommend a nice (3 star?) hotel, with a water view? I'd like to try to stay within 200 Euro/nite. Also, could someone please recommend a city on the water from which to make our base?
Thanx,
joearena99

The Versailles in Villefranche sur Mer.

The Westminster on Promenade des Anglais in Nice. Directly across the street from the water, has oversized waterview rooms starting at about $180/night. The rooms facing the back are small and have no view.

Excellent location, service, and value.

Good luck!

I second the Westminster in Nice. We stayed there last September and fell in love with the town. Great day trips too. Do a seach for Fabulous French Adventure and you'll see our trip reports. Nice is covered as well as the hotel. Good luck.

A good base really depends on what you want to do while there & whether you plan to rent a car. Certain locations are great for sightseeing & traveling by public transport (ie.Nice & Villefranche), while others are better for relaxing & beach (ie Cannes, Cap D'Antibes). Some hotels have pools (big & small) & some don't have any. So tell us what you're looking for.

provencebeyond.com is a good website for looking at various locations. If beach is important to you, be aware that east of Cannes the beaches are rocky/pebby while Cannes & west they're sandy. If beach is not important, there are some beautiful places in the hills (some with water views, some not) that will have pools & a more charming ambiance than staying closer to the sea. But it would be better to have a car for these locations.

We just returned from a week in the French Riviers. We stayed in Cannes for 2 nights (drove to St. Tropez for a day), stayed 1 night in Monte Carlo, then 3 nights in Nice. Again, I would stay in Cannes and Nice, but leave out the night in Monte Carlo. You can enjoy the city life and the beaches of Nice and Cannes, but also have the ability to take day trips to St. Tropez, Eze, MC, etc. In Cannes, the Hotel Martinez was very nice, and a great local. In Nice, we stayed at the Boscolo Plaza, again a great location. Contact the hotels directly by email, and maybe you can secure some better rates.

We just got back from our 2nd visit to Villefranche. We stayed at the La Flore which has a sea view, many with terrace or balcony. The higher the better for a view of cap ferrat and the lighthouse, many cruise ships also pull into the harbour. Villefranche has a beach which is about a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel (which is next door to the Versailles (both have web sites. There is a bus stop outside the Versailles for the 5 minute ride to Nice. Monaco is about 20 minutes by car to the East (there is train available which we never used.) There are many cafes down at the waterside, also the Hotel Welcome, more expensive. La Flore has free parking, good restaurant, helpful staff, the breakfast room overlooks the harbour and they have a small pool. Eze, Saint Jean Cap ferrat, etc are also easy to get to. There is also a laundromat and several grocery stores within a few blocks of the hotel.

We too stayed at the La Flore, and had the bad luck of having most of the view from our balcony obscured by a palm tree. We checked out the Versailles next door and decided to stay there next time. One thing I can say about the La Flore is that the restaurant is surprisingly good for a ***hotel.

Great place on the border of Monaco and France. Riviera Marriott Hotel Cap D Ail phone 33492-106767 or book online www.marriotthotels.com web site has all the info and pitcures Marina view rooms