Need a hotel in Nice, France
 

We are travelling to Nice, France in October and looking for a Hotel for 6 days while we (four of us in 50/60 age range) do day trips. Any suggestions? My travel agent gave me some names, but want some input from your forum. Some names we have are Mercure Nice, Park, Ellington, Boreal, Hotel Florence - any feedback or suggestions would be really appreciated.

I can't comment on the hotels your agent mentioned, but can recommend the Grimaldi. I stayed there a while ago and liked it a lot. Very affordable for such a nice hotel. Room and bathroom were large and tastefully done. And I had a standard room. It also had French doors opening onto a tiny balcony. Helpful staff and a great bakery for breakfast down the street if you choose not to eat at the hotel.
http://www.le-grimaldi.com/

You'll probably find that many on Fodor's don't use travel agents to recommend hotels. So getting suggestions here will likely be based on experience rather than hotels that pay commisions. It all so easy to yourself with websites and email. If you haven't, you might check the reviews on Trip Advisor.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g1...ce-Hotels.html

I agree with the suggestion of the Grimaldi. Stayed there end of March and was very satisfied with room and location. Only disappointment was the breakfast, which is an additional charge, as at all French hotels I've ever experienced, except the Grimaldi is rather stingy with breakfast - charge is greater than the Paris hotel we had and the Grimaldi really rations the portions -- we referred to one breakfast attendant as the "Croissant nazi". There are bakeries and other spots a not too far walk away.

Hope it's ok for me to butt in here. Wondering how the previous posters might compare Grimaldi with La Perouse. Is either one more or less likely to hear noise from airplanes? Thanks.

We visit Nice frequently, and have never heard airplane noise over any of the hotels that we've stayed at along the Promenade des Anglais.

Weadles, thanks for the reply. I'd asked because I read a report on the Nice section of Trip Advisor that said the plane noise was bad. (Report was on La Perouse, which otherwise the guest had much enjoyed.)

We loved Beau Rivage, stayed last year for 5 days, close to the market, promenade and easy walking distance from the park and shopping. The metro was going in and should be done by now which would make it really convenient. Have fun!

I think it was the trolley/tram not the metro. The Grimaldi is lovely, although we ended up at another place that stay.

I recently stayed at one of the Mercures- the one on the Promenade- there are two, within a 5-10 minute walk of each other, so make sure you know that when deciding (the other one is closer to that big park). It was very efficient, great location, but lacking in "character". I was surprised with the airport so close how few airplanes I ever heard, even during the day. If you will not have a car, and will be using the regional buses or trains for your day trips, you might use TripAdvisor to locate a hotel closer to both.

Hi Helenrk: will you have a car? If so we have stayed outside Nice near St. Paul in the lovely Villa St. Maxine. I think it would be a gorgeous place for 4 people. Its more like a Villa/B&B but with champagne breakfasts, drinks before dinner and breakfast included. Its really lovely and very very affordable. Look it up on Tripadvisor for the rave reviews!

sorry, that was Villa St. Maxime.

http://www.villa-st-maxime.com

I'm another fan of Le Grimaldi. Although I agree the price for their breakfast may a bit high, we usually take it for convienience sake and I've never found them stingy with it (I've stayed there 4 times).

We really enjoyed our stay at the Mercure Promenade des Anglais. Re-done rooms, excellent soundproofing, large bathrooms--and there's a senior discount available at the accorhotels.com web site. The hotel shares a wall with Le Meridien and is about a 2-block walk from the Cours Saléya/Vieux Nice. Ocean view rooms are worth the small extra cost.

Le Grimaldi is very nice and would be my first choice as it's not far (within walking distance) of the train station for day trips.
Be careful not to book into the similarly named Mercure Hotel Grimaldi down the street from Le Grimaldi. I stayed at the Mercure Grimaldi and while I had no complaints about it and had a good rate (89 euros), it's a very bland place without the style of Le Grimaldi.

Jumping in here again: I so wish someone could compare/contrast Grimaldi with La Perouse. I'd heard such terrific things about Hotel La Perouse, and now it seems as if Grimaldi gets the bulk of the "votes." Need to book for 3 nights in late September, so may be too late for either one for all I know. Help appreciated!

I stayed at La Perouse last year with my mom. She loved it, but I thought it was dated looking, heavily carpeted, flowery bed covers and drapes and that, and very poky everywhere, even the restaurant and the pool. I would not return to La Perouse, but my mom would in a minute.

Annpay: Thanks very much. Those were helpful details. (On the other hand, we're in our 70's but don't often enjoy "flowery" furnishing, so we may be back to square one.) :-)

I stumbled upon the Hotel Petite Louvre once. It was clean and decent. You could probably stay there for a week for the price of one night at one of the places your travel agent recommended.

BTW, it is not "flowery." As the name implies, the walls are covered with art reproductions. The owner is a nice guy.

Thank you all for your suggestions. It seemed the Grimaldi won in the popularity contest....and it looks like a great hotel, and so taking your advice we have booked our rooms and looking forward to our stay at the Grimaldi in October. For those that stayed there should we request a higher floor or a certain view - it looks like its two buildings joined - so I am wondering if all rooms are equal.

Stayed at the Hotel Albert. Across from the Ave. des Anglais and the park. Great location.