Nice Airport logistics problems
 

I could really use your suggestions for a problem I can't seem to work out.

I will be staying in Nice 2 days prior to my friends' arrival. I will take the city shuttle with my suitcase to meet their plane which plane lands at 9:30 am. After collecting their suitcases, we can take the shuttle to Europcar to pick our rental car. At the very latest, we should be leaving the airport by 11 am. Our house rental does not technically begin until 4 PM but we can "take possession if it's ready a few hours early."

We will have approximately 4 hours between leaving the airport and arriving at the house in Vence.
Our best option is to drop our suitcases off at our rental immediately (then leave until the house is ready). If the owner does not agree to this plan, how can we go to lunch, spend several hours before the rental and still feel secure about our suitcases? We surely would not want to sit in the car for an afternoon.

The only other option I have considered is to ask Hotel Grimaldi (the hotel where I am staying) if it is possible to let us drop the suitcases off for a few hours.

What do you think is the best solution?

We rented a house near Vence last year and stayed at the Grimaldi for a few days prior. The Grimaldi will gladly let you store your bags there if you want but then you'll have to backtrack. Your best bet is if you can drop off the bags at the rental house and I would doubt there would be a problem. Do you know if your rental car has a trunk or is a hatchback? If it has a regular trunk I would not worry too much about leaving the bags locked in the trunk. There is an attended car park in the middle of Vence.
By the way, our favorite bread baker in Vence is Sabbia, our favorite patisserie is Palanque. There is a local farmers' market everyday (except one day they have antiques) in the square in Vence. You'll love it there!!!

Our car is a hatchback and often they have a retractable cover for the luggage area.

Do you think it too forward to ask Le Grimaldi to store all 3 of our bags when I was the only guest?

Do you have any restaurant suggestions in the area? I am not excited about driving very far in the dark (such as going into Nice for dinner)

I'm sure the owner of your rental will allow you to store your luggage whilst you got to lunch.

Here's a link to our favourite resto in Vence which happens to be a family run pizza place:

http://www.pecheurdesoleil.com/

Another great place is the resto adjacent to the fountain as you enter the pedestrian area: it used to be Italian but now serves a more Mediterranean menu. They have delicious salads (huge) and pizza plus great people watching. My husband loves their fish dishes (sorry I can't remember the name).

Be sure to visit the Matisse Chapel on the outskirts of town--a masterpiece!

Thanks for your suggestions. I will contact the owner immediately because that seems the easiest solution. I can't think of a reason why she would say no. But I do feel better knowing Le Grimaldi will let us store the bags as a back up plan.

The staff at the Grimaldi is about the nicest I've ever encountered. They go out of their way to make your stay pleasant.
Our house was actually in St Jeanett which is about 15 miles from Vence. We often went into Vence to go the market but didn't ever eat dinner there. We enjoyed buying the wonderful food and preparing dinner ourselves.

The villa owner said we can drop off our bags early. Such a relief. Now we have the freedom to do whatever we choose without worrying about our suitcases at risk in the rear of the car.

That is usually the way it works...drop off the luggage and go wander around til your room/villa is ready.......