Where to stay in Nice? Family of 4.
 

My 3 teens and I will be in Nice for 3 nights in early July. Where should we stay? I'd like to be close to the beach and areas to get on a train or bus to Monte Carlo. I am thinking of budgeting up to 500 Euros/night. For hotels, we'd need two rooms because there are 4 of us, so it can't be too extravagant. Other accomodation types ( B&B's, Villas, apts. ) would be Ok as long as they have a nice pool area. Are there some parts of town that are better than others? Thanks in advance!

Well, first - don;t assume hotels in Nice will have a pool. Many don't, esp the moderate and modest ones. Only resort type places will have pools.

We like to be near the sea front - but wanting a pool at that budget I would not focus on area.

Instead of Monte Carlo (not a lot to do unless you like super luxury shopping, gambling in the casino) I would take the train or bus to some of the charming towns up in the hills, visit some of the smaller local museums etc or visit other towns along the coast.

And don;t forget al of the wonderful sights n Nice itself.

What nytraveler says is quite true - you would think there would be many pools in Nice but it is mostly only the higher end properties. I would try looking on booking.com or tripadvisor and see what you can find. Many of the properties in Nice were developed before pools became so common and since there was the beach......maybe try looking for a newer apartment or in another town along the coast.

I think your teens will really enjoy the "scene" in Nice - try not to be too far from the long promenade - very good people watching opportunities. And the transportation along the coast is very cheap, scenic and frequent by the local buses.

Thanks for the info and advice. It was suggested to me to stay in Nice as a base for seeing the French Riviera. This is our first time to the area ( and maybe my last )and we'll only be there for 4 days. So is there a better place to stay? I definitely would look at the local sites in Nice.

I guess the pool won't be that important then and that's no problem, but thanks. I have looked on tripadvisor and booking.com and they have been helpful. I now have a better idea and see my choices are more or less the same as any other large city.

Nice is a great base; easy transport to other towns along the coast by train. Early July is not the height of the holiday season yet. Check out the market on Cours Saleya. There's an antique market there on Mondays, food market on other days.
The beach is a pebble beach.
As Suec1 says, there's a lot of activity on the Promenade des Anglais. You can rent bicycles.

We have stayed at LaPerouse which is a wonderful hotel, with pool, but may be out of your price range with two rooms.

We also stayed at Mercure Notre Dame, which had a rooftop pool, and was less expensive than LaPerouse. Our room was unusually large, and we were very happy there, too. Not on the beach, but an easy walk.

You can walk to pretty much everything in Nice, and your teens will absolutely love it. Take an afternoon and take the bus to Cimiez for some ruins, if you're into it.

That budget will be tough for two rooms in July. You really don't need accommodations with a pool. The Mediterranean runs almost the entire length of Nice, and there are several private beach clubs with restaurants where you can rent daily lounges/umbrellas.

If beach clubs are too pricey for four people, you can also simply put down towels on the public beach.

I would look for accommodations that are close to Old Nice. You might try a rental company called www.NicePebbles.com. Full disclosure: I have never used it, but it seems to get very good reviews here and other places online.

Just a FYI: For several years in a row, we stayed at THE HOTEL WESTMINSTER in two connecting rooms, since we were traveling with our kids. The location is ideal- across the street from the sea- on the Promenade des Anglais. It's a sturdy 4-star, but I don't know if you'll be able to land two rooms for E500.

Also check HOTEL WINDSOR, a block or two down ( toward old Nice) from The Westminster.

Good luck-- I absolutely love Nice! One of my favorite cities.

Yes, La Peruse is wonderful - but pricey - I think there is a lower priced option right next door, Hotel Splendide? not sure it has a pool. You may want to go to Antibes for a day - there is a sandy, public beach there, very different than the promenade in Nice. I think there is also a very nice waterfront hotel in the area Hotel Welcome - not sure of its price point. Have a lovely time - Nice is nice!

Nice Pebbles has properties in al areas of Nice. Inwould want to be a shoet walking distance to the Promenade and the waterfront but west of Old Town. There are some very nice neighborhoods, for example, behing Hotel Negresco. I would not want to be in Old Town.

Hotel Splendide isn't next to La Perouse. It's on Blvd. Victor Hugo, a residential neighborhood within walking distance to Promenade des Anglais, but not fronting the sea.

We really liked the Hotel le Grimaldi. Easy walk to the Promenade and the beach. Markets within a block or two. Great breakfast for a small fee. Very good service. Beautiful building and rooms.

http://en.le-grimaldi.com/

I think it's within your budget. I shared a twin with DD a few years ago, and I think it was about $200.

No pool.

The Hôtel Suisse is next door to the La Perouse. While the rooms aren't large, they have beautiful views down the Promenade and out to the sea. No pool, though, but possibly within your budget.

If I had kids I who wanted to go to the beach I'd base elsewhere where you actually could for that price maybe get a hotel close to a sandy beach - not the large pebbly beach Nice is famous for. Antibes comes to mind - a regional town much smaller than Nice, one of the biggest cities in France. Has the same train and bus links as Nice plus one of the nicest beaches, at least on its east side toward Biot - I stayed in Biot with my kid once and the beach was a few-minute walk - large sandy beach plus there is a Water Park there where you could park the kids for a half-day whilst the adults do something not so fun for kids - like yet another museum!

Antibes itself is a wondrous old town with the romantic charm lacking in modern Nice - everything within walking distance - Nice is only a few minutes away by train.

Wow everyone! So much very helpful information and hotel suggestions! A big thanks!

Tulips, thanks for the markets and bike rentals info. Wasn't aware of those. And WWK, I haven't checked out the private beach clubs yet but just read that's there are some with weight rooms which my kids are asking about. HappyTrvlr, good to know about staying away from Old Town for hotels.

I will check out all the hotels mentioned as well as NicePebbles.com. I just may have to up the budget a bit. Now Antibes looks good too!

I'll keep you all posted. ��

Antibes is great for a day-trip by train from Nice. Try to avoid rush hours, as the train gets crowded.

But I think your kids would get bored staying there. Old Nice is fun to walk around, with great restaurants. Antibes is charming, but tiny.

Palenque, the beach outside Antibes towards Biot is also a pebble beach. There are no hotels along that beach, it is flanked by the road and railway. There's a small sandy beach in Antibes right underneath the walls (near the Port), and a larger one on the other side towards Cap d'Antibes (have a look at Hotel Josse, which has an amazing location and is I think a 3-star hotel).

Do a trip to Antibes from Nice in the late afternoon: walk around town for an hour, maybe go to the Picasso museum, visit the Provencal market and have dinner. Back to Nice after dinner. We're there often in early July, it's really not packed except for mornings when there's market.

If you are going for the beach, stay in Juan les Pins. Many people here don't like it, but for teens it's great. You can still do trips by train during the day, then come back and enjoy the large sandy beaches, restaurants and boutiques that are open until midnight.

If your aim is to visit museums, wander around town, and enjoy a view of the sea but not necessarily spend a day on the beach; go for Nice.

If it were up to my kids, they would definitely choose Juan les Pins over Nice as a place to stay.

This all depends on the rest of your trip: is it all cities, sightseeing and museums? Then you may want a few relaxing days by the beach.

3XMom; from looking at your itinerary and ages of your teens, I would definitely go for Juan les Pins. It's fun and lively, there's a great beach with lots of water sports. Your other stops on your trip are mostly cities.
Your boys can safely go out at night in Juan les Pins, there's lots of young people around who are on holiday.
You could do daytrips and leave the kids on their own at the beach, if you wanted to.

If you stick with your original destination, the Hotel Massenet in Nice is highly recommended with a great location and reasonable for 2 rooms. We also had a party of 4 with 2 teens with us. Buy breakfast elsewhere--cafes/creperies around the corner. Walk to train station, beach, Old Nice, etc. I don't believe there was a pool, but we were sightseeing so I'm not sure. There may have been an arrangement with a place nearby.

We took the train to Monaco for the day (probably not the best day trip but just to check it off our list). Only problem we encountered was no way to buy tickets at the machines in the Nice train station with our magnetic strip CCs. Had to wait in long line for attended window. This was a few years ago but I imagine you need chip and pin cards to use the machines.

http://maison-cresci.fr/fr/hotel-massenet/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...e.html#REVIEWS

Again, thanks so much everyone. Tulips, you continue to give me great info and suggestions. I'm beginning to see that we think alike so I will look into Juan-les-Pins and Antibes, since I do agree that the kids will like the chance to relax on a beach and generally just wander to cafes and markets before we hit the big museums and ruins cities. Mocha_dolce and Tabernash2, I will definitely take your suggestions into the mix.
I guess now I will describe Nice, Juan-les-Pins and Antibes to the kids and ask them how they would like their days to be.
Talk soon, and merci everyone!

And of course it's always possible to look around bit by google street view. That way you can get a pretty good impression of a place