71 Best Hotels in The French Riviera, France

Ground-floor rooms at this pretty little villa with a pool open onto the flower-filled, manicured garden, where breakfast (€18) is served in the shade of a fig tree. Most rooms have regional-tile baths, quarry-tile floors, and Provençal fabrics.

On 11 acres of streamside greenery, this noble old olive mill has been turned into a lovely country inn—complete with beams, the original millwheel, and a pressoir (olive press) in the middle of the bar. Each room features a hint of Provence, quarry tiles, and Persian rugs. The big attraction is the restaurant, L’Escourtin, which is run by chef Philippe Choisy. Its monthly changing menus at have earned a faithful following of locals.

This elegantly modern hotel in Garavan, east of the town center next to Italy, is hard to beat when it comes to value, given that attentive service, a fitness room overlooking a solar-heated swimming pool, and contemporary furnishings all make it feel like a luxury hotel even though it's not. Although you can have the squeeze-your-own-OJ breakfast from the buffet served in your room (€14), if you want an early start, opt for the express breakfast bar (€6).

It's hard to believe that this little gem of a hotel, with its own courtyard garden, is smack in the middle of Nice, next to the pedestrian shopping streets and a five-minute walk from the old town. Rooms, with original ceiling molding and chandeliers, are done up in romantic style, and all of them look onto the garden scented with Mediterranean flowers and citrus fruits. This is a find, and owner Marion Hoffman goes out of her way to turn your vacation into a lasting memory.

As much a resort as a hotel, this modern waterfront complex with soundproofed rooms has deluxe comforts and amenities, including a broad beach terrace, and outdoor (unheated) pool, a casino, a restaurant, and access to the Old Course golf club next door. Guest rooms are white with splashes of color and have balconies and sea views from all sides. At the loungy yet glamorous restaurant-grill you can dine well while you gaze over the floodlit swimming pool.

What it lacks in Provençal character, this plush hotel on the green makes up for in modern comforts—each suite, decorated in soothing tones of beige and gray, is an independent apartment that has a separate living room as well as a kitchenette. Most accommodations have vast terraces overlooking the 18-hole golf course, which, with eight lakes, is quite challenging; it's also exclusive, though it's open to guests at the hotel at a preferential rate. The Cinq Mondes spa, set in a 19th-century country house, and the freshwater outdoor pool are steps from the green. The Royal Garden restaurant serves Provençal cuisine with an ethereal modern touch.

With an admiring wink at the nearby Villa Kerylos, this former residence hôtelière for British aristocrats invites you on an intimate voyage into neo-Hellenic style that features elegant 1950s-retro furnishings and wallpaper and fabrics that provide splashes of turquoise, lemon, aniseed, and red currant. Rooms in the main building (16 rooms are in L'Orangerie private villa) have views of the sea, garden, or mountains. Tropical vegetation surrounds the vast swimming pool and garden. 

One block from the beach and two from Place Masséna, this tiny budget hotel has small but bright rooms worthy of a more upscale establishment. The fifth-floor rooms have terraces, which are worth the extra cost; some of them look onto the lively pedestrian street below. Don't be put off by the unappealing ground-floor entrance and apparently rickety elevator, which is common in French buildings.

With its circa-1930s feel, exposed beams, chic acid-hued walls, and jewel-tone upholstery, this Italian-villa-cum-hotel amid a 7-acre pine forest is impressive. Relax, relax, relax—in the spa, in the garden, by the heated pool, or over a meal in the modern Mediterranean restaurant. It's very peaceful, although some might find the seclusion a little much.

Not only is this Belle Époque hotel (circa 1890) in the chic Quartier des Musiciens and just a couple of blocks up from the beach, but it has very reasonable rates. Most rooms are on the smallish side, but all have been renovated, and free coffee and tea facilities are provided. Some rooms also have a small balcony.

A quick walk up from Old Vence, this 100-year-old house has charming regional details—mix-and-match old furniture, fine local tiles and fabrics, homemade bath salts and jams—plus there's a giant magnolia outside that spreads its venerable branches over the terrace. Wi-Fi is free, and all the rooms have air-conditioning and coffee and tea fixings. There's a lounge by the pool, which opens when weather permits, and a nearby spa accommodates hotel guests.