What a delightful surprise! DISCLAIMER: We got to this hotel after a very grueling day... a rail strike in France caused us to trade our tickets from Montpellier to Nice and go by bus instead. The bus was TWO HOURS late; the seats on the bus reminded me of why we chose to go by rail instead, AND the bus stopped only at the Nice Airport - not center city... so still a €42 taxi ride to our hotel. Okay, so I might have been a tad grumpy by the time we got here...
That said, reception stayed open just waiting for us. Although staff is available 24/7, the desk closes down once the last guests arrive. So kudos to the young woman that checked us in, 2.5 hours later than she expected to. She was warm, accommodating, and allowed all of the faux pas I made trying to explain our situation in French. (Clearly, my Duolingo lessons did not hold up under stress.). She then welcomed us in English.
The hotel itself is established on a model of integrating persons into society - whether for people of special needs or folks that made poor choices earlier in life, or those just down on their luck. I hadn't known this ahead of time, but if I had, I *certainly* would have selected this hotel. I cherish their values of giving people a chance, no matter what their circumstances. The physical layout of the hotel is interesting. The elevator is LARGE. The halls are long and somewhat stark. The rooms are spacious, well-appointed and immaculately clean! Each has a window and a balcony. Ours overlooked the tops of the building next door, which sported energy-saving sod on the roof, with indigenous plants. Super! Although not in the center of Nice, the hotel is just two blocks from the local tram stop, so about an 8 minute ride to get there. As it is not in the center, there are also fewer restaurants nearby - although a number of them have 4-5 star reviews. By the time we headed out to get something to eat it was 21:30, and the only place we had the energy to get to was a small pizza joint a little less than a half-kilometer away. (That's about a 7-minute walk, and the neighborhood is safe in the evening.). The pizza was excellent, by the way! Oh, but if you choose to (and get here at a more reasonable time) the hotel has a restaurant of its own. Although we didn't get the opportunity to eat there, the folks we saw that were chowing down seemed to be enjoying their meals.
So... would I come back here the next time we visit Nice? ABSOLUTELY!! These folks turned a miserable day into an absolute joy. Thank you, staff! read more