Nice is, of course, an important centre for business and conferences as well as a year-round holiday destination. As a result, its hotels enjoy high occupancy levels so the incentive to upgrade or renovate can be limited. Sadly many establishments, irrespective of their category, generate a respectable profit without bothering too much about value for money or personal service.
There are, however, exceptions. How refreshing to find therefore, at the modest Nice Garden Hotel, a warm welcome, correct pricing and a matchless ambience that brings guests back year after year. Think of Nice Garden as a little bit of home from home.
Certainly, the entrance from the street (ring the bell) suggests a superior apartment rather than an hotel. In a smart, residential area with plenty of shops and restaurants, the location is surprisingly quiet – yet only fifteen minutes’ walk from the old town and about five from the beach.
All the accommodations have been recently updated, all are individually decorated in a simple, homely style and all overlook the petit jardin which is the hotel’s star feature. Here, on sunny spring mornings, you will take breakfast beneath the wisteria, wondering whether the home-made marmalade is sourced from the overhanging orange tree (yes, it is). And here Marion, your solicitous hostess, will enquire if there is anything you need make your stay chez elle even more memorable.