My boyfriend and I are traveling to France & Amsterdam for 3 weeks this summer. I've booked 5 of my 6 hotels in France so far, but I'm stuck on where to stay in Nice. We will be there 4 nights, so I don't want a tiny, dingy place, but I also don't want to spend a fortune! Friends recommended we try Airbnb instead of a hotel, which I am completely open to doing, but where in Nice should I be looking? We picked Nice more as a home port; there isn't much I plan on doing in the city itself. However, I'm not sure staying near the train station is ideal. Can anyone recommend a location that is both central and safe? (Don't worry if it's loud; I live in a city and sleep better when it's not too quiet.) Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
Our tour last summer stayed here:
Hotel Univers Nice
Web: www.hotelunivers-nice.com
It was in an ideal location, one street over from the main square and a short distance from the promenade (where the attack was 3 days after we left...). I think some people in our group had nice rooms, ours was not very nice. It was clean and the breakfast was good, but the room was really small and the shower was really really small. However, you could look at the trip advisor reviews and decide if this is somewhere you'd like to stay, or at least use this as a starting point to look for something nearby.
I recommend Ibis for the affordability cleanliness and comfort. They have several locations near center of Nice and one near the airport but near the beach.
http://www.ibis.com/gb/city/hotels-nice-v2813.shtml
Also recom Ibis hotels, also one at airport.
Many coastal connections can also be made by bus, an alternative to the train. The bus stops are closer to the water, near Albert I Park and Place Garibaldi, depending on direction of travel.
I stayed at Hotel Solara in Nice a few years ago and I was very happy with the hotel and the location. It was on a pedestrian only street in the center with lots of shops and restaurants and close to Place Massena, old town, flower market, a couple of blocks from the waterfront and Promenade des Anglais or the bus stops. You can get the tram at Place Massena that goes to the train station for day trips by train. The hotel is not fancy but very nice and clean, very reasonalby priced, and gets good reviews on TA and booking.com.