Where to Stay in Nice
Sandwiched along the French Riviera between Cannes and Monaco, Nice is the main hub for travel to the South of France. It's a city of about 2 million, but with the beach, narrow cobbled streets and hoppin' Old Town it's the perfect place to explore on foot or by rail.
We stayed in Nice several weekends over the last three months and did a lot, so to avoid a 1500 word post, I'll break our experiences up into three separate posts: accommodation, eating and exploring.
To get the most out of the city, we suggest staying in Nice for at least 3-4 full days. Over our three visits, we stayed at two places, one so amazing we went back, and one so horrible we felt obligated to warn fellow travelers.
We'll start with the good news. We stayed at Villa Saint Exupery Beach Hostel on two of our three trips to Nice and it was exactly what we wanted. The hostel is located right in Old Town, so you can walk everywhere (bars, restaurants, beaches, etc) within 5 minutes.
The staff was very relaxed, spoke perfect English, and were very helpful with any questions we had. Plus, they offer 2-3 different excursions every day, yoga classes and plenty of maps and guides for those who want to check out the city on their own.
Inside the hostel, the beds are comfy, bathrooms are basic, but clean and they have an awesome restaurant/bar with cheap food and drinks. Every night they put on a happy hour with 1 Euro beers, Pitchers of wine, cocktails and a Plat du Jour. This is perfect for pre-partying before heading out to Old Town!
One of the best things about this place though is their legendary cereal bar. They offer 9 different types of cereal to mix and match as you please, ranging from chocolatey goodness to wholesome granola and you can go back as much as you want. For those who aren't cereal lovers, they also set out fresh bread, jam and coffee too.
It's well priced compared to nearby accommodation with the cheapest option being a 12 bed mixed dorm. We stayed in a 4 bed mixed dorm (like the one in the picture above) both times and were happy with the price, room arrangement, privacy and security.
*Do be aware, accommodation rates in Nice and all along the French Riviera double in June, July and August, so try to avoid those months if possible.
Now for where not to stay. I would not recommend Hotel Acanthe to anyone visiting Nice...ever. To be brief, the location is great, but that's where the praise ends; everything else was awful.
The rooms were small and dingy, the bathroom was about 1 square meter with a leaky shower, there is no AC, bar, or restaurant, and to top it off the staff was incredibly rude and tried to charge us for an extra night that we never even booked.
Dealing with this place was way more stressful than it should have been, and that's the last thing you want when traveling!
