Earlier this year Hyatt announced that four hotels in France would be rebranded as Hyatts, which I was really excited about. I love when independent hotels rebrand as chain hotels, since you get the consistency and benefits you get through a global loyalty program, while getting something other than the typical ”cookie cutter” experience.
Continue reading: Review: Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Mediterranee
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Nice report this will definitely give a good idea for a future weekend trip with my girlfriend. Since I live in Europe I have more flexibility in find a good rate to visit this awesome property!
About the wifi, well apart from my country(NL) the majority of the countries in Europe still lack good broadband connections. So it heavily depends on the region you're at if your lucky the broadband infrastructure is up to (our) standings, but you're more likely to have shitty infrastructure together with heavy load ( big hotels, etc in the area) effect the overall bandwith 🙁
When it comes to taxi's well in countries like Spain, France, England, the Netherlands, Switzerland and even Germany the costs of a taxi ride can be rather expensive. Also bear in mind that it is very common in Europe that governments allow taxis to charge per zone and or airport/bus terminals etc. this can really drive up the price of a short taxi ride unfortunately.
Can't wait to see more of this trip looks awesome. Especially Taipei!
Your waiter is probably crying after seeing you simply labeled all your breakfast photos "buffet" and left off all his superlatives. 🙂
Wow, beautiful. The rooms themselves look perfectly fine, but the sun, the beach, the breakfast... since I haven't been to the other hotel breakfast buffets you listed, I definitely wouldn't mind being give a tour of this one. maybe not over the top, but looks solidly delicious. Too bad you can't fly directly to Nice from the US (or more specifically my home airport of ORD). We are planning a weekend away, and Nice looks beautiful, but I want to fly to somewhere in Europe we can get to nonstop to maximize our time.
I wonder why it was branded as a Regency and not a Grand. It looks better than most Regency level hotels.
You should have stood your ground with the taxi driver who ripped you off. The hotel could have called in a complaint and backed you up.
@ Jamie -- For what it's worth there is nonstop service on Delta from JFK, though sadly they almost never release saver level award space.
@ Carl -- That's actually what impressed me, they did call the taxi company. The following day when I went to the concierge desk they still had a note about the incident on the desk.
Jus curious on average how many hours a day do you spend at the hotel on your trips?
@ Nic -- It really depends on the destination. In the Maldives, 24 hours, in cities a lot less. 😉
The thing is when I'm traveling I'm not "on vacation" in the same way that someone might be if they were taking their two weeks of vacation per year. So I still usually have to work 6-8 hours a day or so.
I'd say on average at a city hotel I probably work till about noon, then go outside from noon till 5PM or so, then work for a bit more at 5PM, and go to dinner at around 8PM. And then work a bit more when I get back.
So it really does vary, but I do spend a lot of time at hotels.
So glad you liked Nice > Cannes. Nice is wonderful, and I hear Cannes is very shallow with not much to do
Very Nice review! I love Nice; have you stayed at the Le Meriden, and if so, how do the rooms compare?
@ beachfan -- I only walked by the Le Meridien, and have to say it didn't look very nice. The rooms looked small and the entire hotel looked like it could use a refresh.
Having grown up in Nice, it's great to see a report about the hotel and hear that you enjoyed your time there. It's definitely a nice city, and honestly, a lot nicer during the off season when there's less traffic and tourists.
A tip for the future: the airport bus runs right along the Promenade des Anglais and drops off more or less anywhere along the route, before heading into the center of Nice. For the cost of a day pass (I believe it's 6.50 euros), you're able to get into Nice quickly and efficiently and then continue to use the public transit for the day. There are plans in the future to build out the tramway to the airport, but that's probably many years away.
The hotel actually took a look time to be constructed: prior to it opening, it was just the facade and a large empty area for many years as I believe the developer never had the money to finish the construction. It's nice to see that the hotel that did finally open is of quality.
How was the view from your Suite on the Regency floor? ... compared to the partial ocean view room?
Thanks
@ christo -- The views were actually more or less identical -- they both faced the pool/"courtyard" and then in the distance you could see the Mediterranean.
Nice looks awesome and this report has added to my desire to visit the South of France in the future...perhaps using my future BA Companion Pass? What other options other than the ridiculous US Asia via Europe option would you recommend for making the most of a trip that includes Europe and possibly Asia?
@ Jeremy -- Well generally speaking you'd be best off booking through a Star Alliance airline, since Air Canada Aeroplan, United, and US Airways all allow routings from the US to Asia via Europe, so that's the way to go, in my opinion.
Lucky you got robbed by the taxi driver. You should have asked for the meter price (usually between 22 and 27 euros, as shown on the Nice airport website). As a french person I find it very annoying because taxi drivers wouldn't dare trying that with french people and only rely on foreigners to do their scams. ..
I was there in 2010, and it was fresh enough. Got a suite, but I'm not a fan of Le Meridien styling, more form over function. A fairly spacious suite seemed cramped. due to the design. However, the balconies were super (soundproof windows kept down the noise).
The one drawback I saw from the pictures in the Hyatt was how the columns impeded the view.
Went to Nice and stayed at same hotel. Paid 55 euros for the taxi (by the meter!). Based on post 17 I got ripped off.
What works well for me in Europe is a mifi device using local sim cards. Way better than paying for hotel wifi where the free is weak and for a strong signal you have to pay up! Bought the GSM mifi device in Singapore...
Love to read the blog!
Glad you enjoyed it, Lucky - I had a great stay there about 18 months ago before it was a Hyatt. At that time I got a better deal booking a guaranteed partial sea view (same as your room) direct with the hotel than booking via FHR and hoping for an upgrade. Buffet looks pretty reasonable, better than most ones I've had in the US recently at least, albeit not on a par with the top ones in Asia!
I'd never bother with a taxi for a trip like that - it's only €6 or so to get the bus from the airport and it stops right outside the hotel!
Also worth a visit in the area is Eze - a small hilltop town on the way to Monaco.
The beach in Nice is not OK, full of cobblestones. I prefer the beaches further west. Antibes, Cannes have much better beaches and St Tropez even better. (Nikki Beach !)
I am surprised the hotel did not arrange to pick you up ( at your own expense) but usually they do. And indeed there is an airport bus service that goes next to this hotel. Very cheaply. Taxis in Europe are expensive.
We have an apartment in Nice and taxis are expensive! They also adjust the rates to/from the airport depending on the time of day or night. You actually may not have gotten ripped off. It may have been the set price for that particular cab. We've paid 35-40 euros in the past, but try to avoid them if we can. But often our flights are earlier than the bus starts so we have to use them! Definitely bus is great and the airport is so close.
Fabulous advice. We were registered for the JW Marriott in Cannes on points - 120,000 for three nights. At lunch, someone mentioned a wonderful stay at the Hotel Martinez - now a Hyatt - in Cannes. Checked Hyatt.com and was able to reserve at the Premier level for $188 per night! And that's for a room going for 600 EURO per night. Got my points back from Marriott and very much looking forward to our stay. Many thanks for the tip. Funny - I knew about them but back when I used to try to get Diamond status, put them out of my mind since no stay credit for certificate stays. But thanks to your reminder, I got a great deal.
The convenient bus from the airport to town only runs till around 6 or 7pm, and then the route changes to take 45 minutes or more. We learned the hard way when we stayed out by the airport for a few days.
We stayed three nights, 27 - 29 April 2016. We were offered a room with a view of the Promenade des Anglais and pool area which was obstructed by the pillars on the front of the hotel, so we went across the hall and took a "city" facing room on the 5th floor. Lucky's photos of the room looked like our King bed room. The hotel morning buffet was 1st class which they offered to deliver to our bedroom to allow us to eat on our terrace once we made our breakfast selections. Very nice. Service was very good throughout our stay. Our Mercedes taxi from the airport ran about 20 euros, as per the meter. Take a look at www.TripAdvisor.com to find things to do when in Nice, but by all means, take a walk to the Old Town (Vieille Ville): Cours Saleya, Flower Market.