Overview

Hotel Beau Rivage is a step free, accessible 4 star hotel with a central location. It has about 100 bedrooms, restaurant, bar, lounge/ lobby area. There are some accessible rooms, which in France are known as rooms for PRM (People with Restricted Mobility). Perfect central location, a few doors down is the Opera House and the Cours Saleya, Nice’s flower market in the Old Town. The hotel also backs onto the sea front. Excellent public transport links close by and very central for Old Town, sea front and main shopping area.

Transport & Parking

There are a couple of step free public transport options from Nice Airport. In December 2019, tram line 2 was extended from Nice Airport to Nice Port Lympia. There platform for the tram is directly outside Terminal 2 and there is also a stop at Terminal 1. The trams are modern, with step free access from the platform. There are wheelchair spaces. This is the quickest way to get into Nice city centre as the trams are very frequent during the day and the journey time is very quick. The tram travels at street level to Centre Universitaire Méditerranéen and then goes underground from Alsace-Lorraine. I exited at Jean Médecin. There was a lift from platform to ticket hall level and then a second lift from ticket hall to street level. From here I could have exited the station and changed trams, at no additional cost and taken Line 1, one stop to Masséna. However, I walked from Jean Médecin and it was about a 8 – 10 minute, level walk with my case to the hotel. If you decide to take the tram from the Airport please note there are 2 tram lines that depart from the Airport. Tram Line 3 goes in a north direction to Saint – Isidore and most tourists won’t need this line. Tickets for the tram need to be purchased before you board and on the tram there is a machine to validate your ticket. There were machines on the tram platform. A single ticket for the tram or bus is 1.50 euro (December 2019). With a few exceptions such as the Airport bus number 98, the ticket allows you to change buses/trams as much as you like within 74 minutes, you will just need to validate your ticket on each vehicle you board. However, I brought a 10-trip ticket for 10 euros from the machine and I used it throughout my 5 days stay and still have 1 journey left to use next time I’m in Nice. The other option is to take the 98 airport bus from the airport bus stop into Nice. The bus is accessible. The fare is 6 euros (December 2019) and you can pay the bus driver. The bus goes along the sea front and you will need to get off at Albert 1er stop. It’s the first stop once the bus turns off the sea front, and the stop before is Congrès / Promenade. The journey takes about 20 minutes. From the Albert 1 er bus stop continue along the street in the direction the bus is travelling and remain on the same side of the road you are on. The first road on your right is Rue Saint François de Paule, turn into the road and the hotel is close by on the right hand side. The hotel takes up an entire block so it quite large and recognisable.

Access

The hotel has 2 separate entrances almost adjacent to each other. Both have clear glass, automatic double doors, see photo. There is a reception desk at standing height and a spacious lobby/ lounge area. There is lots of seating but the sofas are very low down, see photo, so I didn’t even try to use them as I would never have been able to get up unaided. On the photo behind the seating is a low wall with a padded cover on top, which provides additional seating. Also in the photos of lobby area are large pebble cushions, which playful nod to Nice having a pebble rather than sandy beach. On the ground floor there is also a step free bar with free standing tables and chairs, see photos, which I didn’t visit during my stay. There is also a step restaurant, accessed via a shallow slope. The restaurant area has free standing tables and chairs. The breakfast is self service with counters at standing height. I pre-booked an accessible room. There was no option to book an accessible room on the hotel’s website, but when I emailed them they replied promptly that they had an accessible room available. However, they had no photos of the room, and didn’t offer to take some photos for me. The room was classed as a superior room, but I was still slightly anxious about what to expected. However, I didn’t need to worry. I had room 123 on the first floor, with a street view. It was close to the lift. The room was opened manually using a key fob. The room was quite spacious. There was a double bed with a comfortable but firm mattress. There were bedside tables, desk and chair. There was a built in wardrobe/ shelves which is the only thing in the room which was not perfect. The wardrobe rail was high up so only accessible at standing height and the wardrobe space was quite short, fine for jackets and shirts but my dresses trailed on the floor of the wardrobe. There was limited shelving, which was fine for me on my own for a few days. Inside the wardrobe space was a small electronic safe (tablet not laptop size) which was at a good, easy to use height and there was no additional charge to use it. There was also a fridge which contained a minibar. There was also a kettle and flat screen TV with limited English channels. The wifi was free and excellent throughout the hotel. My ensuit bathroom was very spacious, see photos. There was a step free, roll in shower with a single horizontal grab rail and fold down shower chair with no arms. There was no shower screen or curtain and there was slate tiled flooring. I wear flip flops when I shower on holiday if there isn’t an obvious non slip flooring and I felt very safe in the shower area. The water did go on the floor but it dried very quickly without me having to wipe it. The toilet had a single grab rail on the wall and there was space under the sink for wheelchair access. I was very impressed with my room, it was comfortable, very clean and beautifully decorated with the painting above the bed, lovely bed linen and the wooden shutters at the windows. I loved my room and it was perfect for me. As well as my mobility disability, I had recently had a hysterectomy and I’m still feeling very tired at the end of the day. I knew after a day sightseeing, I was looking for a comfortable/ cosy room which I could relax in from early evening and feel that it was a treating myself rather than missing out going out for the evening, and this hotel and room was just what I was looking for.

Toilets

In my room I had an accessible toilet with a single grab rail and in the ground floor communal area there was also an accessible public toilet. It was signposted from reception. There was a manual door into the sink area which had wheelchair space below. Then there was a second manual door into the spacious toilet area. There was a single grab rail, see photos. There was no emergency cord and the door was unlocked/ didn’t require a special key to open it. The toilet was very clean.

Staff

When I arrived I was welcomed by the receiptionist. Check in was very quick. There was an offer to take my luggage and assist me to my room, which I didn’t require. At breakfast the staff were again very helpful and asked me if I required assistance with accessing the buffet. On day of departure I was able to leave my case and collect it later on.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Hotel Beau Rivage also has an internal, outdoor patio area which I didn’t explore while I was there. It also has its own section of the beach and hotel guest had hire a sun lounger/ umbrella at reduced rates plus there is a bar and restaurant area on the beach. It’s a really nice, comfortable, accessible hotel with excellent facilities and central location. It's well maintained and furnished. I booked directly with the hotel and they offered a discount non refundable rate which included breakfast, which for the quality of the hotel was amazing value. Breakfast buffet offered a great choice of excellent quality food and drink. Food was replenished quickly. In 1918, Henri Matisse, artist, stayed here on his first trip to Nice, I will be doing a separate review for the Matisse Museum in Nice. I love Nice and the Hotel Beau Rivage, I'd very happily return and highly recommend.

Photos