Hyatt Regency Nice, Palais de la MediterranéeLe Palais has been at the centre of life on the Promenade des Anglais, Baie des Anges for almost a century. It has been a glittering ballroom, and a casino before its rebirth as a luxury hotel. Everyone who was anyone during France's golden age of culture has stayed, played or performed here, from Edith Piaf to Yves Montand and Johnny Hallyday.
Remodelled and reopened as a hotel in 2004, le Palais retains its Art Deco, classically inspired façade. Within the shell though, there now exists a separate world of luxury befitting its prime location on the Côte d'Azur. Beyond the beautiful and cool lobby lies an excellent hotel in one of the world's premier locations. We are not sure why Hyatt decided to launch a Regency property here, not a Park. It can't be size, PH Abu Dhabi has 306 rooms and suites to Nice's 187. It can't be architecture, what could beat the achingly cool Art Deco Palais de la Mediterranée. It can't be location, there are Parks in Siem Reap, Dubai and Shanghai and surely, there is no more boutique location than Nice, Côte d'Azur, France? Nonetheless, this is a very strong Hyatt Regency offering. Executive KingInterestingly, the room category appears under "Deluxe" on the hotel's website. You have to select Deluxe then scroll down to a submenu. Situated on the corners of the building, at 60 sqm these rooms are very spacious and the views of the Côte d'Azur are breathtaking.
Many hotels would define this as a junior suite as there is, in effect a separate lounge and a dining table, again with great views. The only drawback for me is that the balcony is overlooking the inner courtyard so it doesn't get full sun. I like to sunbathe. The bathroom facility is correspondingly generous and has his and hers washstands so no need to bicker over whose bag goes where. Tastefully finished with umber toned marble and lighter wood, everything is elegant and works well. The taps alone are a masterpiece of design. DiningIn-house dining options here are simple. There is one bar/lounge and a restaurant adjacent to the Terrace on the third floor. When the weather allows, which is often, this is one of the best views you'll find from a hotel poolside terrace bar. The colour of the bay is simply magical and the terrace is serene beneath the arches of the Art Deco façade preserved during the hotel's creation just 11 years ago.
The restaurant is beautiful and its warm tones create a cosseting ambience perfect for romantic evenings. The indoor bar is equally atmospheric and a perfect place to enjoy Champagne and canapés any time of day. As there is no Regency Club here, diamond members staying receive a complimentary drink with a generous limit - we chose Tattinger bubbles. There is of course a fourth option, room service. We were lucky enough to be allocated a ninth floor sea view room and, as the sun was shining merrily we couldn't resist the ultimate luxury, breakfast on your own private balcony overlooking that dreamy blue bay. The pictures show the very professional breakfast setup and everything arrived exactly at the requested hour. Unfortunately, the lack of a hot box meant that the eggs arrived tepid and the fruit selection was disappointing. However, the gorgeous view more than made up for this. |
Deluxe KingThere are two designs apparent in the guest rooms at Hyatt Regency Nice. Both are contemporary takes on the Art Deco origins of le Palais but they have separate designers. This deluxe king is from the 2011 remodelling. We like the warm tones of the fabrics which are a little richer than the more northern European and slightly spare designs in the other, more recently refurbished rooms. At 45 sqm it is a generous room.
I need good coffee in a hotel so the presence of a Nespresso machine is very welcome. Note though that our room at the hotel (a Sea-view King) had no tea or coffee making facilities, although we were promised that kettles will be installed throughout within a week. The bathroom featured copious marble, including an excellent shower with huge rain shower head. Interestingly, the toilet is in separate room. We had a few minor plumbing issues but there was copious hot water. Choose a sea view and bask in the sun on the balcony as you watch the planes approaching Aeroport Nice Côte d'Azur and the people strolling by on the Promenade des Anglais. Sea-view SuiteShown here is the Sea View Suite. At 105 square metres, the suite boasts a completely separate lounge as you would expect. Large wardrobe and dressing space allows for a prolonged stay but the official maximum is three people per room, families with more than one child will need a second room. This is high luxury for a couple though and everything is again appointed and equipped to a good standard. All the little extras like a safe big enough to store a laptop and with a charger socket inside, and those lovely dressing gowns and slippers, an ironing board for those occasional crushed shirts and skirts and of course, the inevitable second TV set. They are large flat screen sets which are great if you like that sort of thing.
Only the Penthouse Suite is larger, though that occupies prime position on the 9th floor so it catches all the sunshine. We haven't featured it here because it's beyond the reach of most guests. LeisureAs mentioned in the dining section, Hyatt Regency Nice has a very pretty terrace enclosed within the old Art Deco façade. It houses a large free-form swimming pool which is part indoor and part outdoor with a communicating channel so that you can swim between the two. The outdoor section of the pool is adjacent to the pool bar and terrace on the third floor of the hotel. It is a very cool place to sit and sip Champagne and cocktails, overlooking the promenade.
There is also a small fitness room equipped with very good quality equipment but it is quite small. When we viewed it there was only one person using it (Monday 4pm) and it is fine by general 5* hotel standards. However, this is definitely a fitness room and not a gym. Separately located on the third floor is a sauna and steam room (not a Hammam as the hotel claims). It was strange that these were tucked away here and we can't imagine many guests using them. Having expected a Turkish-stlye Hammam similar to Park Hyatt Ararat Moscow, we were disappointed. |
Overall Impression
As it is a Regency we had modest expectations. We were very surprised, indeed delighted both by the hotel's location, the rooms, the service standards and Nice as a destination. We are not misty eyed Francophiles. We generally like northern European culture and South East Asian standards of service and are irritated by the gallic shrug and insouciance. The fact we fell in love with Hyatt Regency Nice and the city of Nice in general therefore speaks volumes. We have already booked our next visit. Need I say more?
That is not to say there were no issues with our stay. Negotiating a late-check out was a tedious affair and required chasing on our part, the lack of even a simple kettle in the room was disappointing and the room service dinner we ordered was not delivered as ordered and seemed overpriced (26 euro for a chicken breast despite this being more than almost all whole meals on the menu - extra for salad and chips). However, the setting of the hotel in the lovely city of Nice is the perfect location for a weekend away and there are plenty of decent bistros a short stroll away.
There is so much to do and see in Nice and on the Côte d'Azur from parks and gardens to architecture to art galleries and theatre. The shopping is out of this world and includes everything from the weekly bric-a-brac market through serious antique and collectables to every top designer label under the sun if you go down the coast to Cannes, where the Grand Hyatt is also worth a visit. It looks as though we'll be spending a little more time in France in the coming years.
That is not to say there were no issues with our stay. Negotiating a late-check out was a tedious affair and required chasing on our part, the lack of even a simple kettle in the room was disappointing and the room service dinner we ordered was not delivered as ordered and seemed overpriced (26 euro for a chicken breast despite this being more than almost all whole meals on the menu - extra for salad and chips). However, the setting of the hotel in the lovely city of Nice is the perfect location for a weekend away and there are plenty of decent bistros a short stroll away.
There is so much to do and see in Nice and on the Côte d'Azur from parks and gardens to architecture to art galleries and theatre. The shopping is out of this world and includes everything from the weekly bric-a-brac market through serious antique and collectables to every top designer label under the sun if you go down the coast to Cannes, where the Grand Hyatt is also worth a visit. It looks as though we'll be spending a little more time in France in the coming years.