June 2, 2009
an interesting mix of ideas that left me with mixed feelings
This was such a mixed bag of ideas that would have easily earned a maximum rating if the location were simply cheaper. We paid 76 euros for a basic room with a bunk bed, without A/C, TV, lockbox and in a location significantly north of the city. That's way overpriced!
But that's my only point of contention - the rest is all good.
1/ Interesting mix of a hostel/hotel and of new/old. The site used to be a monastery some time ago and most of the old monk cells have been transformed to these tiny, basic rooms. But the main building now houses a huge dining hall and a lounge with a ton of couches and tables. Interior balcony has modern PCs all along one of the walls and WiFi is accessible from almost anywhere.
2/ The entire operation is handled by students hired temporarily by the owner of the Villa and it feels well organized. They're a travel-loving folk and know the area pretty well. They can assist with planning the day, with all kinds of questions, with laundry, and just about anything else. However, by the same token, they are students, and sometimes handle things inefficiently, sometimes aren't there and sometimes just don't seem to care much.
3/ Travel materials - there's plenty of binders around with info on the area, with flyers of local businesses and places to see, and there are maps of the area, with ideas on what to do given X number of days, bus schedules, etc.
4/ Kitchen/bar - both open daily, kitchen is mostly "self serve", i.e. clean after yourself and drop the silverware/dishes in detergent. Staff does the actual dishwashing. Bar carries different kinds of alcohols and a lot of local beer - prices are very good. There's also always coffee!!! and fresh brownies. Inexpensive dinners are available everyday and there's pizza past 10pm.
5/ Location - outright crappy. Must take the tram and then wait for the shuttle. At night, we had to a) wait for the tram downtown Nice b) sit on the tram for 15-20 mins (and that's from the tramstop next to the train station, not old Nice) and then wait almost 40 mins for the shuttle to arrive. Huge waste of time. However, next morning we caught a shuttle within 10 minutes or so and connected with a tram within 2-3 minutes, arriving in Old Nice about 25 mins later. So your mileage may vary... Anyway, this was the weakest point.
But that's my only point of contention - the rest is all good.
1/ Interesting mix of a hostel/hotel and of new/old. The site used to be a monastery some time ago and most of the old monk cells have been transformed to these tiny, basic rooms. But the main building now houses a huge dining hall and a lounge with a ton of couches and tables. Interior balcony has modern PCs all along one of the walls and WiFi is accessible from almost anywhere.
2/ The entire operation is handled by students hired temporarily by the owner of the Villa and it feels well organized. They're a travel-loving folk and know the area pretty well. They can assist with planning the day, with all kinds of questions, with laundry, and just about anything else. However, by the same token, they are students, and sometimes handle things inefficiently, sometimes aren't there and sometimes just don't seem to care much.
3/ Travel materials - there's plenty of binders around with info on the area, with flyers of local businesses and places to see, and there are maps of the area, with ideas on what to do given X number of days, bus schedules, etc.
4/ Kitchen/bar - both open daily, kitchen is mostly "self serve", i.e. clean after yourself and drop the silverware/dishes in detergent. Staff does the actual dishwashing. Bar carries different kinds of alcohols and a lot of local beer - prices are very good. There's also always coffee!!! and fresh brownies. Inexpensive dinners are available everyday and there's pizza past 10pm.
5/ Location - outright crappy. Must take the tram and then wait for the shuttle. At night, we had to a) wait for the tram downtown Nice b) sit on the tram for 15-20 mins (and that's from the tramstop next to the train station, not old Nice) and then wait almost 40 mins for the shuttle to arrive. Huge waste of time. However, next morning we caught a shuttle within 10 minutes or so and connected with a tram within 2-3 minutes, arriving in Old Nice about 25 mins later. So your mileage may vary... Anyway, this was the weakest point.
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