The iconic view of Nice is the Hotel Negresco on the Promenade des Anglais. It shows up on post cards, tourists line up to take pictures of it, and the view was no doubt voted 'picture most likely to sell' at the local fridge-magnet convention (I know this because I have one of these fridge magnets in my sights).
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| Hotel Negresco |
The Hotel Negresco is a 'belle époque' hotel across from the Mediterranean, built in 1912 by Henri Negresco - the son of an inn-keeper from Romania who left home at age 15 to find fame and fortune in Paris. With a signature pink and green dome that was purportedly designed by Gustave Eiffel, and a 16,309-piece crystal chandelier in the lobby designed by Baccarat for Czar Nicholas II (who was unable to take delivery due to 'issues' at home), it is now a National Historic building and a member of the Leading Hotels in the world. Check it out:
http://www.hotel-negresco-nice.com/en/
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| 16,309 - count them! |
As young 'starving students' we were discouraged from entering, and as a result, I have never been inside the Negresco, although I can not remember whether we were kept out by an occasional 'stink-eye' from the doormen or if it was sour grapes on our behalf.
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| The lobby - yes, you can sit in the chairs |
Perhaps that it why this time, while checking out places to stay, we chose the Negresco. Yes, just like Henri Negresco, these one-time starving students can aspire to great heights, and if you dream big you can make it. (Royal Suite now available for just over 1000 euros per night.) Having said that, we are in the 'Residence Negresco' - private rental accommodations probably used by onsite staff in the hotel's heyday, that you can book on VRBO - entrance around the back 100 euros per night - because at heart we are still starving students.
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| Our place - just around the back.... |
