The Best Affordable Hotel in French Riviera
Hey Jetsetters! So I am excited to be sharing with you an amazing affordable hotel in an exotic destination! I have always wanted to visit the French Riviera in France. So many movies have been filmed in this beautiful location but has the reputation of being expensive. Due to that, I thought I could never afford to visit the French Riviera especially a hotel until I began to do research and stumbled across the Quality Hotel Menton Mediterranee in Menton France. Check out my video and review on why this hotel is the perfect affordable hotel to visit if you want to travel to the French Riviera. Stay tuned for my French Riviera Travel Guide here soon!
GETTING TO MENTON, FRANCE
When people think of the French Riviera, they first think of Nice, Cannes or Monaco. But there is one hidden gem of the beautiful Cote d’Azur called Menton which is the far eastern part of the French Riviera close to Italy. From my initial research, this city has so much characteristic and charm and not as crowded and more affordable compared to other popular cities and it lived up to the hype.
The airport you fly into is still Nice, France. It is the closest and main airport. We flew in from our stop in Paris and a one-way flight was only $60 and the flight only about an hour and half. From there, we took a taxi to the Nice Train station “Gare de Nice-Ville” and took the train to Menton. The ride was only about 40 min and was only about 10-12 euros and you can check timetables here.
From there we could have technically walked to Quality Hotel Menton Mediterranee which was only about 10 minute walk but with luggage we were unsure with hills and terrain and so we called an Uber. We actually found out from that drive that there really is not Uber in Menton, just Taxi but he happened to activate his Uber when we called for it. The hotel also confirmed the Uber situation because I called an Uber at checkout and the app could not connect to a driver.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
One thing that may be surprising you is why I am raving about a Quality Hotel. In the United States, Quality Hotels (Choice brand hotel) do not have the reputation of being really nice hotels. They are usually low class 2 star accommodations that you would book in a rural area. But we booked this hotel because I was shocked to see how nice this place was for being a Quality Hotel and of course the views.
Quality Hotel Menton Mediterranee is located in the heart of Menton, France very close to the beach. When you first walk in, the lobby area is very clean, smelled great and the receptionists were super nice and always helped us with our questions and gave us good advice on how to get around and where to go. I loved how they served us welcome drinks on a tray which was a cup of nice tea and cookie. They also have water and fresh made teas available at the front as well which were quite good!
The location of the hotel was just perfect because it was within walking distance of the historic city center, the beach and the area for restaurants and shopping. I got a lot of nice souvenirs here in Menton and they were at a great price.
THE ROOFTOP BAR & TERRACE
The main feature that attracted me to this hotel was their rooftop bar and terrace. You know I am the queen of rooftop and love enjoying a pretty view. The views from this terrace were so gorgeous and peaceful. You view of the beautiful mountainside, the greenery, the French style buildings, the historic center and of course thes sea.
The terrace is open for guests to enjoy the views on their tables and lounge chairs. The bar opens to the public later on in the evening til about 11pm. There is an indoor bar area with contemporary style seating and music is played and sometimes they have live music. It was definitely an area that I did not want to leave. They also have different events at night at the rooftop bar as well.
THE ROOM & VIEWS
As far as our room, we were very pleased! We got a balcony room with a beautiful view of the city and mountains. The view was obviously the highlight of room. There was a table and two chairs for us to sit and enjoy our sparkling water and fresh fruit bowl. They provided us both with sparkling and natural water which was nice as well as teas and coffee.
The room overall was nice and simple with some modern touches. No funny smells or anything like that. They provided robes and slippers which I absolutely love when hotels provides slippers. There was an enclosed space to hang clothes and luggage rack as well. The bathroom was a great size and they provided soap in the shower as well as your typically amenities. Hot water worked just fine as well.
Also included some lavender perfume products which France is known for lavender. Lavande was the brand and it smelled so good! I actually saw this brand at the airport and got some for gifts for friends and they all loved it. Also we enjoyed the boxes of chocolates as well!
BREAKFAST AT LE 5 RESTAURANT
Breakfast was served at the connecting Le 5 Restaurant. The dining room was a nice setup with nice water glasses, table mats and green plant at each table. The lighting was great giving it a nice clean relaxing feel.
It was a nice buffet spread of hot and cold items. There was an assortment of breads and jams which the jams were very good and local. They also had different sweet pastries, fresh fruits, cereal, yogurts, cheeses, eggs and ham. There was not pancakes or anything like that, but it is a restaurant and I did not check out the menu to see if there were any made to order options. Drink options included 3 different juices, coffee, espresso and cappuccino which was nice as well.
So overall we had a great experience here at Quality Hotel Menton Mediterranee and the experience made me to consider other Quality Hotels when traveling in the future. To here with a balcony was about $110 a night with adding breakfast and a basic room was about $90. Evidently some hotel chains in other countries can be a lot nicer that what we can find in the states. If we are to visit Menton again, we definitely see ourselves staying at this hotel and obviously recommending it to others!
