When we arrived at the Hotel Lepante I must admit we were a little underwhelmed by the rooms as they bore no resemblance to any of the photos on various websites. However, they were basic but clean and over the course of the 5 days there they provided everything we needed - clean sheets and towles every day, a clean bathroom and functioning shower. The hotel is in a good location for the station, shopping areas and Prom des Anglais and the staff were always pleasant and polite. All in all good value for the 360 euros we paid for a double room for 5 nights! Only one thing that was a pain (and that I hadn't seen mentioned anywhere before) is that there is no lift, so it was a bit of a drag to get up to the 3rd floor with luggage or at the end of a night's drinking!

The manager, Jerome, is not reliable - I made a reservation through the net but I made a mistake and 3 days before arriving I sent an email asking to cancel the additional days; he refused to do that saying that I didn't respect the cancellation policy, which was obviously false - I kept the copies of all the emails. He did the "right thing" only after we mentioned to call the police to solve the question; he changed the reserved room and afterwards we found that he has organized a (loud) party with some of his friends that lasted a couple of hours.
be aware!!!

My husband and I stayed at Hotel Lepante for 4 nights in Oct. 2004. This hotel is an excellent value for travellers who do a lot of sightseeing during the day and are not planning to spend too much time at a hotel (not looking for a luxurious, romantic accommodation). I would stay there again next time I'm in Nice:

Room:

The room we stayed in was basic (two single beds, a desk, a chair, and a wardrobe), but very clean and cheerful.

I agree with a previous reviewer that their website shows more expensive rooms, and what we got wasn't as elegant, but it was more than adequate.

There was an air conditioner (free), TV, and a shower.

We paid about 100CAN per night.

Hotel:

A nice, pleasant lobby but no elevator.

Noise Levels:

There was some noise on the street the first night, and the hotel was noisy on the weekend - it sounded like a couple of parties were going on. Note that rooms are not very sound proof.

We didn't find it too distracting or unbearble though.


Breakfast:

6 euros per person, includes a baguette, assorted jams and coffee. Served in a clean, cheerful room, or on a terrace.

Service:

The guy at the front desk spoke good English and was very helpful. The owner didn't speak English but was very pleasant. The service at breakfast was excellent.

Credit Cards:

We paid through Expedia, but then had to pay extra for the breakfast. The hotel didn't accept credit cards.

Parking:

There is no free hotel parking, and searching for free street parking is a bit of a hassle, but we managed every time.

Location:

Excellent location, very convenient. 15 min walking distance to the train station, and 15 min to the Promenade. Lots of restaurants and cafes within 10 min walking distance.

Groceries:

There is a grocery store about 1/2 block from the hotel (same side of the street, on the left if you are facing the hotel). We were too tired after a full day of sightseeing to go out every night, so we'd get a baguette, cheese (simply excellent variety and quality, quite a bit less expensive than in Canada), and mineral water (also good value) or wine. This made for a great supper for about 7-8 euros for both of us (if memory serves).

Car:

The hotel has a deal with one of local rental agencies - apparently a much better deal than booking online with Avis etc. We had the car prebooked, so we didn't try this service - but it might be worth inquiring into when you are booking your trip.

The first night they gave us a really bad room that looked nothing like the ones on the web. On the pictures you see the furniture from their most expensive room although everything in the inexpensive rooms is completely different (and not nearly as good).

Consequently we wanted to move out early but then they told us that because we had booked online (with ActiveHotels) we would have to pay for all the nights that we had booked, regardless of how soon we moved out. They claimed that it was a policy of ActiveHotels. Later we called ActiveHotels and discovered that in reality it was an unwritten policy of Lepante Hotel. The hotel had our credit card number so there was nothing we could do. In other words if you go here, expect the hotel staff to lie to you.

The prices listed for this hotel do not include taxes.