Hotel de Kent, Nice

My Fianc e booked a surprise weekend break in Nice. She booked us in to the H tel de Kent, as it advertises itself thus:

"Close to the very central Place Mass na and the famous Promenade des Anglais, De kent Hotel enjoys a prestigious situation in Nice. All the main city's attractions are easily accessible, including the beautiful beaches of the renowned C te d'Azur. In this property you will find a very friendly staff together with attentive and personalised service. The reception desk is open 24 hours a day for a prompt and helpful assistance to all guests. Public areas include comfortable lounges where guests can relax and read one of the nespapers available at the reception desk. The rooms were recently re-painted."

Location: Spot on. Right in the city centre, so close to the Old town, shopping areas located at Place Mass na and Nice Etoile, the casinos and the port and marina. There is really no need to use public transport to get around from this location. But that is really when the positive review ends!

The service: Simple, effective, but not overly personable really. The staff do speak English, but will let you try French. The staff did sketch on the City Map where things were located and offered to book trips, cruises, dinner, etc. You pay for the room on checking in, which makes it difficult should there be a problem with the room..

The room: Advertised as 3 star. Hmm, maybe a self evaluation and not AA, RAC or equivalent. The room was barely big enough to fit a double bed in! if you have a suitcase and any other bags, then good luck in finding room to fit it all in! There is very little space to hang clothes and the only space given to that is a small unit with a curtain across the front. The shelf in that was dirty and there is no drawer space! The carpet in the bedroom was filthy! Probably never seen a vacuum! They advertise a mini bar, but this is actually a fridge for your own use! There is a small (and I mean small) safe in the room, large enough for passports, wallets, but not a decent-sized camera. There a no small lamps in the room, just room lights. As for the bathroom, well, I'm 5'8" and there was no chance to stretch in the bath. I'd normally shower, but there was no hook to hang the shower head on. When you sat on the toilet, your feet were practically in the bath, the bathroom was so small! There was a plasma (?) tv on the wall, but with only 3 channels to watch, a waste of time. Good job Nice is a great city!!

Linen: Towels re-folded every day and may actually have been changed. The bed clothes were mercifully clean and the bed comfortable.

Food: Breakfast only, as no restaurant. The breakfast can cost you either 7 Euros or 7.50 Euros, depending upon which day you booked it! Typical south of France, as you get tea or coffee, orange juice, 1 croissant and 1 hard bread roll, with butter and jam. That's it. No meats or cheeses. We looked around and cafes, etc. but that seems to be the norm.

This hotel is not 3 star by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe a backpackers rest stop for 1 day? I would avoid this hotel, even if you're on a tight budget. I have to say, though, that the state of the room meant that we had a brilliant break, as we were out all day and late into the night, so we avoided coming back!! I actually had a good break, but that was down to Nice, the restaurants and the sights to see.