Hôtel Belles Rives

What makes this hotel : the people who work there-always smiling, happy to serve , working hard ; the views- they are incredible.; the food is also excellent here, we ate at 3 restaurants and loved absolutely everything. On arrival me and my husband were really seduced by the vibe of the hotel- having dinner on the terrace, listening to a pleasant quiet music surrounded by respectable well dressed people. Unfortunately, this vibe is only in the morning for breakfast and late in the evening for dinner. During the day there is a different story…the hotel allows anyone from the street on their very small beach as long as they pay for the sun loungers. We encountered quite unpleasant local people with lots of small badly behaved kids who came for the day and quite frankly didn’t give a damn. There are also salesmen with sunglasses and other cheap rubbish who come and bother guests. Not something I would expect from an upmarket hotel with a private beach. Unfortunately we also encountered a wedding during our stay. This meant that the bar area was completely closed off for the part of the evening ( it is quite small) and the guests were shuffled to one corner and had to put up with a party atmosphere for the rest of the night. There was no fashioned vibe that evening in the hotel. The beach bar closes at 5.30pm (!) , exactly when we wanted to sit on the beach and have a drink. Not for the convenience of the guests, clearly. Upon our departure we also noticed a strange” boat trip” added to the bill worth over €1000. Surely if someone had a boat trip they would have had to sign for it , not just give a room number? The receptionist did not bother to check any records and just removed it from the bill . This was not a mistake I would expect from an upmarket hotel.

I am writing this review as a reaction to the comments posted by the Belles Rives in regards to my husband’s negative review. First of all, the hotel never warned us of their change in plans. We were never contacted by the hotel. We discovered it ourselves and completely by chance! My husband wrote on August 31 and received an automatic reply that the hotel had received his mail. After several more emails to the hotel, they finally replied about two weeks later. We chose to go on this trip in order to experience the Belles Rives, and that area and had booked airfare. We were obviously very disappointed. We requested a comparable hotel, that is with five stars. The person with whom we were in contact did, indeed, offer to book us in at either the Negresco, Martinez, or Carlton. We wrote back that all of those hotels would be fine. We are familiar with the Negresco and wrote we would like to be transferred there. He replied that there would be building work and we would not be happy there. After that we were given the choice of La Pérouse in Nice — take it or leave it. No mention of the other hotels, nor of the Chateau Eza mentioned in the Belles Rives’ reply. It is true that we asked for an upgrade at La Pérouse as some rooms face a cliff wall. We did not request an upgrade elsewhere. Nor did we ask for a seaview room at the Negresco, this is nonsense! In the end, we have accepted La Pérouse as they assured us we would not get a room facing the cliff wall. Couldn’t the Belles Rives have done that??? Considering all the trouble they have caused, that would be the least they could do! The shocking thing is the rather rude mail we have received from the Belles Rives when my husband posted a negative review. In fact, he removed that first Tripadvisor review because he felt pressured to do so. On top of that, the hotel is clearly very poor at planning. After this experience and all the trouble we have gone through I would not trust them.

We have stayed at Belles Rives every summer for several years. We can’t wait to go back every year! The hotel is beautiful with a gorgeous view of the sea! We usually select a sea view room which never disappoints but have stayed in others with lovely views. The beds are comfortable and the decor charming. The staff are always warm and welcoming from arrival to check in , beach and restaurants . The concierge is always helpful to make restaurant reservations, beach chair reservations and car services. We love the restaurant La Passagère with interesting local fish, cheese and wine. My favorite part of Belles Rives, in addition to the staff( now I feel friends) is sitting on the jetty , swimming in the sea and watching the people water ski ! Belles Rives is a must stay! It’s a special place with many special people .

We stayed for 10 nights in July with our two daughters aged 4 and 7. The hotel is superbly located, both with respect to the stunning sea views and beach access, and also a short walk into Juan-Les-Pins. The hotel staff were warm, friendly and very helpful with all our requests. In particular the lovely ladies at breakfast on the terrace made our daughters feel very welcome and became friends with them. Our 4 year old keeps asking to go back to the hotel... For us it is essential that the hotel is family friendly, and the Belles Rives certainly is in our experience. We are all looking forward to visiting again!

Unfortunately, my experience at this restaurant was disappointing. Despite my expectations, the food was of poor quality and the dishes did not reflect the high prices at all. The portions were small and the flavors were not well-crafted. The service was also not up to par: I had to wait a long time for my order, and when it finally arrived, it was cold and unappealing. I do not recommend this place, there are many better options in the area that offer a much better quality-price ratio. I hope this review is helpful to you!

On 5 June I booked a three night stay at the Belles Rives for this coming November. I received confirmation from the hotel and was debited a 50% deposit. On 31 July, I discovered, purely by chance, that the hotel will be closed for the dates of our booking. I received no warning from the Belles Rives. On 31 July, when I discovered the closure, they still took bookings until 1 November. Now the season has been shortened to 26 October. I immediately wrote to the hotel but did not get a reply until two weeks later! We have booked airfare to Nice because we had relied on our confirmation and would not have otherwise gone to the Côte d'Azur at that particular time. The hotel has made no apology, no gesture, no attempt at conciliation, nor offered compensation for this great inconvenience and disappointment and the fact that we booked airline tickets because we relied on their confirmation. After many emails back and forth in the course of an additional two weeks, the Belles Rives has now offered to transfer our booking to a four-star hotel in Nice. Not quite the same thing as the five-star Belles Rives or its location in Juan-les-Pins. To make matters worse, the room category we are being offered as a solution is one that faces a cliff wall two meters away. I am definitely not satisfied with this "solution." A month after our first email, we still don't have a satisfactory solution. We have previously stayed at the Belle Rives' sister hotel, the Hotel Juana, which has the same owners. We liked the breakfasts, staff, and service and were expecting a similar relaxing experience or better. We did not expect to be treated this way by a five-star hotel! So be prepared for unpleasant surprises if you book this hotel!

In June I booked a three-night stay at the Hôtel Belles Rives for this coming November. The booking was confirmed and the hotel took half of the total amount as a deposit. Purely by chance, I discovered that the hotel will be closed in November. I was not warned or informed of this change. I wrote to the hotel on the 31 July. No reply. I have subsequently written several more emails to the Belles Rives but received no reply. Yesterday, 12 August, I finally heard from the hotel, but the person whom we are supposed to communicate with will be gone for the next nine days, so our problem has not yet been resolved. We booked a flight to Nice because we relied on our confirmation and had looked forward to a relaxing sea-side stay and to experiencing the Belles Rives. This is amazingly shabby and rude treatment by a five-star hotel. We have stayed at the Belles Rives’s sister hotel, the Hotel Juana (same owners), five or six times and been quite happy, but after this experience I would never dare book a stay there again either.

I booked a three-night stay at the Hôtel Belles Rives for this coming November. The booking was confirmed and the hotel took half of the total amount as a deposit. Purely by chance, I discovered that the hotel will be closed in November. I was not warned or informed of this change. I wrote to the hotel on the 31 July. No reply. I have subsequently written several more emails to the Belles Rives but have as yet received no reply. We booked a flight to Nice because we relied on our confirmation. This is amazingly shabby and rude treatment by a five-star hotel. We are being completely ignored. We have stayed at the Belles Rives’s sister hotel, the hotel Juana six times but after this experience I would never dare book a stay there again.

Went to Beach Club for the day. Very enjoyable. Lunch for three was okay. Two excellent salads, one cold burger. Views and ambience excellent and justify the price, but not cold food. Waitress distant ‘all good yes?’ No point in making fuss. Just paid and left. Overall, above average but given amount of staff, could be better.