Best Western Premier Hotel West End
The hotel of the aristocratic travellers who invented "tourism"
Once upon a time, long, long ago, Nice was a tiny fishing port, so anxious to preserve its charm and character that its inhabitants spoke a language only they could understand, Nissart. The town's distinctive identity today remains such that this language is still understood and spoken by several tens of thousands of its inhabitants, exhibiting an unexpected streak of insularity in what is generally held to be one of the most cosmopolitan leisure destinations in the world.
It is to the English aristocracy that Nice owes its fate as world famous holiday resort. As early as the 17th century, England was sending its sailors, soldiers and merchants to the nearby port of Villefranche. In the 18th century, English aristocrats of the ilk of the Duke of York, Lady Fitzgerald and the parents of Henry Cavendish wintered in Nice, enjoying a mild climate they hastened to praise in their private circles. No less than 115 foreign families lived in Nice in 1787! For their amusement a casino, theatre and even a newspaper, the "Gazette de Nice" were founded. Following the harsh winter of 1820-21 and a sharp increase in beggars, Reverend Lewis Way, his wife and brother-in-law, Charles Whitby, collected funds to provide jobs for the unemployed. They organised the building of a 2-metre-wide walkway along the shorefront. The city of Nice extended the "Camin dai Inglès", which was officially christened the "Promenade des Anglais" in 1844.
At the same time and on this same promenade a sumptuous hotel that was soon to be called the West End was being built. The period also saw the emergence of two words that have become part of everyday speech: Richard Niven invented the term "dinosaur" and the discerning, curious aristocrats who devoted their leisure time to "touring" the world became known as "tourists". As a result, the hotel soon became a favourite with Europe's aristocracy.
The demands and standards of these privileged travellers were fulfilled by the West End more than anywhere else. The hotel has always endeavoured to offer its guests a quality of service but also an architecture and interior decoration to which they are accustomed. Today, despite significant modifications, the Best Western Premier Hotel West End can still claim to be Nice's oldest palace, not only because it was the first such institution, but also because it has tirelessly upheld the noble authenticity of its aristocratic vocation by the quality of its service, restaurant and decoration.
The cream-coloured lobby with its multiple arcades and dark wainscoting, the corridors and the sitting rooms are genuine little treasure troves of antiques, home to an impressive collection of Empire chests of drawers, writing desks and consoles, complete with secret drawers, Napoleon III armchairs and even urns of hats! The paintings that adorn the hotel depict everyday scenes of late 19th century life: a young lady daydreaming on a chaise longue, a game of croquet, dogs running in the countryside, Moors, sea views…
The backbone of the hotel is a ceremonial staircase whose highly polished walnut banister smells of sweet bees wax and on whose green wrought-ironwork can be read the initials "W E" entwined with flowers and rosettes picked out in old gold.
The hotel, that is equally proud of its daring English-inspired decorative heritage, has treated its guestrooms to brightly lacquered scarlet doors and gilt locks. In a similar creative vein, inside the eye is immediately attracted by the unusual chairs: wooden legs, vivid blue cushion seats and Havana-coloured leather triangular shaped backs whose empty centre reveals leather latticework somewhat reminiscent of the chic corsets designed by Jean-Paul Gauthier or Chantal Thomas.
All the guestrooms are different, either by their layout (high ceilings, split levels, terrace, on a corner of the facade or more family focused with twin beds in a separate room for the children) or by their decoration, depicted by rich warm colours that showcase the best of Riviera craftsmanship (Italian wainscoting and furniture, leather furniture, etc.).
"Le Siècle", the hotel's restaurant, was reopened in May 2003 after a makeover whose style is both contemporary and sober, where dark wood fixtures and a glass ceiling/well of light in the purest Mucha style in the centre of the restaurant, create an opulent turn-of-the-century atmosphere. The menu is equally prestigious, and in tribute to its quality, extremely popular with the locals. This popularity is due to the tasty cuisine but also to its unrivalled location close to the historic centre and its enchanting brightly coloured narrow pedestrian streets, without forgetting the added bonus of a sumptuous view of the Bay of Angels to boot.
The Best Western Premier Hotel West End is well and truly an institution in Nice and graciously accommodates the carefree Art de Vivre so emblematic of the Riviera: the summer "Palmeraie" bar welcomes guests in a laidback atmosphere beneath palm trees in the summer, adopting a trendier lounge spirit in the evenings. Beneath the hotel's balconies on the other side of the Promenade, the private beach would no doubt have found favour with Grace Kelly when she starred in "To Catch a Thief" on the Riviera, which was where she met Prince Rainier of Monaco.
| Best Western Premier Hotel West End |
| 31 promenade des anglais, Nice, France - FR-06000 |
| Phone: +33 (0) 4 92 14 44 00 Fax: +33 (0) 4 93 88 85 07 |