The French Riviera has a new chic destination for European sunbathers.
Why reserve at Anantara Plaza in Nice?
Consider that it checks every box that Nice's stale hotel scene has been missing for decades. Finally, a centrally positioned luxury urban sanctuary with a view of the glittering Mediterranean, sleek contemporary lines, and an ultra-stylish rooftop dining deck and bar. Additionally, there is a restaurant serving up traditional Niçois dishes with Asian influences, as well as a spa offering a wide range of services using organic seaweed and locally produced essential oils instead of more widely available brands. The Anantara Plaza Nice, the group's first French property, is tucked away behind public gardens and the palm-lined seafront in the heart of the city's bustling "Golden Triangle" upscale shopping district. Surprisingly, however, the upper-floor suites and sun-drenched rooftop dining area are protected from daytime street noise and traffic.
Nice bar in Anantara Plaza
Prepare the scene
From a distance, this famous hotel's wonderfully restored 140-meter Belle Époque façade and its square-block size are unmistakably large, yet as you enter the quiet entry and are greeted by the staff, you can unwind. The metropolitan sophisticate attitude here isn't pompous or stuffy. Au contraire—beyond the enormous foyer, decked up with pastel colors of modern abstract art (solely for check-in), guests are draped on pistachio-hued velvet circular banquettes, drinking Earl Grey or flavored espresso at Les Colonnades, the ground-floor Deco-inspired luxurious tea salon. The place changes into a Champagne, oyster, and caviar bar when the sun sets. Aside from the decor, which includes high marble columns and light coming in from the golden dome above, this is not your typical setting for afternoon tea, especially when it comes to quirky bites. Their "Delici Carnival," which is displayed on a small brass Ferris wheel, has an exquisite selection of delicate finger foods à la Niçoise, such as focaccia toast topped with foie gras and a fig slip or flaky miniature pieces of pichade and pissaladiere (tomato and onion tarts). Mini macaroons with regional fruit jam and, most of all, cream-filled grey sea pebbles pay homage to Nice's famous beach stones, which are infamous for torturing unwary tourists who are walking about barefoot.
Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel 💚 pic.twitter.com/3BJTwKufN3
— CimónAlisa🕯 (@thecimonalisa) January 29, 2023
The background
Four years ago, news spread in Nice that one of the city's oldest jewel box hotels was undergoing an expensive, extensive refurbishment by the opulent Thailand-based hotel firm Anantara. The feeling of exhilaration was brief. 2020, the pandemic-plagued inhabitants shrugged and went about their business, dubiously eyeing the scaffolding. In July 1921, Nice was named a World Heritage Site, boosting budgets with the prospect of increased international visitors. And bring up timing. Currently, the Anantara Plaza is enjoying its unique, painstakingly repaired status while Nice actively advertises its 300-days-of-sunny attractiveness and official cuisine nissarde title (a handful of future four and five-star hotels are scrambling to open). The original Hotel de France (later known as the Plaza), a neoclassical structure built in 1848, was once one of the swankiest Riviera winter palaces for aristocrats and government officials from France, Britain, and Russia, including people like the president of France in the 1910s, Raymond Poincaré. And let's face it, the hotel has altered the landscape now that the imposing golden façade from the 1920s is once again up for sale.
Anantara Plaza bedroom Nice
The spaces
The 151 rooms and 38 suites' curved lines and sophisticated interiors come in a variety of sizes, they all have a similar design that features a potpourri of cream, beige sand textiles, grey, and dark teal furniture, jazzed up with old black and white Riviera images. The biggest suites resemble an urban pied-à-terre where you can go from the living room (complete with a well-equipped bar) to the dining area, which has velvet seats arranged around a black marble table. Nothing seems out of place, and the subduedly patterned beige carpets, parquet flooring, and green marble bathrooms cannot possibly compete with those arresting panoramic views from the bay windows. Our south-facing patio witnessed a wild technicolor sunset, with the Promenade des Anglais, black-shaded palms, and candy-colored clouds against an orange-smear of the sky to the left and the blue-grey slopes and red-ocher light of Old Nice to the right. (Later, around 5.30 am, my sleep-deprived spouse snuck outside to the balcony to observe the stars and stated he could hear the lapping waves.)
A restaurant at Nice's Anantara Plaza
Food and beverage
Rising star executive chef Denis Gamard (The Peninsula, Paris) immersed himself in the vibrant nissarde culinary scene two years ago, taking cooking workshops and exchanging recipes with other chefs. Since then, he has created dishes that are unique and inventive. You may describe them as reimagined Niçois recipes that incorporate the chef's Vietnamese heritage and passion for Asian ingredients with regional family-style customs. For lunch, you may have beef stew, a blanquette of veal, grilled local fish, or the abundant fixed-price buffet with oysters, shrimp, smoked salmon, mixed salads, and puddings. Breakfast is served on the rooftop restaurant's pergola-shaded terrace. For dinner, the location is transformed into SEEN by Olivier, run by Portuguese chef Olivier da Costa. Here, you can get everything from octopus carpaccio to main dishes like beef ravioli with candied kumquats, artichokes, and mushrooms to the long-simmered shoulder of lamb, as well as a featherlight Dulce de Leche soufflé for dessert. Wash it all down with a bottle of Château de Crémat organic red wine from 2020, Ananatara's special vintage. This wine is a combination of Grenache and folle noire grapes, which are cultivated and bottled in Bellet on Nice's western heights. After dusk, the atmosphere and the cuisine transform into a Mediterranean spectacular.
A globe map of Anantara hotel sites, from Bangkok to Barletta, served as inspiration for the bar's extremely imaginative and skillfully made drinks. The Socca Sour, a wonderful liquid evocation of Nice's iconic finger food paper-thin chickpea pancake cooked in a wood-fired oven and dusted with pepper, and the Carbonara Flip, a Roman brandy-based dish with a creamy egg zabaglione froth and a pecorino mousse, are the best chances.
Anantara Plaza restroom, nice
A spa
The enticing options, which include a large restaurant and five treatment rooms, complement the uniqueness of the organic cosmetics. The ginger and mimosa natural essential massage oil is a blend created by a small, locally owned family business called CHO Nature and the eco-friendly Thalion cosmetics line from Brittany, whose hand-harvested seaweed is brimming with reviving marine characteristics. Highlights include a unique 90-minute hot-cold stone and herbal pouch massage to clear toxins and the Hydra-Mineral Facial and Body Massage for an algae-based magnesium boost. The rooftop terrace hosts outdoor yoga lessons in the spring along with other programs.
The program
From the time you enter the foyer, the youthful, kind staff makes you feel at home in their sharp blue uniforms. If you see someone with a gold beach chair pin on their lapel (a homage to Nice's famous blue chairs along the Promenade des Anglais), be cautious since you may ask them anything because it resembles a concierge's golden key. A 24-hour concierge is also available to make special arrangements for outings, personal shopping, or even a bed for their beach.
Anantara Plaza bedroom Nice
The locality
Anantara is right in the middle of town, close to designer shops like Vuitton, Hermès, and Dinh Van as well as the bustling Place Massena, outdoor markets, and the maze-like network of winding cobblestone alleyways of Old Town, all of which are easily accessible on foot. Of course, a swim in the ocean is a must.
Who is this visitor?
Foreign clients of all ages, from newlyweds to couples in their senior years holding hands. Young professionals in Ray-Bans and shoppers taking selfies fill the rooftop restaurant around lunchtime, and in the evening, groups of friends assemble there for an after-work apéro.
Atrium Lounge at Anantara Plaza
For households and animals
Children are especially welcome in the nine interconnecting rooms designed for families. Who knew, too? Given that Nice is at the top of the list of dog-friendly French cities, your well-behaved dog is also welcome. (Canines have their beaches and are permitted on public transportation.)
Eco effort
Bathroom water reducers, LED lighting, plastic-free wood keys, sugar cane straws, glass filtered water bottles, and local food suppliers for anything from fish and meat to olive oil and wine are all to be expected.
Accessibility for people with disabilities
On the first, second, and third floors, there are elevators and five wheelchair-accessible rooms (in a range of three classifications).
Dining establishment at Anantara Plaza
Any other information?
As part of Denis Gamard's three-hour master cooking workshops, known as the "spice and spoons experience," you first visit the neighboring Old Town outdoor market before returning to the open kitchen to prepare the dish that he has selected for the day, such as a salade niçoise (the real deal, hold the lettuce, potatoes and green beans). Next, load your veggies, and while they bake, fill your pastry shell with custard t has been flavored with orange blossoms and Swiss chard. Then have a feast.
The Nice Jazz Festival, which takes place in the Albert 1er Gardens below in mid-July, maybe a plus for exclusive listening on your terrace, but you should expect a cranking-up decibel level till after midnight.
Oh la la Anantara debuts in France with the launch of the newly refurbished Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel https://t.co/I5krVUoZOj#France #Nice #resort #travel #Europe pic.twitter.com/ynMFaJgso7
— Anantara Hotels (@Anantara_Hotels) February 1, 2023
Does it merit it?
Absolutely. Not only is it a cutting-edge urban retreat near the ocean, but it's also a supremely pleasant spot to lay your head on.
The Anantara Plaza-Nice Hotel is located at 12 Avenue de Verdun in Nice, France.
Cost: Starting at roughly £310 per night