Hotel Helvétique - Nice

The room was facing the street and the noise from the traffic was loud. The air conditioning was not working, and when asked from the reception they gave an explanation that it can not be turned on for seven days because if was just fixed, it sounded a bit strange... We survived by keeping the balcony door open and listening the traffic by evenings and mornings. The toilet was recently renewed and was really nice. Breakfast was moderate, worth having for the money. The location of the hotel was excellent! Very close to the old town and to the beach.

The best thing about the hotel Helvetique is the staff. each person was wonderful. helpful, kind and always available. The room was good value for money -very large - even the bathroom was easily big enough for two to be in at once. the only downside is the insulation. outside noise is minimal, but the insulation between rooms is rather poor. I was lucky as my neighbours got up late and went to bed early, but it could be a problem if the people above or beside you were noisy. overall a great experience.

This is my second stay at the Helvetique, which is very good in most respects and very well situated in Nice centre. I only have two niggles; one is the level of sound/noise that can be heard from other rooms/public areas (plumbing; voices etc.). Not a huge problem, but can be irritating in the evenings or early hourts of the morning - I think the walls must be very thin! The second issue concerns having the bathroom and toilet situated at different ends of the room. They are both very modern suites and spotless, but it is not very hygenic. Overall very good though and I would definately stay again. Very friendly staff and most welcoming.

This hotel is located very close to Place Massena in the heart of Nice - easy to walk to Old Nice or the seafront, as well as being just off the main shopping street with its frequent trams. My room on the 2nd floor was at the back so was totally quiet. I had single occupancy of a twin room and was surprised how big the room was - a lobby with clothes storage, a fair sized bedroom (with a table and two chairs by the window) and a good-sized modernized shower room (& sep. w.c.). Air-con unit on wall, user-controlled, was useful as nights were hot (even in early Oct). Flat screen TV worked well, as did free wi-fi (best signal in lounge next to breakfast room). Breakfast was ok for price, I thought, and included yoghurt and fresh fruit pieces as well as juice and pastries. Staff efficient and helpful. Hotel interiors clean - not shabby at all. Would recommend this hotel, which gave good value for money. I also liked the fact that immediately after booking via this website, the proprietor emailed me direct to ask my arrival time. That was reassuring.

Our stay at Hotel Helvetique was quite comfortable. We were a family of four and the room was spacious enough, however, the toilet being separate from the rest of the bathroom was somewhat awkward...perhaps a more common thing in some of the older hotels in France. Location was excellent. This hotel was great value for your money.

Great choice for a two star hotel! The staff were really very friendly and helpful. The rooms were clean. And the location is great. Breakfast was very good. Totally enjoyed our stay.

hotel helvetique is very spacious great location a few minute from the tram and Massena place.the breakfast not so good bad coffe(6.9 euros)there's a lot of coffe shops.i recommand this hotel for vacation the staff is very professional.my booking was because good revues and i am not dissapointed.i will return again.

Great front desk service. Great location. Very clean room.

Love this hotel! Room is very spacious and clean. Staff was really friendly and helpful as well, will definitely stay here again if i return to Nice.

I normally go for a 3star but this although 2 was good value and I would recommend it.

The hotel was a perfect base for the Monaco GP weekend and ideally located near the bus, beach and central Nice. We found the four staff working on the 24 hr reception very helpful and informative about Nice and the local area and services, and they all spoke good English if required. As a two star hotel it was very clean, rooms had sufficient space for storage and had the advantages of air conditioning, a fridge and hire of a beach towel for a nominal refundable deposit, our room at the rear was very quiet. Overall we would have no hesitation in recommending the Hotel Helvetique

A quiet and nice hotel at an excellent address close to all the things we wanted to see or visit and to buses and trams. And the personell/reception was extremely helpful and nice.

Good central position. Superior double room on third floor rear facing which was clean and spacious. Fully tiled bathroom with walk in shower. Fully tiled separate toilet but which is the smallest I've ever used ( less than 75cm square ) but do not be detracted by this! Reception staff friendly and helpful. Would stay here again.

Our twin room was spacious with lots of room for luggage. Bathroom was modern with large tub/shower, bidet and sink. Separate WC. Very clean with new towels daily. Had 2 chairs, desk,frig, tv, ac,and safe. Excellent breakfast for reasonable price: juices, fruit, yogurt;pastries/bread;coffee, tea, hot choc; 2 cereals. Free internet in lounge area. Ideally located 1.5 blocks from Rue Jean Medicin and Place Messina. Very quiet at night. Highly recommend. Staff excellent and speak English.

excellent quality/price ratio

Good location, plenty of food available nearby and close to restaurant strip and Le Promenade des Anglais about 10 minutes or so from the railway station an easy walk with bagage

Very happy with everything at the Hotel Helvetique. Have recommended it to friends. Front desk staff brilliant. Look forward to a return visit.

A no-nonsense hotel without unique charm, but with large rooms and efficient, silent air conditioning which made the stay comfortable. Good location near the Galeries Lafayette and Place Masséna. Breakfast was good, a typical ”petit déjeuner complet à la française” served by a friendly woman. Minor complaint: the wi-fi connection was somewhat weak in my room. All in all a decent hotel.

Good budget hotel with friendly and helpful staff. Exellent location; in a quiet street close to Place Massena, restaurant-streets, beach and oldtown. Airco and cold fridge in room. Good beds. This was our 3rd time at the same hotel, and will gladly recommend it to others :)

The staff from the reception in very nice, but the cleanning is not very good. The bathroom door didn´t close, the air conditioning didn´t work properly. The hotel needs a modernization.

Very basic hotel in an excellent position. Very easy walk to beach and old town. Handy to everything. 20 min walk to station. Bus from airport drops off not far away just in front of information center. Young man on in afternoon/evening very helpful. Others a little indifferent. Hotel is old and rooms very plain but spacious. The exception is the smallest toilet cubicle I have ever seen. I am not quite 5 foot 4 inches and I couldn't shut the door as my knees were touching the door. The other two positives to mention are air con and fridge in room.

Nice place and excellent location downtime Nice.Everything is within walking distance. The hotel was renovated lately. Staff is nice and caring.

Please repair the bathroom...It was broken last year (I have the same room, this year) and it's still broken. Everything else ok!

Its a very good price / quality ratio! The hotel is located very near to the center, to the shopping malls, and to the sea. The hotel itself is proper, practical and for all tourists appropriate, who look for a good hotel at a lower price.

I would recommend this hotel because of position but above all because of reliable and excelent stuff

The hotel is well situated for both the bus and train station, main shopping street and the beach. All within 10 minutes walk. The entrance to the hotel is easy to miss. The receptionist on our arrival was extremely helpful and spoke very good english. The stairs to the rooms and the rooms themselves could do with a makeover as they are very tired. The room was clean and tidy with a comfortable bed. The bathroom again was tired and could do with complete replacement. There was quite a lot of noise from the adjoining rooms and also the corridor. Just remember it is a two star so don't expect luxury.

The rooms are clean and the furniture is in good condittions,but the walls need to be renovated. Very good location (10 min. walk to the beach).

There was no light in the hall. Basically not a nice room, with nice, modern furniture. The carpet seems rather old and un-fresh. The bathroom and the shower were ok. The breakfast room takes about 3o guests at small tables. Should be bigger and better organized. Sevice and food were ok.

Great place for the price. It is well located (close to tram stop which is 2 stops from train station, and bus station is within walking distance). Quick 10 minute walk to beach and Promenade des Anglais. The breakfast is worth the cost. The 98 bus from the airport is inexpensive and convenient. Also close to Old Nice and its restaurants. I would recommend this hotel.

Good: Location Bad: Air conditioning barely works, bed bugs -- we were all badly bitten, dirty carpets and walls, stained sheets and towels

It's a basic hotel but good value for money. Location is excellent, near the bus terminal, bus/tram stops, and shopping area. 10 minutes walk to the old town. I was very happy.

During our 3 weeks trip in France & Spain, Hotel Helvetique in Nice was our home for 2 great nights (July 22 – 24, 2010). We had a double superior room for 77€/night on the 2nd floor and have chosen this hotel for its value and good reviews from other travelers. GOOD: The location is central to everything that what we needed in Nice (Vieux Nice, the Promenade des Anglais, the train station and the bus station to Monaco). The room is spacious and the beds are pretty comfortable. The room had a decent shower with hot water at all times. The free Wi-Fi was very convenient and the AC was pretty good (located above the door). All of the staff spoke a bit of English (some more than others). BAD: Our room had the backyard view which means that there was no point in ever opening the window (not that we cared about the view). The safe requires an extra key that must be picked up from the reception for a 20€ cash deposit which gets refunded at the end (no complaints about the safety of the safe as it is actually part of the wall and we did carry the safe key with us at all times). The staff asks you to leave the huge door key at the reception which we chose to do since it would be difficult to carry it around(the keys cannot be seen by other guests at the front). We haven’t tried the breakfast and we did not have a car rental to test parking availability, so we can’t comment on those. We would stay at this hotel again!

The location is quite convenient, and staff are nice and helpful. However the hotel is really old. The lobby was definitely renovated, but the room was kind of disappointment. The carpet looks old and dirty, and we wonder when was the last time they cleaned the wall, and you can see dust at some corners where people do not touch all the time.

The rooms were clean and comfortable and the staff very helpful. We arrived early but because our room was ready we were allowed to check in before 2pm which was very welcome. However, the room was quite stuffy with four people in it.

Excellent location, friendly staff, very clean rooms - perfect vacation!

Very polite and competented staff, spacious room, free WI-FI, fridge. Good location - only 5 minutes walk from beach. Only positive emotions! Thank you.

Welcoming and hight competences of staff.

We were pleasantly surprised that the hotel was in the city center, 3-5 minutes walk to the Promenade des Anglais but it was not noisy. We took a room "twin-superior", there was an empty fridge, which was very convenient. The hotel has an lift. The employees were very kind and hospitable. At the hotel you can take beach towels, but you have to leave as a deposit of 10 euros apiece. Of the minuses: The hotel was poor ventilation, especially in the bathroom. Breakfast was too similar even for a short stay(tea or coffee, oatmeal, milk, croissants, bread, butter and jam).

The hotel is old, you can see, but well cleaned. The employees kind and nice.

Very good hotel for its prize, large rooms.

The location of this hotel is excellent. It is reasonably priced but basic, ideal for a place to change after the beach and as a crash pad!

The Hotel Helvetique was lovely and the staff were very welcoming and accommodating. The room was comfortable, a little tight for four adults and the bathroom was a great size. The location was brilliant and an easy walk to everything - shops, restaurants, the beach etc. It was a shame we only spent the one night there, but we will happily come back to the Hotel Helvetique in the future and gladly recommend it to anyone wanting to stay in Nice.

Good experience!

The location is very good,downtown arears close to the old town and the beach.All the receptionists were very kind and helpful.The only complaint was that the space of its parking lot was too narrow to get into and get out. Almost everything except that was very nice and comfortable.

The hotel was located very close to the main shopping areas and just a short walk from the old town and the Gare Routiere - a perfect location for our short stay. There was a bar nearby and a restaurant we would have tried but we persuaded ourselves to use those in the nearby Marche des Fleurs. Our room was clean, bathroom a little cramped but acceptable, and located away from the street. Staircase from reception was a little tired and scruffy. Staff were all very friendly and competent. Marked down on noise only because someone held a lengthy and loud conversation outside our door at 5.00am. - though this was not the fault of the hotel (but would have been muted by soft furnishing in the corridor)!

I was travelling with my 70 year old mother, and we were especially grateful for the helpful english speaking staff.

They accommodated our early check in very graciously. The room was very large for in-town, in Europe, although a touch shabby and charmless. Our location was extremely convenient for walking around town and catching the bus to the Jazz Festival and Matisse Museum. Our room, at the back of the property, looked out at a "city courtyard" and was extremely quiet and tranquil. Breakfast was ready when promised and a value for the price. They got us a cab to the airport as promised. We thought it was a bargain -- but don't expect 3 or 4 star elegance or decor.

This little hotel is a bargain, excellent location, spacious rooms and nice staff.

The hotel is in an excellent location, close to the beach, the old town and the other sites of Nice. All the staff were extremely helpful and efficient, from reception to all the maids. We did not use the restaurant, so I can't comment on that. The room was furnished basically, but the beds were comfortable and the AC worked well. I would certainly recommend this hotel.

The hotel was very nice. The carpet in the rooms do need to be changed. The location was very good however the directions were not very helpful. We were in Nice for 3 days. I would recommend this hotel.

L'hotel è in posizione ottima! In pieno centro!Le camere con il bagno sono sufficientemente spaziose e pulite. La colazione (7 euro) è abbastanza soddisfacente. Il garage (a 500 m dall'hotel) è a pagamento (18 euro al giorno). Il personale è gentile, soprattutto la signora delle colozioni! buon rapporto qualità prezzo. Al prezzo indicato ricordatevi di aggiungere il costo della colazione, il garage e la tassa di soggiorno!

The location of the hotel is perfect, near the shopping area, the tram stop and the old town. The staff was pleasant and available, specially the lady serving breakfast. The rooms are small but comfortable and clean. I would recommend it if you don't want to spend too much money in Nice and you want to enjoy the city and the beach and the hotel is not the most important issue in your journey.

the room needs some new decoration. The hot water is slow and weak.

Besides all only the breakfast was too small

The hotel was an amiable experience with friendly staff and the man at the reception was especially helpful. We didn't get his name but he always wore a black blazer with a white shirt with the top button unbuttoned. The rooms were nicely facing the street though the placement of the TV above and not at eye level was a strain for the neck. The room walls were a bit thin as the impossibly noisy group of British girls soon pointed out to us. We would highly recommend the hotel to Nice holidayers as it has a fantastic location, we were always grateful for the location everyday after a long day's walk. The hotel itself was well looked after and the staff friendly.

Nice room. Nice location. Didnt try the breakfast. There are plenty of small restaurants nearby. Only 5 min walk to main street. And 6 min walk to the beach.

Staff were very helpful and the room was quite spacious (we had a quad room) for European standards and we even had a balcony overlooking the street. The hotel could do with a little maintenance as our flexible showerhead had come off the wall so you had to hold it while showering which was a little awkward. One positive feature was the fridge in the room - the only one we enncountered through our European vacation. Would stay here again and recommend to others who are on a budget as this hotel represents good value for money. One thing to be aware of is that it is quite a walk from the train station (about 1km) if you are hauling suitcases in the heat!!!

Wonderful location, clean, very helpful facilities like hair dryer, big beds.

We stayed in a triple room for 85 euro and we paid additional 9 euro for one extra bed that we didn't need. The hotel has places in a private garrage that you can reserve- is 18 euro/ day. Parking is a big problem in the area. Very good position for who wants to visit the old centre and "La promenade des anglais". Good report quality/ price.

Excellent location. Love Nice!

This is a good, basic hotel close the the Galleries Lafayette. Staff suffer with big ciy attitude & so can come across as rude even if you do speak french to them. We had a triple room which had great air con, a fridge and good sized bathroom. If you are visiting Nice for the shopping - it's great, if it's for the beach - I wouldn't bother stopping - Cannes has sand instead of pebbles to offer!

Hotel/room OK. AC in room was too weak - very hot during night. Very good location - close to "everything". We had breakfast on Av. Jean Medecin - recommended. All in all - we were satisfied.

The general hotel and the room were both scruffy and dirty. Bed was poor. Very run down.

Very good price for quality. Double glazing, aircon, sky tv etc. Very close to beach and restaurants also. Would definitely go back!

Very nice hotel in a very central location. 10-15 min. for the beach. Nice staff at the hotel, and a surprisingly good breakfast (considering it is in France), that consists of coffee/tee (all you want), bread, a croissant, cerials and yougurt. If you want a good central hotel with a nice price, this it it.

Perfectly acceptable for a short stay - but the rooms and the place generally are a bit tired and perhaps in need of a general refurbishment - but then the prices would go up, and paying 75 euros for a night in mid June in Nice, as we did, seems a reasonable deal

Very friendly and helpful staff. We decided to stay and extra night and they were able to sort a room out with no problems. Great location to the beach but a decent walk from the train station. Free internet was handy too. I would recommend this property. Be sure to book a non smoking room if you are a non smoker.

My wife and I recently stayed in the Helvétique for a couple of nights. On the plus side this is a small hotel representing excellent value for money and is ideally situated in the centre of Nice, being close to many places of interest and shops! The staff were very friendly and we were made very welcome. Not a lot to say on the down side other than our room would have benefited from a lick of paint and it had a small room with a seperate tiolet, but no sink, i.e. you had to go to the bathroom after using the toilet! I would definately stay here again and would recommend to family and friends.

The staff was very helpfull. We had a triple room on the 4. floor. The room was ok considered the price, but there were almost holes in one of the bedspread, and the blankets on the bed were pretty worn out. The bathroom was spacious and the cleaniness was ok. The floor in the lavatory could be cleaned better. The aircondition didn't cool very well, so we had to sleep with the window open, but it was very noicy in the street most of the night, so we didn't sleep very well. The location of the hotel was exellent: right in the center of Nice and short distance from the old town and the beach. The hotel seem much more spacious on the photographs then in reality.

The room is small, but has space enough for 3 persons. The Bathroom is very clear and big. The location of the hotel is perfect and has fast access to Nice downtown.

Good value for money. Silent despite location (at least my room). Friendly staff, but no chance to communicate with them in English.

Ottima posizione. Struttura vecchia, la foto della facciata deve essere stata ritoccata con photoshop o scattata 15 anni fa. Camere pulite, personale gentile, unica pecca ma molto rilevante, la inesistente insonorizzazione delle camere, che obbliga alla involontaria partecipazione di ciò che avviene nelle camere accanto. Soprattutto nei bagni. Tutto sommato però l'hotel è consigliato a chi non ha troppe pretese e cerca una sistemazione comoda rispetto alla zona pedonale e al mare, spendendo una cifra ragionevole.

very good position, close to the city centre; a little bit far for the station (1,7 km). there's a night guardian, so you can go in and out from the hotel everytime you want, also during the night. free-internet (but not very quick connection)

The hotel is good value for money. Unfortunatley Nice is like the hotel a little tired.

Very good location, close to the old town, close to the beach... Staff was very helpful, after checking out they attended our luggage and we could extend our car parking time until leaving France. Excellent room service considering a four women´s group showering etc! We definitely recommend this hotel if what you need is a place to sleep well and get ready for a day out : )

Location of hotel was excellent.Doormen were charming and helpful.Rooms at rear were really quiet.Sheets were perfect.Towels were plentiful.However carpets were badly stained.Sink in room 414 was badly cracked.Toilet was tiny and had no ventilation.Bedroom was very disappointing.A small amount of effort could make a huge difference. Hotel needs new carpets and a coat of paint.

friendly,helpful staff good central location

Very well situated, shops and eating places everywhere, near the sea and the Old Nice.

confortable, friendly, just like at home.

Hotel Helvetique is really a very nice place to stay.. rooms are 'simple' but very clean and not so small.. staff is very very friendly, helpful and competent. five minutes walk to beach and old city centre = hotel is located very well. For sure we'll stay at Hotel Helvetique next time .. very recommendable!!

central to everything, shopping, beach, trainstation, eaasy to get around in Nice and the riveriera in general.

Great location. English spoken. The hotel is actually very old and small. Carpets a bit old and dirty. They offer car park in a building near by for about 10 euros a night (ask for it well in advance).

Breakfast was nothing but sweets. Much better fare for less than half the price can be found by going onto the street to any of the roadside cafes. Not a great room. Underground parking a few blocks away. The hotel is a few blocks to the beach. We had to look on it as being a convenient room to leave and come back to after the day out and about. To compound things, road construction tore up most of the streets needed to get there in the first place.

exellent location close to everything. And staff were very friendly and helpful. Great value for money! We didn't have breakfast so I cannot comment on that.

L'hotel est situe au coeur de Nice, a 10 minute a pieds jusq'a la plage. Le personnel etait aimable, mais les chambres ont besoin d'une renouvelation a mon avis. Notre chambre etait assez petit, L'amenagement du chambre est assez pauvre. Nous avons passe une tres bonne semaine a Nice et l'hotel est acceptable pour son prix.

Very nice, low price hotel, located at 5 min. walk to the sea. Problems with parking (private parking couldn't be accessed with my car equpped with an extra roof luggage-box. However, you can find several parkings arround the hotel (a little bit expensive).

This is a good choice if you need a room just for sleeping and do not plan to spend much time inside the hotel room. There was plenty of daylight available because of the big windows. The hotel is very close to Place Masséna and the seaside. A good choice if you don´t want to spend too much on a hotel room.

Very good location ,near centre, shops, Promedande des Anglais...

We've been a group of three girls staying for 5 nights in May at Hotel Helvetique: excellent position - located in the city centre, the bus terminal is just a few minutes on foot away, also the train station (that was very comfortable for our trips to Cannes, Monaco, Èze, St. Paul and Cap Ferrat); very friendly, competent and cooperativly team; good price-performance ratio --> highly recommended.

The hotel is well situated, close to the Place Massena, the Gallery Lafayette is just round the corner. Also the bus stops for different directions are not far. If you are looking for a quiet room, ask for it when booking. You will get a room with a view of the courtyard but it is more quiet than the other side to the street. The staff was very friendly, they speak more languages. There is also a free internet connection in a hotel. The breakfast was nothing really special but for 6 EUR still OK. We will definitely come back.

rooms were basic and clean. Location was very convenient to the Piedmont (dining & shopping), bus terminal and short walk to water. Staff were friendly and spoke English. We chose to buy our breakfast at nearby bakery & grocer.

It's really OK for a 2 stars hotel, but the room is small if you have to use it for a lot of nights and the ratio price-quality in Nice is excellent. It's for one or two nights stance.

Hotel bastante céntrico, tranquilo y limpio. Estuvimos sólo una noche de paso y todo fue correcto. Buena relación calidad-precio

the situation of the hotel is excellent. The SNCF boxoffice and supermarket of Ponomrix is just nearby.To train station and to the beach is also about 10 minutes by walk. Plus the receptionists are passional. I enjoied my stay in this hotel.

OK for a one night stay. Excellent location. Friendly and helpful staff, nice room and breakfast room, but our bathroom was partly falling apart.

Loved our stay at Helvetique, great prices,and great hotel. Recommend to anyone, long or short stay. Was a fairly long haul with our bags from the train station, but we knew that. but with the new tram system being put in place, this will not be an issue, basically tram from train station to the hotel. Going to Nice? stay here...

Great location, easy walk to the beach. The shower head had to be 'rigged' to stay on the wall but everything was clean. Their parking was full but they directed me to a nearby garage and got the rate there discounted. This hotel is not a 'grand' hotel but was certainly a clean, quiet , and inexpensive place to stay We would stay here again.

Nice hotel in a good location. We managed to get back and forth from the hotel to all the main parts of town without any difficulty. Great value!

Mancanza di parcheggio a volte anche per la sosta temporanea per carico scarico. Il resto tutto ok! Alla reception parlano italiano.