Daniela Cesarei
Walking along the Promenade des Anglais today in Nice, you have to do a bit more than squint to imagine it as the stomping ground for aristocracy that it once was. A number of storied hotels have gone to seed, the traffic is relentless, and the crowd is, well, not exactly aristocratic. But stroll through the waterfront Jardin Albert 1er, and on the other side you’ll find a place where that pomp and glitz has been renewed. That spot, the Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel, is the latest selection for our column on exciting new hotels, Room Key.
The hotel is housed in a fanciful Belle Epoque edifice originally designed by the king of grand hotels in the south of France, Charles Dalmas. The mustard-yellow facade stretching more than a hundred meters has been restored to its frothy grandeur. Inside, though, is sharp and meticulous modern luxury. Mosaic floors line an arched hallway with textured iridescent walls leading to the hotel’s reception.
Just off the reception is one of the more elegant rooms we’ve come across of late, Les Colonnades. The Art Deco oval room with unadorned travertine columns is topped by a smooth cream-colored dome and oculus–an airy space redolent of the Session Hall in the Finnish Parliament. Here, the bit of pop comes from the curving couches upholstered in lush green velvet. The hotel’s high tea—the typical elaborate confection of cakes, bites, and bubbly done at old world hotels—takes place here. Otherwise, it’s often empty and quiet, so if you find the rooftop scene a bit much, squirrel away down here later at night for a more intimate scene.