We have just returned from a stay in Villefranche-sur-Mer where we stayed at the Bahia Vista. Having been warned not to read the reviews before we left I arrived with an open mind. Unfortunately I have to agree that the reception staff are not the most polite people in the world, but I found the rest of the staff to be very friendly.

Our room was very clean and in a good state of repair. It was however a standard hotel room, nothing to really get excited about. However, I feel that this is reflected in the price. The view from our terrace was however something to get excited about. Villefranche is simply stunning and it's beauty could be seen as soon as we opened the curtains each morning.

The pool area is fairly small, we were lucky enough to have it to ourselves for most of our holiday but I can imagine it can be far from relaxing if there were too many people. The pool is thoroughly cleaned every day or so and the surrounding terrace area is pleasant and well maintained.

The biggest disadvantage we felt was that the hotel restaurant was closed. This hotel is at the top of a very steep hill with only 1 restaurant close by. This meant that grabbing a quick snack meant walking into the village which was roughly 20 minutes away.

The hotel is otherwise fine. Like I said, nothing to get excited about but to be frank when you have Villefranche outside your window who cares if the person who checked you in was a grump!

The Bahia Vista is clean, reasonably priced (for the area), safe, and reasonably comfortable. In France, 3 stars seems to mean that you get a bathroom acceptable to Americans. The BV would receive 1 or 2 stars from the AAA guide. And yet, it's appropriately priced, given the area.

We had a garden view room on the 3rd floor. The garden isn't much to look at, but it was nice to sit on the patio in the evening. The bed was not wholly uncomfortable, and the TV showed a couple of local channels. CNN and BBC World cost extra. The location on the Basse Corniche and secure parking (€10/day) makes the BV an adequate base for exploring Nice and Monaco.

Americans will be disappointed by the "European style" bathroom in which you must sit down to shower. And forget about a hot bath. You'll get warm, but not hot.

The BV is at the eastern end of Villefranche, almost in Beaulieau. It takes about 12 minutes to walk from the hotel to the Citadelle and, while you can spend €9 for breakfast, you'll do better in town.

It's simplicity itself to get from the airport to Villefranche. Take the bus (€4 for an all-day pass) from the airport to the Nice station, and transfer to the Villefranche-Monaco bus. The bus stops outside the BV (big sign on the left, you can't miss it). If you want to drive, take the Basse Corniche. The Grande Corniche has a good view, but it's a vertical slalom on a one-lane road to get to Villefranche.

I and 4 Irish friends stayed at this hotel from 2nd to 9th Oct 2005. We had nice comfortable large rooms, its a pity breakfast costs extra but it was very adequate and the view is breathtaking. We found the staff friendly and the hotel quiet at night. I would have no hesitation in recommending this hotel.
It is a good walk down to the beach.

My family and I visited the sea side town of Villefranche, France (outside Nice) in late August this year. Upon arrival at our hotel, the BW Bahia Vista, we were greeted with a man at the front desk who was fluent in neither French nor English. I am a French teacher in Canada and he could not seem to communicate in French, or the seemingly universal language of English! We had requested a triple room when we booked online with the BW website. The front desk clerk had no clue how to get past the fact that he had us down for a double room, when our reservation sheet and confirmation number proved that we had paid for a triple! The first room he took us to had one bed. I told him that one bed was not suitable for "trois personnes". He nodded and took us to another room, this time with only a double bed (and the furnishings were remarkably decrepit!). Finally I asked if he could just bring up another bed to the original room he took us to, which finally got through to him.

The room itself was quite nice. Every room in the hotel had a glorious sea view, which almost made up for the inflated price of $257.40 EU /night.

The true nightmare of staying at Bahia Vista happened on our check out. The weather turned from sunny to a tropical storm throughout the night. The lobby floor had one foot of water on it, as it came in from the low-lying entrance-way. With our bags soaked, we waited outside under the awning for the taxi we had requested earlier that morning. After 20 minutes with no taxi in sight we went back in to talk to the manager to ask where the taxi was. He phoned the company and then told us "No taxi, ten minutes". We took this to mean it would come in ten minutes. 20 minutes later we asked again and this time the response was "no taxi." Any car we could hire? No, nothing. After being callously dismissed as the water came down in buckets onto the narrow street in front of the hotel, we walked to the nearest gas station across the street. They had no phone (to call for a taxi) and so we hired a local man to take us to the train station. If he hadn't let us in to his Jeep, with out soaked clothing and luggage, we would have missed the train that we needed to take us to Rome. Thank heavens for the kindness of strangers. Beware the inept, callous, and ignorant staff at the Bahia Vista. Once the weather turns bad, it turns to chaos. Do not stay here, unless you enjoy taking a train in wet clothing and having to walk uphill in the pouring rain while dragging luggage. Tourist beware!