My family and I have just returned from a one week holiday in Villefranche-Sur-Mer staying at Pierre & Vacances. I would not recommend this 'hotel' to anyone and never want to go there again. Whilst it is set in a beautiful bay with spectacular views of the sea it has the most basic and dirtiest accomodation I have ever stayed in. It was booked online through a well known web site who described it as a 4 star accomodation. I would rate it as a one and may be a two star at the very max( I have written a letter of complaint to the booking company). On arrival we found our apartment to be dirty, smelt of drainage problems, layers of dust on door/window frames, the mattresses had musty smell. There was constant traffic noise twenty four hours a day due to the close proximity of the road and the railway line making it difficult to sleep at night. For such hot summers the rooms we had did not have any air conditioning (note it was advertised as a 4 star !). The blankets and curtains looked and smelt as though they have never been washed. The built in single robes were so dirty, we never bothered to unpack our suitcases ! There was a constant noise from an extractor fan in the second bedroom/living room which could not be switched off ! The accomodation was booked for five. One double room and one living room which doubled as a second bedroom at night. The double bedroom was just big enough to fit a double bed and nothing else. At night time the two sofa/bed were converted to two single bed and a rollaway single bed was available.
Balcony was very cheaply furnished with a round plastic table and five plastic chairs. A rusty wire rack for cloth drying. My kids made the mistake of hanging thier washed brilliant white tee shirts costing around 150 euros in total on the drying rack only to find unremoveable rust stains on them. When we complained to the hotel they just shrugged their shoulders.
MY ADVICE: DO NOT BOOK THIS ACCOMODATION. PAY A LITTLE MORE AND BOOK INTO A PROPER HOTEL AND REALLY ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY AS THE AREA IS GREAT.

Now i know why this place was not expensive. The rooms are tiny (the master bedroom is claustrophobic size, we never used it), the main room looks like a corridor (to the balcony) with two small beds on each side.
Then this place is for the do it yourselfer, next time I will go to a real hotel with standard amenities. We were on our own everytime there was a problem, reception being open at strange hours. Problems ranged from making a phone call (need to open the line, not explained on the instructions) to supplying toilet paper. The laundry is very expensive (about 7 euros for a tiny load). There's a store but again it is not 24h, so if you are hungry at midnight and have no car rental you are again stuck.

On the positive side this place has a nice pool (although some vindows underneath remove privacy) and a nice view. The residence is at about 20min of walk from VilleFranche and its action but the walk is pleasant with beautifull view on the charming harbor.

I have stayed at Pierre & Vacances with my family on more than six occasions. It is located in a quite hillside area and is ideally placed for the local bay/beach (5 mins away) and railways stations (Nice is only 10 mins away by train; Monaco 40 mins). Local amenities and Villefranche are close by (15-20 min walk). Villefranche can get very busy at weekends and in the high season, but there is a lot to explore and plenty of good restaurants. The Pierre Vacances site is well maintained and boasts superb views of the bay and surrounding area. It is quite a small complex, but does have a medium sized pool and adjoining tennis courts. The staff are excellent and very friendly. My only compliant is that the apartments are small for the average size family and could do with a bit of sprucing up. However, all in all it is a great place to get away to and we will keep on coming back year after year.