A short drive from the centre of Nice in a lovely location on the Opio-Valbonne golf course. Our ground floor suite was very well appointed and overlooked the 10th tee and fairway. Meals are taken in the club house and we considered the half board and golf package to be good value. All the staff we met - front desk, restaurant and pro-shop - were most helpful. The golf course is a good test and in nice condition with some very interesting holes.

My partner and I went to Hotel de La Begude, Opio to attend a friend's wedding. Thankfully, we only stayed there one night!

AIR CONDITIONING NOT WORKING
First impressions: the reception was hard to find as it was not indicated and when arriving in our room we soon realised that the air conditioning unit was not working. Not a complete surprise, as the AC unit looked old, stained and poorly maintained.

POOR VALUE - OUR ROOM DESERVED 3 STARS MAX - Don't be misled by their website's pics!
The room itself was OK but would have been what one may expect from a 3 star hotel in the South of France, not a hotel selling itself as a high end 4 star luxury French riviera Chateau. We then proceeded to attend our friend's wedding reception taking place in the Chateau de la Begude.

HALF OF THE HOTEL HEAVILY EXPOSED TO NOISE FROM WEDDING AREA
The wedding venue itself was OK, although it really didn't feel like a luxury venue (similar to Ibis hotel dining halls). The food prepared by the Hotel's chef was way below what you'll get served at any average French bistro/cafe. One of the main wings of the hotel was just 10 meters away from the wedding reception area, meaning that hotel customers located in that wing could hear the loud music being played and the noise coming from the wedding all night long... We saw customers from that wing complaining and saw their bedroom light on for as long as we stayed there.

FIRE ALARM TRIGGERED 3 TIMES BETWEEN 1 AND 4AM...
Fortunately our room was in the other wing of the hotel. Having dined and danced, we got back to our room in the early hours of the morning hoping we would be able to get some rest. After 15 minutes in bed, the fire alarm went off for about 20 minutes... and then stopped. We tried to get back to sleep, despite the suffocating heat. About an hour later (around 2.30am), the fire alarm went off again. And again around 3-4am for an extended period of time. My girlfriend finally went to reception to try and get someone to fix this. There she found 3 fellow hotel customers also wondering was going on. Receptionist looked confused and said someone would be looking into it...

€239.52 FOR A SLEEPLESS NIGHT
After one long sleepless night, we got up to have breakfast. Breakfast was a buffet mainly made of very old and dry croissants. Service was OK. We then checked out and were not even offered a discount to compensate for our sleepless night. We were charged €239.52 for that one terrible night! A complete disgrace...

Golfers have above average spending power and are more discerning about their food, and this is borne out by the food and wine, which are served either on the terrasse or interior. The service is friendly and efficient and the prices reasonable. The white house wine - Gordonne - at €25 was well chosen and excellent value.

My wife had the hamburger with fries at €18 and two people could have shared it, whilst I had the Lamb Ribs (3) with Courgettes and Fries €20. Service is on proper linen.

The best part is yet to come, there is a self service dessert buffet with and excellent selection of rasberry, strawberry, blackberry tartlets, creme brulee and chocolate mousse. There appears to be no restriction on what you can eat, so puddy lovers get down there fast..

My bill for 2 came to €67.40 including €4.40 for San Pellegrino. Now that's value in the South of France.

There's plenty of free parking

The hotel is old but modernized to today's standard. We stayed in a suite on the fourth floor of the building, the only flaw in this hotel is that there is no elevator so bringing luggages can be a problem, and for disabled person, the rooms on higher floors are not advisable.
The hotel is really charming, airy and the rooms are very spacious and cozy.
We planned to stay in this hotel for three nights originally, but extended to another 3 nights because the place is quiet and relaxing, the staffs are extremely friendly and helpful. The food in the restaurant is superb even if they are a bit pricey. We love the golf course which is adjacent to the hotel! If you love the Provence lifestyle, this is the hotel for you! We will be back again for sure!