Looking for a nice weekend getaway with your friends or partner and want it to be very special? Your boss is paying you a stopover in Europe and you want to take maximum advantage of it?
So you decide to spoil yourself and book the fancy Ritz? Don’t! You could have so much more fun and make so many more friends and memories at the Villa Saint Exupery hostels in Nice.
Here are the top 10 reasons why:
1. Happy Hour
I don’t see any happy hour deals at the Ritz. You can have a pint of beer for 1€ (less than £1) and bottles of wine for 6.50€ in Nice. Ritz charges £472 (€580) for a bottle of Taittinger Comte de Champagne Rosé.
2. Hot Spot
On the French Riviera “Winter” is a period with constant sunshine and an average of 15 degrees. 1 hour on the bus and you’re in the Mediterranean Alps featuring the most stunning ski resorts. 20 minutes on the train and you’re in Monte Carlo, 40 minutes on the train and you’re in Italy. So on the same day you can either – visit 3 countries or go skiing in the morning and swimming in the evening or check out the laid back Provence in the morning and Monaco’s and Cannes’ Glam at night. Stay 4 days and you can tick all this off your list.
3. Fun
I wouldn’t play beer pong or flip cup in the Ritz. Only someone who fancies being chucked out onto Piccadilly/into Green Park would. At the Villa you can play whatever you like – pub quiz, Wii, Twister, fancy dress, spin-the-bottle… anything that makes you happy!
4. Party and Glitz
I don’t think the Ritz does a pub crawl and if it did you wouldn’t see half as many bars, make half as many new friends and have half as much fun as on our pub crawls – which don’t cost you more than 3 pints in London.
5. Outdoor Sports
While you would be hanging out at the Ritz spa or beauty salon you would get much more adrenaline out of your few days in Nice. You could choose from a wide range of activities including skiing (water or snow), sailing, scuba diving, canyoning, surfing, wakeboarding… or just a bit of Yoga. If you don’t want to pay a penny for some action just try hiking, sun tanning or the in-house Gym. From the Ritz you can take the Piccadilly line from Hyde Park Corner to Turnham Green if you like (while Turnham Green is only open to the Piccadilly line during rush hours).
6. Sea view
From our Gardens hostel you can get a stunning view of the Mediterranean and pretty much the whole of Nice. The best view you’ll probably get at the Ritz is of Arlington Street. You might even catch a glimpse of the Cafe Nero on the corner.
7. Freebies
To kick start your day without breaking your budget you can fuel up with an all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast at our hostels. This is the perfect time to get inspired by our staff with heaps of travel tips and to join whoever is going your way that day. The hot drinks will stay all day so you don’t have to be rich to have heaps of coffees with that boy/girl you fancy. There is certainly no free walking tour offered at the Ritz and guided by an outgoing and incredibly charismatic young Brit. If you want a sightseeing tour of London then you’ll have to get on one of those extremely overpriced buses. You don’t have to pay a penny for ours, and you’ll even get to take part in a picnic with one of the greatest views in Europe – WITH that charismatic young Brit. Needless to say, WiFi is free anytime, anywhere in the hostels so make sure to add him on facebook as soon as you’re back.
8. Friends
Whether you are at the Lounge bar in our Gardens hostel – a converted chapel with stained glass windows – or at the Café Bar in our Beach hostel – a Coffee shop turning into a buzzing bar after sunset… There is no doubt that they are equally beautiful and way more sociable than any Ritz communal area. To make sure that the action doesn’t stop at night we organise many events such as the “French Kiss” Party every Friday – you must have heard of that one before!
9. Food
Afternoon tea for £45? Pfft. With 8€ for a Provençal dish the food from our on-site chefs is far better value for money! Apart from homemade Pizzas, Salads, Cookies and Brownies you can also choose our dinner of the day such as Chilli Lime Salmon with minted cous cous and stir fry vegetables or Parma ham chicken with pomme de terre puree and honey roasted carrots! What a mouthful!
10. That’s all – Top 10 lists suck!
