I just need a bed for the night!
I hear this comment in my travel business all the time. Well, if you are going to travel to the south of France and find yourself in the beautiful fishing port of Villefranche sur Mer, just 7km out of Nice, and you just want a bed for the night, then don’t go and stay at the Hotel Welcome.
Nearly 25 years ago I brought my wife on a surprise Honeymoon from New Zealand to the south of France. She had no idea where she was going, but soon found out that there was a good 30 hours of sitting in a plane to get used to before arriving in this idyllic location.
This is the waterfront of Villefranche sur Mer. Restaurants on the waterfront. The Hotel Welcome just out of sight on the left of picture.
We hired a bright red convertible Peugeot car and drove up to the door of the Hotel Welcome. I was feeling fairly self-assured as I had learnt French at school, and I had brushed up on a few critical phrases, just so I could impress my new wife. With my wife firmly in hand I strolled up to the hotel reception and proclaimed
– Bonjour Madamoiselle, je m’appele Monsieur Reese, j’ai une réservation à votre hotel. Hi, I’m John Reese I’ve got a booking here with you.
Comment ca s’écrit? – How do you spell that. (All good so far!!)
R E E S E – I slowly spelt each letter out.
Blank look across the desk
Errr, comment ca s’écrit?
So what don’t you understand. It’s R E E S E. Again I pedantically spelt out each of the five letters that make up my surname!
No, still a completely blank look, as she looked through the planning chart for the day.
Maybe the receptionist was deaf?
Finally I reached for her pen and wrote my name on a piece of paper.
Aaaah, Air Er Er Ess Er, Monsieur Reese! Ah, Mr Reese, welcome to the Hotel Welcome! Phew !
(Sadly I never learnt how to pronounce phonetically the letters in French at school!!)
This was our introduction to this very special address. We have now returned to this place almost annually since that time and have been fortunate to experience the unique position of this hotel perched on the edge of the bay of Villefranche sur Mer. From the balcony of each bedroom you can sit and watch the comings and goings of the bay. During the day you can watch the luxury cruise boats sail into port and moor themselves in the bay right in front of you, you can watch the fishermen unload their catch right at your feet. Then in the still of a dark night you can look across the mirror flat water of the Villefranche sur Mer bay reflecting the lights and dreams of luxurious villas on the nearby Cap Ferrat, whilst listening to the gentle rocking of a nearby yachts’ masts moored in front of your hotel.
The Hotel Welcome on the waterfront. All the rooms have balconies.
But the Hotel Welcome is not just my second home. The famous French artist Jean Cocteau lived here for two years in the 1920s, and stayed in Room 22, which you can stay in today! The present owner of the hotel, Gerard Galbois, displays a sketch which Cocteau presented to his father, which carries the words “A mon très cher Welcome, où j’ai passé le meilleur de ma vie” “To my dearest Hotel Welcome, where I spent the best years of my life”. As well Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor stayed here, as well as Somerset Maugham.
I have many tourist who regularly return to the Hotel Welcome. Even without a car you have easy and regular access by train and bus, with places like Cannes, Antibes, Monte Carlo, Nice and Menton all being less than an hour away. One morning you might wake up and while enjoying breakfast overlooking this idyllic port view, you might decide to catch a train through to Italy to visit the Ventimiglia morning market just 40 minutes away – then after a pizza and pasta for lunch you can head back to your home away from home!
When you travel to the south of France you can either choose to have “just a bed” for the night, or you can choose to stay here at the Hotel Welcome – once you’ve been here, you’ll keep returning, just like me!
The view from my bedroom's balcony across the bay to Cap Ferrat. Bliss!
The photos bring back memories of those wonderful holidays at Welcome Hotel. Prints of the area, purchaed from the local market,hang proudly in my lounge.
I must return again !!!!
Villefrance sur mer – what a place – had delicious lunch on the waterfront at Chez Irene in 1998 – lasted about 3 hours, walked along waterfront, stopped for a real look at the sights, and took photos, then walked back and around up the hill, through the fabulous old wall entrance to the top of the hill to the waiting coach – then slowly driving back to
our hotel in the New Town – Monaco Hotel Alba – that was
great opposite the Princess Grace Rose Garden – Looking at photos today, still in good condition – can’t locate the Welcome Hotel, only one thing to do is to make the journey again – and book a bed for a few nights in the not too distant future – Merci beaucoup John.
Oh yes Hotel Welcome. Its unique..special..and makes you want to return to enjoy the charm of this stunning part of France.
Our room had the same view as your balcony photo and we would watch each morning the local fishermen arrive off their boat, set up across the road and sell their catch (filleted in front of the buyer) and be gone in a matter of an hour. All sold out.
Would return in a flash.
Thanks Drew, Rose and Kate for your comments. Return in a flash! Me too!
Looks like a gorgeous place to stay. We should have explored more of France when we lived in the UK but never got past Paris or Dunkirk. I see photos now of other areas and it all looks so beautiful.
Julia
Thanks Julia. Actually to get to the south of France now from the UK is so easy. Easyjet flies there regularly for very cheap fares – in fact it almost costs as much to go London to Ashford on the train as London to Nice on the plane!!!
I love the idea of returning to a hotel that is so amazing that you return every year, what a lovely idea.
Such a romantic-sounding place. It has a lot going for it in my book — great location, views, French charm, famous guests and the Reese’s spent their honeymoon there!
Absolutely Cathy!!! If the Reeses have been there it must be good!! I reckon this could be a spot for a trip with your nearest and dearest in the not too distant future!!!?
It’s so nice to stay at a really quality place every so often. This place sounds lovely.
I hear you with name spelling problems. They don’t teach letters that often!
As you can see, you and I have very similar names! Sadly, rolling Rs in Spanish is something I can only occasionally manage, making spelling my name in Argentina quite tricky.
Ahh.. pronouncing the letters in another language was always hard for me. This place sounds amazing and what a wonderful surprise for your wife!
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rose John, Ordinary Traveler. Ordinary Traveler said: RT @francefrenchway Welcome to the Hotel Welcome: http://t.co/R4bIfe1 […]
It does indeed look like a wonderful place. However, I fear it would be outside our budget.
Can you give an indication of the price for “not just a bed” there? We’re planning a bit of a cycling tour of France next year, so we’re in budgeting mode.
How cool that Cocteau stayed there!
Looks and sounds like a great place to stay!
[…] I was speechless, and promised that I would bring my future spouse for our honeymoon here – and I did. Easy to fall in love […]
[…] tour travels from the fishing village of Villefranche sur Mer, near Nice, in the east, through to the heart of Provence in the Rhone Valley, then on through the […]