Westminster Hotel & Spa, BW Premier Collection

Guarded by two stone lions from the hotel's original building, the Westminster offers sumptuous interiors evoking Nice's rich past. Featuring metal railings decorated in gold leaf, a grand staircase winds its way to a hotel dining room with arches, columns, statuary, and high ceilings with chandeliers. The Great Hall showcases splendid frescoes painted by a Florentine artist at the beginning of the 20th century. The Westminster also has a collection of paintings representing depictions of Nice prior to 1860. A largely tourist crowd is drawn to this aesthetic and historic flavor, and travelers also flock to the hotel for its prime location on the Promenade des Anglais, which overlooks the Mediterranean. Given the location, it's busy but not overly crowded at the hotel, especially during high season. Guests can gather on the landscaped terrace, renovated after our visit, with views of the sea. 

The Westminster offers one of Nice's choicest hotel locations, on the Promenade des Anglais overlooking the Bay of Angels. A 15-minute stroll east brings guests to the beguiling streets of Old Town Nice, featuring restaurants, shops, ice cream stands, bars, clubs, public squares, the Cours Saleya flower market, and Baroque churches like the Chapelle de la Misericorde. The Massena tram station is about a 10-minute walk northeast while it’s about a five-minute drive north to reach the Gare de Nice Ville train station or Russian Orthodox Cathedral. Le Chateau of Nice is less than a 10-minute drive northeast and showcases a panoramic view of the city and sea. Art lovers can drive 10 minutes northeast for the Marc Chagall Museum or 15 minutes northeast for the Matisse Museum. Nice Cote d'Azur Airport is a 10-minute drive southwest of the hotel, barring traffic.

Housed in a five-floor building, the Westminster's 99 rooms and suites range in size from 183 to 1180 square feet. In contrast to the property’s sumptuous and ornate public spaces, guest rooms are largely simple and contemporary in their look, with muted beige and white palettes, walls in robin's-egg blue, and white cotton bedding. Rooms all come with hairdryers, desks, in-room safes, minibars, free Wi-Fi, and 32-inch or 42-inch flat-screen TVs with satellite and movie channels. Some rooms have balconies and/or sea and promenade views, while rooms facing the city offer less inspiring sights. Rooms do not have tea/coffeemakers.

Full suites feature sitting areas with sofas and armchairs, multiple TV sets, and separate tubs and showers in the bathrooms. (Other room categories have showers only.) Some lower-level rooms facing the promenade may experience noise issues. In addition, many of the showerheads need to be held by hand. Finally, property hallways and some rooms could use refurbishment and a general freshening. 

Le Spa 27, the hotel's full-service spa, opened in early 2016, includes a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, and fitness room. The hotel does provide a private beach area for sunning and swimming, and the on-site restaurant serves local specialties with a sea-view terrace. Alfresco dining is available for breakfast and dinner. The breakfast buffet (for a fee) is copious and features eggs, mushrooms, sausages, bacon, cheeses, French breads, croissants, yogurt, fresh fruit, coffee, juice, and more. The Westminster also has a bar, concierge service, meeting rooms, ballrooms, a 24-hour business center, laundry service, and public parking (for a fee) near the hotel.