Hôtel Ellington Nice Centre ★★★★

Blues
The only blues in the Hôtel Ellington **** are the cornflower pastels in your chic room curtains, framing the azure blue of the cloudless Nice skies beyond. This city isn’t called the capital of the Côte d’Azure for nothing – its year-round sunshine and pristine beaches draw people from all over the world. You will be drawn outside onto the balcony of your room by the light and colours of this town, looking out over the bustling Boulevard Dubouchage.

Big-band swing
The glamorous swing and style of 1940s America are the stars of this hotel, with Art Deco chic infusing the lobby, lounge, and restaurants – heavy on mirrors and gilt, light on cheap modernity. The Duke Bar & Lounge is where you really feel transported, though. With one wall entirely devoted to a vintage map of the world, another taken up by a vast, elegant piano, this is where your day begins and ends. From express breakfast, for those too rushed for the big restaurant buffet, to the decadent afternoon tea and the half-off tipples at happy hour, there’s always something happening in the Duke Lounge.

Bending and twisting classics
The Duke’s great achievement was his swing band re-workings of classics, making them wildly popular across entire populations. Housed as it is, in a traditional Niçoise manor, the hotel also blends the classic with jazzy swing: all delicate iron-railings, clipped hedges, and authentic wooden shutters from without, and decadent 40s style within.

Staying at the Hôtel Ellington **** offers a taste of glamorous, decadent Nice with a dash of 1940s New York – a unique experience you won’t soon forget.