Me and two friends of mine stayed at Sanremo for 10 days and decided to stay at the Hotel "Villa La Brise". Well, if you researched a little about the - especially in the 1960`s - famous city of flowers at the italian rivieira-coast, you will get to see, that the Villa la Brise still has the charmes of the typical architecture of those glamourous and noble days, when Sanremo had its peak in tourism (for rich people espescially). The hotel looks very nice from the outside and has a nice garden that invides to stay and just watch the ocean with a glass of wine. Everything is clean and this impression keeps on going when you take a look inside the Hotel. Dont get me wrong here: if you expect a high quality 3 to 4 stars hotel like a Sheraton or so, this hotel is not for you. As said in the intro, this Hotel is overflowing with the charms of the 60`s and is so beautiful typically Italian. Same goes for the rooms. They are nice, but also a bit vestigial. You will find some cracks in the walls etc. but that`s just normal for a building with this history. My bed was huge (i had a solo room) and comfortable. All rooms have air conditioning and silent proofed windows (which really are needed, cause the hotel is on the via aurelia and there is loud traffic even at night. For us it was totally managable thanks to the windows and the air conditioning). My friends had a room for two and were also very happy with it. The hotel has some absolutely astonishing rooms if u want to have a almost fantasticall view over the ocean. Some rooms have windows (like mine) where you cant really see anything - But thats also normal and we had a great pricing. One little aspect: Cool down ur room once to 18 degrees C° because the air condition is a little bit loud. After this, you will have a great rest and sleep. Also try the coffee there: They made the best cappucino we ever had in italy --> I travel there since 13 years. I cant say anything to the regular breakfast etc., because we didnt book it.
The Service is exceptional. This Hotel is run by only a hand full of people who are really dedicated to their job and really friendly and helpful. Dont worry because of a lack of italian skills. Most people their can speak english and even german. They gave us great insider tipps to Sanremo (where to eat, buy good wine, what to visit) etc. Just ask them! If u are friendly, they will be, too. Also one time, there was a cook visiting the hotel and we had a really great dinner for a really good price. I HIGHLY recommend to try this during your stay. It was easily the best food we had in Sanremo.
Another positive feature is, that the beach is literally a rockthrow away from the hotel. But keep in mind, its a public one, so you will have to pay around 10 Euros for a stay per day. (Little tipp: If u drive down the Via Aurelia in direction to Alassio, the beach gets nicer and nicer and its only an hour and a half of driving). Sanremo is a port city --> not like rimini for example. The port is really nice, same goes with the city and the many special places (like villa nobel for example). To walk there, you have to plan with around 30 minutes walking or 5 to 10 minutes with the bus, which stops directly next to the hotel. But who doesnt like a nice walk next to the beautiful ocean there?
So long story short: If you have a feeling for some italian, nostalgic atmosphere, the Villa La Brise is a perfect stay for you. Me and my friends really consider coming back to the hotel at least once more. And thats more for the hotel then for Sanremo itself. I guess that says enough. Highly recommended!
