Hostellerie Le Panel

The area around Mandelieu is beautiful and well worth visiting. We stayed at le panel for four nights. It’s a small, pleasant hotel, though I’d say it suits an overnight stop better. The rooms are basic and quite small, and you can hear conversations from the next room very clearly.

They emailed to cancel my booking while I was on a 12-hour flight with no internet, so I didn’t see the message. By the time I reached this “hotel,” after a $200 taxi from the airport, it was completely closed and there was no help finding somewhere else. I had to book a last-minute room at a nearby chain hotel and spent an absurd amount, 10 times my original hotel budget. I never heard from this place afterward. This is not a real hotel. Stay away.

My brother and I were waiting in reception while my mom checked in and took our luggage up to the room. Since we hadn’t ordered anything at the bar, we were thrown out. The bar and reception share the same area. Neither the receptionist nor the bartender spoke English, and they made no effort to understand that we were waiting for my mom, who was staying at the hotel.

It’s quiet here, even though the place is above a local bar, and the room was clean and modern. Good value for the money. It works well for a quick stop or as a base when all you need is somewhere to sleep.