This grand opulent hotel is apart of a group called the M chain and if you google them you'll find that their usual settings are clearly in jet set habitats of the 1% (London, Paris, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.). It's the kind of hotel that wouldn't normally be on my radar because....well frankly I can't afford it!! But my traveling companion splurged and got us both rooms and I couldn't be more pleased with his thoughtful (and pricey!) choice.
This is the swank setting where your feet sink into inches of plush carpet, like walking in a forest filled with moss and rose petals. Its proximity to the wharf (as in abutting the Mediterranean right at its door!) and the initial ground floor lobby are not your normal hotel setting, however; the large building is mostly populated by first class restaurants and tourist shopping. Take the hotel elevator or stairs to the second floor where a tony bar/lounge greets you as the place to take a load off and admire the view (through stunning picturesque windows that give you a bird's eye view of the boats moored in their slips. The bar is served, naturally, but their own mixologist (I couldn't call him anything less as he came up with some doozy preprandials that were quite delicious - and possibly toxic if more than 1 or 2 were consumed!).
The rooms are extravagant with large wall mounted slim screen tellies with channels from just about everywhere; huge beds you'd find it hard to get out of and lush pillows and sheets that unfortunately don't quite fit in a stuffed suitcase (yes, I might have tried). If you are flush with cash and want to pamper yourself in the old port section of Marseille - there can be no better place to stay! read more