It served as the premier hospital for the bustling city of Marseilles in the south of France for 800 years! (It is famous for pathbreaking Cataract eye operations). Built in French Baroque style originally and inaugurated by Napoleon the 3rd himself, this historic building is now a beautiful, luxury hotel – the intercontinental Hotel Dieu.
It's interiors were completely modernised in Art Deco style and marry both the old and the new seamlessly. You arrive at the porch thru a regal driveway and enter the lobby thru the grand facade expecting old palatial interiors but instead you are greeted by a stunningly modern lobby area done up entirely in Black, white and many shades of grey. The fish and mollusc murals on the walls tell you their own story of Marseilles as a port town.
The rooms are spacious, modern and most of them have a beautiful view of the old port – Vieux Port and the Notre Dame Church far away on the Hill. Chef Lionel Levy, a true Marseilles boy at heart runs the one Michelin Star restaurant and his signature Bouillabaisse Soup Milkshake is pretty famous!
My fav part of the hotel was it's beautiful terrace which would be absolutely great in the summer time when they have bar-be-cue nights, but now, in the winter they had put up these extremely smart bubbles or plastic igloos of sort – heated, lined with sofas covered in fur and boosted by Moet et Chandon Champagnes!
The best part of this hotel is it's location. It is only a 100 metre walk to the Vieux Port and all other sights of Marseilles making it an excellent choice for a leisure stay in the city.
Panache World works closely with this hotel and our clients get special deals and upgraded stays to say the least.