48 rue Roux de Brignoles , 13006 Marseille

Hotel C2

Name: Hotel C2
Address: 48 rue Roux de Brignoles, Marseille, 13006, FR
Price range: 220 EUR
Rating: 4.4

Hotel-restaurant 5-star with spa in Marseille

Presentation

The C2 Hotel, at 48 rue Roux de Brignoles, just a stone’s throw from cours Pierre-Puget, does not look like much from the sidewalk. From the outside, nothing really indicates this former 19th-century bourgeois mansion, which stands two hundred meters above the Old Port, in a district long kept away from Marseille’s tourist circuits.

Push open the door, and you come upon a large lounge with vertiginous proportions. The moldings and ceiling frescoes have been carefully restored, but the architects, Claire Fatosme and Christian Lefèvre, have left the marks of time visible: a gash in a brick wall, a perforation in the stone. No fake patina, no extra molding added for effect. The contrast with the contemporary furnishings—concrete, Corten steel, glass—sets the tone for the whole house.

The staircase, in marble and wrought iron, rises four floors to the twenty rooms. On each landing, an armchair by Rietveld or a Le Corbusier seat recalls that the modern movement was born only a few decades after the building was constructed. The rooms, almost all different, follow a deliberately restrained style: light wood, white Corian, little decoration, and high ceilings that do all the work. The two Exclusive rooms on the top floor open onto a balcony with Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde in view.

In the morning, breakfast is served in the dining room as a buffet, or in the room on request. The selection remains limited, far from the usual abundance of large hotels, and there is an extra charge to enjoy it. In return, the eggs are cooked to order and the praline French toast can be requested, even though it is not listed on the menu.

In the basement, the FillMed spa hides a pool dug directly between the walls of the old building, long and narrow, in a subdued light that evokes ancient baths. The pool is modest in size, designed for relaxation rather than for doing real laps. A hammam, jet showers, and a treatment cabin complete the facilities, along with a relaxation room opening onto a quiet terrace.

On the ground floor, facing the patio, the bar is set in an old lounge whose original molded panels contrast with the white Corian of the counter. Three Ingo Maurer pendant lights, in steel and gold leaf, cast a warm light over guests coming for a cocktail before dinner. On Wednesday evenings, the house hosts jazz concerts, and on the first Sunday of the month, brunch is served on the terrace surrounded by a vertical garden.

In summer, the adventure continues at sea. A boat chartered by the hotel leaves the Old Port to head for Degaby Island, an old fort built at Louis XIV’s request, about a fifteen-minute crossing away. On site, sun loungers, masks and snorkels, and a white-pebble beach facing the Calanques.

One last piece of advice: book the boat to the island late in the morning, before the sun gets too strong, and save room for the praline French toast at breakfast the next day.

Summary of a few positive reviews read on the Web

Arriving at two in the morning after a delayed flight, we were still able to keep the room and access to the spa until one in the afternoon the next day. It changes everything after a sleepless night.
Breakfast ordered to the room at 10:45 a.m., served in just a few minutes. The praline French toast is not on the menu, but you can ask for it.
Well soundproofed room despite being close to the city center. You can barely hear anything from the street, even with the window slightly open at night.
Marion at reception remembered our room number and our preferences from the second day on. A small detail, but it changes the atmosphere of the stay.
The pool is dug directly into the walls of the former mansion, dark and very long, almost like an ancient Roman bath.
Just steps from the Estrangin-Préfecture metro station, you can walk to the Old Port in about ten minutes, without going along the main roads.