280 boulevard Michelet, 13008 Marseille

Hotel le Corbusier

Name: Hotel le Corbusier
Address: 280 boulevard Michelet, Marseille, 13008, FR
Price range: 127 EUR
Rating: 4.1

Hotel-restaurant 3-star in Marseille

Presentation

Le Corbusier Hotel is not visited like an ordinary hotel. You go up with a magnetic key card, as in any apartment building, in the heart of the Cité Radieuse in Marseille. It is the only establishment in the city housed in a building listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Cité Radieuse remains first and foremost a place where families live year-round. Only two floors are reserved for passing travelers. When you step out of the elevator, the corridor opens like an interior street, the one Le Corbusier had imagined on the third level of the building. You sometimes cross paths with a resident coming home, or an ajar door revealing a living room. You quickly understand that you are not sleeping in a set, but in a building that continues to live its life around you.

The 21 rooms all bear the mark of the Modulor, the unit of measurement Le Corbusier developed to calculate every square centimeter in the service of the human body. In the cabin rooms, the sea fills almost the entire window. Elsewhere, a duplex studio overlooks the park, or a mini suite has been designed for accessibility, with two balconies opening onto the greenery. Vintage furniture, tables designed by Charlotte Perriand, lamps designed by Le Corbusier himself, coexist with air conditioning and free Wi-Fi. Some showers remain tiny, closed by a simple curtain rather than a door. The owners preferred to keep these original details, even if it means sacrificing a little comfort, rather than smoothing everything out in the name of modern comfort. You sleep here in a collector’s piece more than in a classic hotel room.

In the morning, breakfast is served three floors up, in the dining room of Le Ventre de l'Architecte restaurant, between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. on weekdays. You have coffee there facing the sea, on tableware that is the same age as the room’s furniture. Breakfast is charged separately, around 14 euros, free for children under five.

In the evening, the same room changes face. Chef Andriy Bondarenko creates a five-course menu, renewed daily, blending aromas from the Black Sea and products from Provence. Only thirty covers, around Perriand tables and Scandinavian chairs. In summer, the restaurant terrace looks like the walkway of an ocean liner suspended above the harbor.

Higher up, on the roof, hotel guests have access to the same space as the residents of the Cité: the wading pool, the solarium, the 360-degree view over Marseille. The MAMO, the art center created by Ora-ïto on this same terrace, can be visited in just a few steps.

One point to anticipate before booking: the Cité Radieuse is in the 8th arrondissement, away from the historic center. To reach the Old Port or Le Panier, allow about fifteen minutes by car, or take the bus that stops at the foot of the building and reaches the metro in a few stops. In return, the Prado beaches and the Vélodrome stadium are less than fifteen minutes away on foot, and the Sormiou or Morgiou calanques can be reached by car in a quarter of an hour. The free parking lot is located under the building, convenient on match nights nearby.

One last tip: go up to the roof late in the afternoon, just before the sun drops over the harbor. That is the moment when the terrace empties out and the low light grazes the tiled rooftops all the way to the sea.

Summary of a few positive reviews read on the Web

Very friendly welcome, the manager knows the building’s history by heart and takes the time to tell a bit of it before bringing up the luggage.
Room not huge but well kept, comfortable bedding, period decor preserved down to the door handles.
Dinner at Le Ventre de l'Architecte with a sea view, refined and well-presented dishes, attentive service.
A little far from the city center, but the bus stops right below and reaches the metro in a few minutes, convenient for getting to the Old Port.
Access to the roof terrace like the residents, 360-degree view over the city, great for an early morning coffee before it gets too hot.