35 Reviews
Hotel le Corbusier
Marseille|0.02km from MArseille MOdulor
I do not normally write reviews on the internet, but the Hotel Le Corbusier was so exceptional that I believe it deserves to be much more widely known. It was a thrill to stay in one of the great architectural icons of the modern era. I am not an architect, but architecture provides the basic framework in which we live our lives and I cannot understand how anyone can fail to notice it. At the Cité Radieuse the spirit of the architect permeates the whole building and guests at the hotel are able to see not just the hotel but much of the rest of the building as well. I am unaware of any other great architectural icon that is open in this way. It should be emphasized that the hotel is not, and does not pretend to be, a five-star establishment, so one should not be surprised that some of the facilities popularly associated with five stars are not available. One should instead be grateful that the opportunity to stay in such a remarkable place is available to people of ordinary means. My room was very comfortable, had a spectacular view, and was furnished in the spirit of the architect as much as anyone could hope for in the 21st century. The spirit of the architect was equally apparent in the hotel restaurant (”Le ventre de l'architecte”) which was open to non-residents and offered the friendly service and good food that one would expect in a French local restaurant. The hotel reception desk is located in the restaurant, so there is little distinction between restaurant staff and other hotel staff. All of them, however, were invariably friendly, helpful and courteous. There were at least three who spoke English very well and several others who spoke at least some English. They were endlessly patient with my all-too-limited French, and I'm grateful for their advice on correct usage. They also took considerable time to provide directions and the kind of general advice that's always useful to a visitor. Most of them seemed to be aware of the architectural significance of the building, and I had several extended conversations about this with one particularly knowledgeable gentleman. I cannot praise the hotel highly enough, and if I visit M****ille again I would not even consider staying anywhere else.
