Hotel 96 offers a peaceful atmosphere for a stay in Marseille, with a beautiful garden and pool, and modern and comfortable rooms constructed with thoughtful design. Tucked away on a narrow street in a calm residential area, the hotel gates open to reveal a gorgeous, lush setting with wonderful views of old trees and the surrounding hills. The reception team was very friendly and helpful, providing tips about how to get around Marseille and suggestions for restaurants in the surrounding areas.
Rooms are light and bright, modern and minimalistic in style with design touches such as interesting artwork and brightly coloured decorative pillows. Beds and linens were of good quality.
While the location is a certain distance from the center of Marseille, we enjoyed the drive through the city as it enabled us to see things like Le Corbusier's Cité radieuse and the Orange Velodrome. The hotel is quite convenient to different beach areas - we loved the sunsets from places like Pointe Rouge, Les Goudes, La Plage - all very accessible from Hotel 96.
The stunning Parc national des Calanques is only 5 minutes drive away from the hotel, and we took full advantage of this, spending a day hiking and swimming amongst the jaw-dropping cliffs and pristine blue waters of the Calanque de Morgiou.
We did not take breakfast at the hotel as for a family of six we found it rather expensive. The hotel does not have a restaurant on-site but does offer a menu for lunch and snacks, which can be pre-ordered for evening meals as well. Drinks on the terrace (once we found someone to serve us) were an absolute delight. We soaked up the sunshine and dreamy view. A perfect reward after all of our hiking and swimming. Overall, Hotel 96 was a lovely choice for our stay.