I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND BOOKING THIS HOTEL. I received a confirmed booking on October 1st for a night on the 19th. On the 16th I received a welcoming e-mail. We arrived soon after noon on the 19th and were told the hotel was full and they had reserved us a room at another hotel. Since this was five times the distance from where we needed to be, we were not happy but set out in our rented car to find the other hotel. After nearly two hours of frustrated navigating, we decided to cut our losses and take a room elsewhere. Despite the best efforts of our desk clerk, we were still charged the full rate for a non-cancellation.
Later, we were invited to comment on how our stay with them turned out.


Duh!!! What a bunch of morons!!!!

To me, this represents a big zero in customer relations. Stay elsewhere.

Finding a cheap hotel or hostel is not easy in Marseille, so we found a very good deal going for this hotel and booked it without checking the reviews. Once I saw some of the comments previous visitors had left, I was quite concerned as it has definitely had some very tough reviews...

It is clear that this hotel has had a refurbishment since some of these reviews were published. The corridors are particularly dingy, covered with grey carpet on the floor and walls and smell of cigarette smoke, but the rooms are a lot brighter (promise!). Even though a double room is small, it is white-washed with a large double bed which is incredibly soft and really comfortable to sleep on which wasn't expected! There are two side tables, a desk, two cheap looking plastic chairs, a large wardrobe (which was too dark, so we never used it), and a television with a fairly selective choice in channels. The bathroom is decent enough, however the shower shows signs of age with cracks and scuffs here and there. Rooms are very clean, with the cleaners coming every day. I have noticed some previous comments that the cleaners never changed the bedsheets - ours were changed 3 times in 6 days, and towels were replaced every day.

The staff are not very friendly but will answer any questions that you may have, they also speak English. Internet is available by reception and WiFi is only available on the ground floor. The computer has an awkward logging in system and we had to try a few attempts, but we got there in the end. I wish I could comment on breakfast, but we never had it at the hotel. From overhearing other guests, I gathered that it was 'trop chèr' - too expensive. I think it was advertised at about €9 per day for each person, however there are some beautiful Brasseries and Boulangeries to buy fresh croissants and coffee all around in town, so I would say ignore the breakfast at the hotel and go see what Marseille's restaurants have to offer.

Another good things was that the hotel was very easy to find. In the directions, it says to get the metro to Noailles from the Gare Saint Charles. However, it is a three minute walk from the Gare, maybe five with suitcases, but be warned that there is a big amount of stairs (but I'm pretty sure there's disabled access somewhere or a lift or something, we just didn't look very hard). If you're strong enough to carry your suitcase, go from the Gare and save a few cents, it takes longer on the metro!

There were a few flaws with the hotel which brings the score down. Firstly, the lift was possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen - it will barely hold 2 people and 2 suitcases. If you are on the fourth floor, you will have to go in separate trips up to your room!

The building as a whole is very run down, and doesn't look like a hotel at all but inside makes up for it.

When we were leaving, it was advertised on hostelworld (where we booked the room) that travellers cheques could be used to settle the fee. However when we went to pay, it appeared that they have never accepted travellers cheques and that was that... So we paid with a debit card. They were very dismissive and made us wait for our receipt whilst serving other customers for 5 minutes! It was like he didn't want much to do with us after that.

There was blood on the shower curtain.

And now for the biggest problem... if you end up staying in room 209, I do feel for you. Behind the wardrobe in the corner is some kind of water closet or something. During the day, and at random points in the evening, we would here a crashing splashing sound, as if someone was pouring a whole bucket of water from a height onto the floor. Honestly, it was really annoying, and it carried on until about 11 each night. Luckily we were always back late so it never disturbed our sleeping, but sometimes it was so loud we did debate on asking to change rooms. Beware, we're not sure if we were put in this room due to a cheap rate but if you get an experience like that - ask to change rooms immediately.

If you are on a budget this is good enough, but if you have the buck to spend, find a nice hotel by the Port!

NIGHTMARE experience! Dark, dingy room on the 3rd floor, DIFFERENT to the room with bed bugs mentioned in an earlier review by another guest.

Noticed excess of 10 insects in the room but didn't recognise them as bed bugs. Put those that I could see in the bathroom out of the way of me. Should have left the room there and then (my mistake) but it was very late and I was tired. Slept for 2 hours and awoke to find bugs on my bed. Some blood on sheets when I inspected. Got up, showered, left. Should've complained and not paid really but my French isn't too bien and I just wanted to get out of there and carry on my trip elsewhere. Did exactly that.

When the bites came up I had them on my shoulder area, near my feet, flanks and hips, approximately 20 bites in total. They weren't pleasant but not too bad.

In summary and unsurprisingly, I won't be getting a room in the hotel anytime soon. My advice to a prospective guest would be to do the same.

This little gem has had some tough reviews. Not sure what went wrong for those people, but this place was very good to us! It’s only a 2 min walk from Marseilles Central Railway Station and about 10 mins walk to the old port, where you will find eateries and shopping. The staff were very helpful and showed us where to take our laundry (just across the road), and allowed us to email through some documents to have printed (at no extra cost). We were very happy with our room; it was so light and airy. It was modern, clean and the bathroom was great too. But the best part was the comfy bed with lovely soft sheets and pillows. I think that this hotel may have had a refurb done not long ago. We definitely recommend this place. It cost us a mere 50euro a night on venere.com. It was central to everything and there were plenty of places to eat very near by. We would also recommend, if you’re planning on going to Marseille for leisure reasons, a trip out to Les Calanques Cassis. It’s a beautiful spot, where you will discover amazing azure blue waters and secluded beaches. A real must do! You can book to head out there with companies lining the old port. Easy peasy! Wifi was only available in the lobby, but it was free and not too slow. Feel confident to book with New Hotel Select, they have really spruced themselves up and seem very good now.