marseille alex hotel bedroomThis modest, stylish boutique hotel in the bustling heart of Marseille is fantastic value for money, but the exceptional service is what really makes the Alex Hotel.

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Thoughtful touches and a personal approach are in evidence everywhere and a small, enthusiastic management team provides 24 hour porterage. The hotel is even, rather sweetly, named after the owner's young son (the 1713 bar marks the dates of his daughters' birthdays).

From the outside the location is not especially inspiring. Despite the appealing photo on the hotel website, pictured below, it actually sits on a busy boulevard just opposite the main bus and train stations.

Step inside, though, and you enter a haven of calm. This might be a three star hotel, but when you arrive you're likely to be offered an espresso coffee from the machine in reception. Candles will be glowing softly after dark and there may be flowers on the front desk.

The 18 rooms and three suites are smallish but cunningly designed: some use sliding partitions to maximise the space. Two are adapted for guests with disabilities.

marseille alex hotel exteriorThey're decorated in restful charcoal and dove grey around the sleeping area, with energising bursts of burnt orange, blue, lime green or crimson elsewhere in the room.

Each floor is colour-coded and each bedroom has its own individual design. It's all slightly reminiscent of Le Corbusier's cool modernist style, as seen in Marseille's Radiant City just across town.

In the bathroom is a walk-in Italian shower and a lovely, silky microfibre coloured bathrobe, also Italian - much classier than the usual bulky white terry towelling. The bedding and memory foam mattresses are of high quality.

Rooms at the front overlook the magnificent staircase leading up to Saint Charles Station, pictured below. The hotel sits on a hill, so these are open views that also take in the boulevards and some trees and green spaces.

The traffic is constant, so you'll need to keep the windows closed. But the sound- (and light-) proofing is excellent.

Rooms at the back contemplate terracotta roofs and a quiet little, very typically Marseillais courtyard where you can sit out or linger over breakfast on sunny days. Two suites have balconies. Quietest of all is the separate annexe across the courtyard (rooms nos.501-503), though this building has no lift / elevator.

marseillestationThere is one big bonus to the location: the unbeatable transport connections. Right opposite the Alex Hotel are the main train and bus stations, the airport bus shuttle, the Eurostar terminus, a metro interchange and a taxi rank.

The Alex has limited parking space for guests right in front of the hotel (you'll need to reserve it ahead). A municipal car-park is just across the street. So this is the perfect base, both for exploring the city and for touring the region.

Originally based in a single town house, the Alex has since expanded to the neighbouring building. This has enabled it to vastly extend its facilities.

There's now a nice, large bar with a range of seating and an L-shaped terrace at the back overlooking the garden. It offers a small but carefully chosen selection of very local wines, including reds from Château La Coste, near Aix en Provence, and our favourite Bodin white wine from Cassis.

Food is available in the evenings: warm snacks in summer and tapas sharing plates (cheese, charcuterie, salmon) at other times of year. In a room leading off the bar, the new business centre has been enlarged too.

On the lower, garden level, there's a fitness room and a lovely, bright and airy new spa all done out in shades of ochre yellow and slate grey. Here you will find a "sensorial shower", a hammam, a sauna and other relaxing delights, plus a fountain, though not (yet) a swimming pool. One was being planned, though, at the time of our last visit.

You'll find a few basic station bars and restaurants close by, while there's a much wider choice on the Old Port and in the hip Cours Julien district. Both are a 15 minute walk: be prepared for a bit of hill climbing - or take the metro.

As in most big cities, the area immediately around the station is rather down at heel - though not, despite Marseille's reputation, dangerous.

The Hotel Alex does breakfast, at a very reasonable extra charge, and it's brilliant. Staff take turns in the kitchen at breakfast: you might even find the hotel manager, Stéphane Serres, who comes from a family of bakers, whipping up some waffles or chocolate muffins.

Also on offer: French toast with orange flower water, a "honeycomb bar" and omelettes cooked to order: the house special is caramelised goat's cheese and honey, which sounds odd but is delicious.

There's also DIY espresso coffee, freshly squeezed fruit juice and a small but sufficient cold buffet. Best of all it's available until 11.30am.

Visited October 2016, April 2019

Where: Alex Hotel, 13-15 place des Marseillaises, 13001 Marseille. Tel: (+33) 4 13 24 13 24. Book a room at the Alex Hotel in Marseille

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