Le Petit Nice Passedat - Relais & Châteaux in Marseille

This is the worst 5 star hotel I have ever had the pleasure of staying. I paid over 1k a night for the romantic suite sea view Traquandi that had a different balcony than what was pictured when I booked it. There was a receptionist that never offered a smile the whole time I was there. I asked for a phone charger - she would not let me take the charger to my room. I asked her if breakfast was included in my stay - she answered yes. Then when I went to eat breakfast, I was charged for parts of my meal (My understanding breakfast was free, if certain parts of the menu were not free, then the receptionist should tell me that). Overall, I would say a 3, maybe 4 star hotel based on the service. Mostly dissatisfied with the deception of the room and poor service. I would recommend The Intercontinental, not Le Petit Nice Passedat.

We have stayed at many Relais & Chateaux hotels in our travels. We count on them to assure a high level of quality. We were shocked that this hotel earned that designation: it is not nearly at the same high standards that one expects from a hotel in the Relais & Chateaux group. You drive up a tiny, narrow street to reach the hotel, which is behind a prison-like barrier that is opened to permit you to enter (very odd). When you return from a walk, no staff member comes out to greet you; there is no lobby (let alone a gracious entry); you walk up cement stairs to your room in undecorated hallways. The very small room was so barren and devoid of any upholstered furniture, that one might describe it as spartan. It was the opposite of luxurious, gracious, charming, or attractive. In fact, it felt like a very expensive hostel. There was virtually no shelf or counter space for one's personal items in the room, barely any dresser drawer space, lights that were impossible to figure out, a terrace that was not private from the guest terraces on either side of ours (so one had to look at and listen to one's neighbors lying on their terraces), inattentive and disinterested staff, and below average breakfast service and food on the terrace. The ONLY thing that this hotel has going for it is the view of the sea from the terraces, which is gorgeous. But the hotel itself is a total disappointment - there have to be better quality hotels in Marseille which offer a view of the sea. We would never return, nor would we recommend this hotel to anyone.

We have stayed at many Relais & Chateaux hotels in our travels. We count on them to assure a high level of quality. We were shocked that this hotel earned that designation: it is not nearly at the same high standards that one expects from a hotel in the Relais & Chateaux group. You drive up a tiny, narrow street to reach the hotel, which is behind a prison-like barrier that is opened to permit you to enter (very odd). When you return from a walk, no staff member comes out to greet you; there is no lobby (let alone a gracious entry); you walk up cement stairs to your room in undecorated hallways. The very small room was so barren and devoid of any upholstered furniture, that one might describe it as spartan. It was the opposite of luxurious, gracious, charming, or attractive. In fact, it felt like a very expensive hostel. There was virtually no shelf or counter space for one's personal items in the room, barely any dresser drawer space, lights that were impossible to figure out, a terrace that was not private from the guest terraces on either side of ours (so one had to look at and listen to one's neighbors lying on their terraces), inattentive and disinterested staff, and below average breakfast service and food on the terrace. The ONLY thing that this hotel has going for it is the view of the sea from the terraces, which is gorgeous. But the hotel itself is a total disappointment - there have to be better quality hotels in Marseille which offer a view of the sea. We would never return, nor would we recommend this hotel to anyone.

Awful We phoned ahead to ask if the hotel would be open to serve food and drinks on the terrace. The answer was yes, but the food offering would be cold salads. That was fine by us, but on arrival, there was much confusion. After the staff chatted about what to do, we were shown to the terrace and sat for 20mins before anyone would give us any attention whatsoever. There were staff but the work seemed to be falling to just one, who deemed clearing other tables more of a priority than clearing the dirty table we were sitting at. Eventually, after asking again, we were brought menus. By now 30 mins had gone by. In the end, we decided to leave, as there were 2 other tables waiting and we were not prepared to pay 24 Euro for one gin and tonic after such poor service. The people on the table next to us had been told that the staff were busy, but as we left, 3 or 4 staff members were hanging round reception chatting - while the one who was working claimed not to speak any English (in an international hotel in France's 2nd city). Crazy. This is not a 5 star hotel. Nowhere close.

Meh. So the restaurant is amazing, but the hotel is dated and not very competent. We stayed for 2 nights. The staff were very pleasant. Breakfasts were perfect -- not too little, not too much. Negronis on the patio in the sun looking out over the Med -- perfect. BUT. When we checked in they charged us for the room for two nights. When we checked out, they double charged us for the room (and the dinner at their excellent 3 star restaurant). We told them they had already charged us for the room, but they said that was wrong, We had to call them when the charges cleared to explain they had double charged us for the room. They agreed to refund the overcharge, but we did not receive an apology. Unacceptable, lousy customer service. Inexcusable. Why rip-off your customers and refuse to apologize when you do so? Not like they would have refunded us our 750 euros of overcharge had we not called them on it. Incompetent. Unacceptable.