Marriott International
A suite at the 123-room hotel, designed by Jean Nouvel, which opened in February.
A business traveler's hotel with a sun-drenched ambience befitting its Mediterranean location; rates start at 100 euros a night (about $125, at $1.25 to the euro).
BASICS
France's star architect, Jean Nouvel, designed this 123-room hotel, which opened in February 2012, as well as the new blue, cubelike city hall and plaza it overlooks. The three-story hotel may not be as striking as its coolly modernist neighbor, but its light oak siding, reminiscent of Caribbean shutters, is of a piece with the nearby beige and pale pink apartment buildings and russet hills.
LOCATION
The hotel is smack in the middle of Montpellier's municipal district, about a mile and a half from La Place de la Comédie, the city's 19th-century center and main tourist attraction. A new Christian Lacroix-designed tram system, which has a stop right outside the hotel, can take you there in five minutes. Or you can walk along the River Lez, through the cafe-lined Place du Millénaire, and reach it in 25 minutes.
THE ROOM
When I arrived at noon, two hours before check-in, the clerk suggested I head up early to the superior guest room that I had booked. The room was what you'd expect from Marriott: clean, sizable, especially for a European city, and nondescript. A lime green throw blanket and armchair added a punch of color to the faux-natural wood desk, headboard and tables. The room had a ground-floor slate patio with two chairs and a table overlooking the river, stone pines and cypresses that was the perfect setting to sip espresso from the in-room Nespresso machine. That night, I watched English-language news on the large flat-screen before falling asleep (very comfortably) on the king-size mattress.
THE BATHROOM
The detachable shower head was overhead, unlike most nozzles in France that hook up to a three-foot-high faucet. The gray-tile bathroom, with a single sink, had sufficient space for the standard Marriott toiletries.
AMENITIES
The 36-foot outdoor pool gets sun, morning and afternoon. It's closed during the winter, but come summer the large wooden deck, surrounded by olive trees, palms and rosemary, will have a dozen chaise longues and bistro tables where guests can set up takeout lunches (table service is not provided). The on-site Torii Spa offers sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi, massages and body treatments. Free Wi-Fi is available in the guest rooms, but there are also two Apple computers available for 2 euros per 15 minutes. A fitness center is open 24 hours.
ROOM SERVICE
There is none. The 24-hour market in the hotel sells to-go microwaveable meals and snacks. I arrived at lunchtime and grabbed a tartiflette, which I microwaved, a casserole of potatoes, Reblochon cheese and lardons, and took it to my room. It was delicious, though the smell of bacon pervaded the room afterward. The 15-euro breakfast buffet, from 6 to 10 a.m. in Oléo Pazzo, the restaurant attached to the hotel, included a spread of breads, charcuterie and cheeses as well as omelets and potato pancakes.
BOTTOM LINE
Though it is outside the city center, the Courtyard by Marriott offers a comfortable, relaxing stay at a very reasonable price, a combination that you'd be hard pressed to find among many of the hotels in the old city.
Courtyard by Marriott Montpellier, 105 Place Georges Freche; (33-4) 9954-7400; courtyardmontpellier.com.
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