Right here stands what was once Marseille’s primary hospital for over eight centuries. Now, it is the InterContinental Marseille Hotel Dieu. This five-star luxury hotel has a history as rich as the city itself.
The story of this building dates back to 1188. At that time, it was the Saint-Esprit Hospital. Over the next six centuries, the hospital grew. Napoleon III inaugurated the building in its current form in 1866.
The Hôtel Dieu, a generic term, meant the city’s main hospital during the Middle Ages. These charitable places were usually near the cathedral. The bishop managed them. They welcomed the poor, the old, the sick and the unfortunate. Marseille was no different.
The hospital Saint-Jacques de Galice and Saint-Esprit merged in 1593. It became Marseille’s largest hospital. Both hospitals helped Marseille during the Black Death epidemic.
Esteemed French ophthalmologist Jacques Daviel made advances in cataract surgery here. He performed an extracapsular cataract extraction in 1747. By 1753, the hospital needed more space. Jacques Hardouin-Mansart de Sagonne designed the expansion. He was the court architect of Louis XV. He was also the grandson of Jules Hardouin-Mansart.
Jean-Etienne Raymond provided financial help. The project finished in 1788. Between 1860 and 1866, architect Felix Blanchet rebuilt and remodeled the Hôtel Dieu. Napoleon III reopened the transformed hospital in November 1866.
After 805 years, the Hotel-Dieu received its last patients in 1993. It became a teaching hospital. It closed completely in 2006. In 2003, the property was acquired for development.
In 2010, construction began to transform it into a luxury hotel. The InterContinental Marseille Hotel Dieu opened on April 25, 2013. This was 825 years after the Saint-Esprit Hospital first opened.
The Hôtel Dieu displays French Baroque architecture. Improvements added touches of French Rococo, Neoclassicism, and the Second Empire Style. Like many French buildings, it features a French Garden. Ruins of a 12th-century chapel lie beneath it.
AAA Bechu Agency and Tangram renovated the Hotel-Dieu. Jean-Philippe Nuel designed the interior. It reflects Art Deco style and Mediterranean colors.
The hotel has 194 rooms and suites. Seventy-two rooms overlook the Vieux-Port. The InterContinental Marseille features two restaurants. Michelin-starred chef Lionel Lévy directs them.
The hotel’s brasserie is Les Fenêtres Brasserie. It is named for the Hotel-Dieu’s arched windows. The hotel’s formal dining restaurant is Alcyone Restaurant. It earned a Michelin star a few months after opening.
In 2014, the InterContinental Marseille won the MIPIM Award for Best Refurbished Building. The renovation also earned the Haute Qualité Environnementale Certification. It became the second hotel to receive this award for green building in France.
The main facade and staircases are listed historical monuments. As you stand before the InterContinental Marseille Hotel Dieu, remember its long history. It has transformed from a hospital to a luxury hotel, always a part of Marseille.