Rivages du Vieux Port

The apartment isn’t available before 4 p.m. Also, don’t count on basics like salt or oil being there. Some coffee pods would’ve been nice.

We arrived to find a shut door. The number we’d been given went unanswered, there was no dedicated intercom, and the neighbours wouldn’t let us in. One of them eventually suggested ibis budget might know something. The welcome there was excellent, but they had no details about my reservation. The host offered no solution. Given the reviews, I don’t regret not staying there.

The bathroom had a sauna and a jacuzzi bath, but we were nervous about using it because the bath panel was exposed. Water also leaked out after every shower. There was a handle on the sauna cabin door, and there were so many other problems it’d take too long to list them all. The place called a “studio” was really just a kitchen area, not an apartment. The kettle was caked with limescale, and the cutlery, cups, and plates were dirty. No dish towel, and the tiny sponge in the sink looked like it had cleaned the whole place. The sofa and its storage compartment were completely broken. The only window wouldn’t open, and looking at the outside, we wouldn’t have wanted to open it anyway. The TV remote had only one battery, so we bought more, but the TV didn’t work. We called the concierge with no result, then emailed. While we were out, they went into the “apartment” without warning just to replace the sponge, and that was all. It was obviously not cleaned properly, even though we’d paid €55 for it to be clean. We had to make our own beds. No comfort at all, a very bad stay. Avoid this place.

Our studio stay was lovely, with a sauna and spa bath, and the apartment was tucked down a little alley in Marseille. I really enjoyed it and would recommend the stay. One thing to know: they only clean between guests on departure day. There’s no housekeeping during your stay, so you can’t get fresh towels if you need them. That’s a shame.