He was a grandson of the eminent Jules Hardouin-Mansart, a famed architect who represented the height of French Baroque architecture and power.

[6] Benefiting from the financial aid of Jean-Etienne Raymond, the project was completed in 1788, and the hospital did not need additional expansion until 1860.

[7] The period between 1860 and 1866 saw the Hotel-Dieu rebuilt and remodeled by renowned architect Felix Blanchet, and the transformed hospital was christened by Napoleon III in November of that year.

Throughout this time, several consortiums were bidding for the redevelopment of the Hotel-Dieu, and four years after the acquisition of the property from the hospital in 2003, it was announced that the site was to become a luxury hotel under the InterContinental brand.

Construction and renovations began in 2010, and the rejuvenated Marseille icon reopened on April 25, 2013, about 825 years after the Saint-Esprit Hospital first opened its doors.

A cultural exhibition of the hotel showcases some of the artifacts recovered from the chapel, some dating back over 2200 years.

Despite the hotel's storied history, the interior is modernistic, reflecting the Art Deco style as well as the traditional colors of the Mediterranean, orchestrated by Jean-Philippe Nuel.

The five-story hotel features twelve meeting rooms with a combined 1000 square meters of event space.