Because they are inexpensive, Eklo hotels are rarely located in the city center. Nothing like this in Montpellier, where the chain’s tenth establishment opened in November, a stone’s throw from Saint-Roch station. Check-in takes place at the bar. The team is as cheerful as the customers sitting at a table with friends or colleagues.
As for the bedroom, it is family-friendly: these alcoves perched above the double bed will delight children or adults looking for a regressive cocoon. Nothing is missing from the comfort of the room with its laminate flooring, cozy mattress and efficient air conditioning. Small decorative details catch the eye, like these Sammode wall lights which look like a glow stick caught in a metal mesh or these vintage Cartel de Belleville chairs.
The raw concrete ceiling still bears the felt markers that were used in the renovation of the building, a former office building from the 1970s. The roundness of a lamp or a mirror breaks the orthogonality of the lines.
In the living spaces, on the ground floor, the hotel provides entertainment, with karaoke, mini-concert or salsa classes on weekends. Table football, pétanque court and arcade game complete the offer. The breakfast buffet is very decent, as is the restaurant menu. Rare in Montpellier, a garden promises to be delicious on sunny days. Two olive trees are just starting to grow on the terrace.
At 800 meters: frequent the beauty
The Fabre Museum created in 1828 houses many treasures, from Brueghel’s village scenes to Outrenoirs, from Soulages, passing through a White by Simon Hantaï, a crucified Christ by Rubens, a Bat by Germaine Richier, striking severed feet and hands by Géricault or a Orpheus by Odilon Redon. Until May 5, the local institution is exhibiting contemporary sculptor Toni Grand, originally from the region.
At 900 meters: discover a ritual pool
By pushing open the door of an old building, at the bottom of a flight of steps, you reach the mikveh, a tiny underground natural swimming pool, constantly renewed by the water table. From the 12the century, Jews immersed themselves in it to purify themselves, before a wedding, for example. The witnesses watched the rite from a column window located between the basin and the dressing room. This green and tranquil water evokes the Jewish presence, which was essential to the development of the medical university of Montpellier, the first in the West.
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