Following its success in Paris, Villa M has set up shop in the heart of Marseille, just a stone’s throw from Prado Beach. This second establishment from the Pasteur Mutualité Group embodies a new vision of hospitality, combining high-end hotels, integrative health, sports, and wellness. Conceived by Thierry Lorente, CEO of the group, and Amanda Lehmann, designer-creator of Villa M and Director of Strategy, this hybrid venue is fully in line with a holistic approach to health and better living. It is a place that breaks the mold and reinvents the hotel of tomorrow.
Inaugurated in June 2025, Villa M Marseille is intended to be an extension of the Pasteur Mutualité group’s flagship building, the Villa M in Paris, with its green façade opening onto Boulevard Pasteur in 2021. The aim is to offer a hybrid space where hospitality converges with the challenges of health and innovation.
Villa M: a new generation of socially responsible hotels
A few steps from the Old Port, in the heart of a rapidly changing neighborhood, Villa M Marseille, formerly Villa Massalia, is opening its doors. This new living space, designed as a hotel but conceived above all as a wellness center, extends the vision of the Pasteur Mutualité group that began with Villa M in Paris: to create spaces where health, hospitality, and innovation intersect. “We believe that health also depends on the living environment, the quality of the welcome, the presence of life and human interaction,” explains Thierry Lorente, the group’s CEO.
The choice of Marseille is no coincidence. “It is a dynamic Mediterranean city undergoing rapid transformation, but still marked by profound inequalities. Opening a place like Villa M here is a way of contributing to a form of urban renaissance,” continues the CEO. The hotel aims to offer an inclusive, welcoming experience that is open to the city: a coworking and play area for adults and children, a health bookshop, a locavore café-restaurant, designer rooms, treatment areas… everything is designed to reconnect individuals with themselves and their environment.
Amanda Lehmann, who is leading the project’s artistic direction, drew inspiration from the light of Marseille and Mediterranean materials. “We worked with local artisans, used natural materials, and designed the spaces to breathe. It’s a place that opens up, welcomes, and relaxes.” Unlike traditional hotels, the customer experience here is not about ostentation, but about sensation: the feeling of being comfortable in a lively, fluid space connected to the outside world. Studio Friedmann & Versace has created a sunny and warm interior design with Mediterranean accents, using raw and noble materials, deep ochre and saffron yellow colors, and objects from local crafts.
The plant architecture, so emblematic of the Parisian Villa M, has been reinterpreted in Marseille. Climbing plants, tree-lined terraces… each space incorporates greenery as a common thread. “The presence of living things is fundamental. It soothes and inspires. It’s part of the treatment,” insists Amanda Lehmann. The rooftop will host yoga workshops, acoustic concerts, and conferences on health and climate issues.
“The story began on the tablecloth of a seaside restaurant. We believed we could dream. And we managed to get everyone on board with this crazy idea,” says Thierry Lorente, CEO of Groupe Pasteur Mutualité.
This new establishment also embodies a different vision of hospitality: that of a useful place, nourished by values. “Villa M is not a traditional hotel brand. It is a manifesto, a conceptual space centered around health. We want to create places that appeal to caregivers, travelers, curious minds, and neighbors. Places that are open, diverse, and sustainable,” insists Thierry Lorente.
With this in mind, partnerships have been formed with local healthcare professionals, innovative start-ups, and artists from Marseille. Residences are planned to accommodate practitioners undergoing retraining, conferences on healthcare, and exhibitions related to life.
With this opening, the Groupe Pasteur Mutualité confirms its ambition to bring about a new generation of committed, open, and sustainable hotels. Villa M is positioned as a modern response to the expectations of travelers in search of meaning.
Analysis: Why is this opening strategic?
The opening of Villa M Marseille comes in a post-COVID context where mental health, reconnecting with nature, and the search for meaning are becoming central to the high-end hotel industry. The choice of Marseille is part of a strategy of decentralization and inclusion, far from saturated capital cities. By investing in a popular and cosmopolitan city, the Pasteur Mutualité Group is affirming its commitment to hospitality. “We want to contribute to social transformation through place. This is not an elitist project, it is a social project,” concludes Thierry Lorente.
Health and innovation are at the heart of the project: consultation, preventive health, and check-ups are the key words of the concept.
“There has been a real awareness since COVID. The French have embraced the idea that it is important to take care of yourself before you get sick,” analyzes Thierry Lorente, adding, “France has always favored curative medicine. This is a source of real pride for our doctors and all healthcare professionals in our country. As a result, we are much less advanced than other countries in terms of prevention, screening, and even vaccination. It is no coincidence that our social security system is called health insurance… Today, it is imperative to rebalance this approach.”
With this fresh perspective on preventive medicine, Villa M Marseille brings together and reinvents all aspects of health around a comprehensive, innovative, and resolutely contemporary approach. While wellness rituals and therapeutic support are an integral part of the experience, the beating heart of the establishment remains its Consultation and Care Center. A true hub of expertise, it brings together professionals in general and preventive medicine, stress and burnout management, nutrition, sleep, and musculoskeletal disorders.
Five integrated consultation blocks—accessible online via Doctolib—offer comprehensive and seamless care. This offering will soon be enhanced by the Méthode M, an individualized and innovative prevention program. Designed around longevity check-ups and mental performance programs, this pioneering approach aims to preserve and optimize each individual’s health capital in the long term. “Our longevity health check-up program is designed to address issues related to aging, with tailor-made medical and paramedical support. Because aging well also means knowing when to slow down, breathe, and rediscover meaning,” explains Amanda Lehmann.
Driven by Marseille’s entrepreneurial dynamism, Villa M is also committed to innovation with iMpulsion, its acceleration program dedicated to the healthcare startups of tomorrow. Designed as a catalyst for ideas and growth, it supports young companies in their development within an ecosystem that is as stimulating as it is demanding.
A state-of-the-art boxing and fitness club
At Villa M Marseille, sport takes on a whole new dimension thanks to a team of highly experienced coaches. Experts in their field, passionate and skilled teachers, these professionals convey much more than a taste for exercise: they instill a genuine culture of pushing oneself to the limit, promoting physical and mental well-being for all. Their mission? To help everyone make lasting progress, whatever their level, by combining performance, attentiveness, and high standards.
The Boxing & Fitness Club, bathed in natural light thanks to its large windows opening onto the outside, embodies this philosophy with force. On its walls, a monumental fresco by Jo di Bona, a major figure in French street art, celebrates the sporting spirit of Marseille. Two icons are honored: Florent Manaudou, four-time Olympic swimming medalist, and Basile Boli, football legend of Olympique de Marseille. It is a vibrant work that sets the tone for a place where a passion for sport meets art and local heritage.
In this space, designed as a laboratory for health in motion, a wide range of disciplines are offered in group classes: cross training, yoga, Pilates, and even outdoor sports outings to reconnect body and mind with the environment. But the real beating heart of the club remains the ring. Boxing classes, ranging from medium to high intensity, allow beginners and experienced practitioners alike to discover or perfect the art of combat. From cardio boxing to technical workshops, including sessions tailored to children and teenagers, each training session is supervised by qualified coaches in a spirit that is both demanding and supportive.
Members also have access to state-of-the-art equipment: leather punching bags, free weights, latest-generation machines… everything is designed to optimize each session. And because performance also depends on good recovery, the wellness area completes the sporting experience with treatments dedicated to relaxation, muscle regeneration, and letting go. A perfect balance between intensity and gentleness, in a place where physical activity is seen as a pillar of overall health.
The icing on the cake? A boules court for pétanque enthusiasts (a boulodrome). Marseille obliges!
A spa in unison
A sauna to relax your muscles, a steam room to purify your body, a jacuzzi for deep relaxation: this wellness trio embodies the essence of the Spa & Wellness area at Villa M Marseille. A true haven of serenity, this space invites you to completely disconnect and regenerate both physically and mentally. On sunny days, the benefits of these rituals extend outdoors thanks to the open-air pool, accessible directly from the spa area.
In an intimate and soothing setting, two treatment rooms welcome visitors for targeted protocols. Highly technical facials, enveloping or therapeutic massages: each treatment is designed to soothe tension, balance energy, and reveal the skin’s radiance. These treatments combine ancestral rituals and modern technologies, supported by the expertise of the Deep Nature brand. Through the use of minerals, plants, roots, and active ingredients sourced from nature, the formulas work deeply to combat skin aging, internal imbalances, and the effects of urban stress.
But Villa M Marseille doesn’t stop at traditional approaches. Resolutely focused on innovation, it incorporates the latest advances in recovery and regeneration. Among these, cryotherapy plays a central role. By exposing the body to intense cold for a short period of time, this technique stimulates blood circulation, reduces muscle and inflammatory pain, and strengthens the body’s natural defenses. The perfect complement to physical training, it provides an immediate feeling of lightness, energy, and mental clarity.
The Villa M Marseille Spa has thus become a true sanctuary of holistic care, where each treatment aims to restore harmony to the body and mind. It is an immersive experience at the crossroads of well-being, health, and innovation.
On the agenda: conferences, coworking, events
Villa M Marseille stands out as a true catalyst for ideas and projects. Vibrant, abundant, and open, it offers a stimulating environment for collaboration, creation, and innovation. Its conference center and meeting rooms overlooking the Borély racecourse welcome both healthcare professionals and professionals from other sectors. Corporate seminars, training courses, brainstorming workshops, or private events: everything is designed to encourage intellectual exchange and emulation.
True to its local roots, Villa M pays tribute to Marseille’s scientific heritage by naming each room after an iconic doctor or researcher from the region: Charles Livon, Simone Sedan, Isabelle Brès, Léon d’Astros, Dominique Métras, and Crinas. Two major national figures, Louis Pasteur and Marie Curie, already honored in Paris, complete this pantheon of knowledge and transmission.
Looking to the future, Villa M Marseille is also establishing itself as a hub for reflection on contemporary health issues. Throughout the year, it offers a program of meetings, debates, and conferences on major changes in the sector. Among the flagship initiatives, the Pitch Villa M offers the opportunity to meet an expert for an hour to share their work, discuss scientific advances, and question the evolution of our healthcare systems. This short format, which is free and open to all, promotes dialogue between researchers, healthcare professionals, and citizens in a spirit of education and openness.
In Marseille, several of these inspiring events will be organized each year, reinforcing the local roots of a resolutely global vision of health. Villa M does not just host events: it becomes a committed participant.
In short, the opening of Villa M in Marseille represents much more than the birth of a new hotel: it affirms a bold vision of hospitality, reimagined as an ecosystem of care, encounters, and sensory experiences. In this place where guests stay as much to recharge their batteries as to reconnect with themselves and others, the Groupe Pasteur Mutualité is laying the groundwork for a desirable future, where health rhymes with beauty, and innovation with humanity. By combining inspiring architecture, medical excellence, and openness to the city, Villa M stands out as a living manifesto of re-enchanted hospitality.
Information:
17 Place Louis Bonnefon
13008 Marseille
Tel : 04 91 72 90 00
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Featured photo : Villa M Marseille © ErwanFiquet
