We stayed 2 nights to see Aix. The hotel is located on the northern edge of the ring road, but relatively far from the Cours Mirabeau, where most of the activity resides. The walk is not far, so distance isn't really an issue. The hotel is much like an American hotel. The rooms are larger and it has amenities such as a restaurant, bar and spa. It has 1 computer with internet access in the lobby, but it is extremely slow.

The room itself was decent, but not very clean. There was hair on the bathroom floor and fuzz balls in the corners. The room is also a bit dated and needs some renovations. The first night we stayed, there was no hot water. The front desk said nobody else had complained. The next morning, same result. They finally got it fixed, but it was 1 day too late. We approached the front desk manager with this and after a long explanation on why he could not offer much in compensation, he did pay for our 2 days of parking in the garage.

We also had difficulty determining if any of the spa was included to hotel guests. After much discussion, we found out that the upstairs jacuzzi is available as is the sauna and steam room. However, the exercise room, downstairs spa and relaxing room are only for those who book an expensive spa treatment. No problem with that, just tell me what I get and what I don't.

All in all, we would have rather have booked a smaller hotel, located closer to Cours Mirabeau. The Aquabella was OK, but it felt like a Holiday Inn or Hilton instead of being in Provence.

Most of the reviews point out the one strong point of the Aquabella: its location. For the rest, the swimming pool is indeed quite nice (with its medieval tower), but the rooms are just standard -- not all of them have been refurbished. The ones on the second floor, for example, are is need of paint, new decoration. We were moved to a room in the third floor -- much better, new furniture, better showers etc. The sauna / jacuzzi area are quite nice too. Staff was friendly. Quite a lot of seminars / convention guests -- but that's really OK. All in all, a standard hotel, but probably the best accomodation you can get in that area of Aix, for that price.

We had a superior room with breakfast included. The room was a good size, clean, freshly decorated and nicely furnished. We had a balcony with lovely views over the rooftops of Aix.

The Aquabella is in a very quiet street, but only a couple of minutes' walk from the town centre and great restaurants and bars.

The staff were friendly and helpful.

The breakfasts were great - lovely food and lots of it.

Can't fault it at all, although it was on the expensive side at 155 euros a night (including breakfast for 2).

A really good hotel if you're not on too tight a budget.

we stayed here in for 3 days feb 08 with 3 teenagers 16, 17 &18 yrs. we booked ' superior' rooms. Our room 4th floor, rm 425 at the back , great views; both were bright quiet & clean.
the kids room was crowded by the extra bed, ( we expected a larger room for them) on 3rd floor, rm 338 but they were untroubled by this.
it was an excellent hotel for several reasons:
teenager safety & happiness:
the kids could come & go safely to the spa facilities, which they enjoyed very much. The town was small & safe enough that they could drop off shopping, go to the spa or meet us somewhere for lunch easily.
food & drink:
the hotel was a good location for all levels of eating& drinking: we chose to avoid the pricey cours mirabeau ( 2 cafe au lait & cognac a whopping 28 euro!!)
we chose to eat breakfast out, as it is more interesting, and cheaper. There is an excellent coffee shop at the back of the hotel, at the level of the Thermes sextus spa entrance, and beside it an excellent bakery. also there is a bar beside it that was very busy at lunchtime, although we only had a drink there.
The rue de tanneurs / place de tanneurs is full of atmospheric restaurants: chic, tasty and traditional, and 5 mins away. we ate somewhere there every evening.
there was a long shaped open area just beside the place des tanneurs, where the underground tanneurs parking was being built, full of students sunshine and small restaurants. it has about 3 place names, however it is easy to recognise, with the tanneurs parking at the bottom end and the square with the town hall at the top. safe , sunny , relaxing, hardly any tourists- except us!
taxi back to aix tgv was 30 euros per cab or 4 euros per person on a bus.