In Dijon, a refurbished hotel with a touch of whimsy

Like the rest of France, Dijon, the capital of Burgundy, has seen an explosion of refurbished, midrange hotels. Housed in a renovated 1926 Haussmann-style building, this 42-room, five-story property in the city center was opened in 2015 by the hotelier brothers Bruno and Christophe Massucco. It is Dijon’s first Design Hotel member, and interior spaces are accordingly whimsical and contemporary, a refreshing touch in sometimes stodgy Burgundy. But at times, spaces are confined and overly designed. The lobby is cramped. The breakfast room is crammed with chandeliers and a disc jockey station, and a small glass-floored elevator barely fits two pieces of luggage and seems to be the sole reason for the hotel’s name.

Location

Ideally located in Dijon’s ancient city center, the hotel is a flat eight-minute walk (or three-minute tram ride) from the train station and a 10-minute walk to sites like Les Halles Dijon, the city’s covered food market; the 13th-century L’Église Notre-Dame de Dijo; and many shops, restaurants and museums. There’s a bus stop just outside for going farther afield.

The Room

My Cocoon Room, the least expensive category, was soundproofed but tight quarters, even for one person. Tasteful Ligne Roset furniture, charcoal wool curtains and slate-colored walls clashed with more frivolous “design surprises” like an iPhone-shaped TV, a small black ceramic polar bear crawling up the wall, and an empty frame mounted askew on the ceiling above the bed. Maybe cool if you’re under 30; silly if you’re not. My window opened to a quiet courtyard, and the air-conditioning was powerful, a rarity in

France. The minibar was stocked with salted caramel cookies, goji-berry juice, crème de cassis nips and jars of mustard sweetened with Chablis and morels. Beds had quilted headboards and quality duvets, but pillows were overstuffed. Wi-Fi was free and fast.

The Bathroom

The toilet was separated from the rest of the room by a sliding door that was heavily scuffed on the bottom. The shower featured a black-and-white tile mosaic and Missoni toiletries.

Amenities

Vertigo has several small leisure spaces. A subterranean spa features a narrow pool decorated with blue-lit disco balls and ergonomic loungers, a sauna and exercise and massage rooms. A cigar room, in a second-floor loft, is furnished with leather loungers. And at night, the breakfast lounge transforms into a clubby bar bathed in pink light, ideal for sipping glasses of rosé and Champagne. At midnight on an August weeknight, it was empty. Members of the staff were quick and responsive to in-person and email requests, but noticeably inexperienced and unpolished. The best amenity is the free use of an electric car, a BMW i3, for exploring Burgundy’s vineyards. There are also free regular and electric bicycles.

Dining

Breakfast was a whopping 20 euros (or $22.27) for standard buffet fare like croissants, eggs and bacon. There’s no restaurant, but room service offers a limited menu of soups, desserts and precooked jars of local dishes like boeuf bourguignon and Alsatian choucroute garnie, priced steeply at 14 — 18 euros (or $15.59 — $20.05) per jar. It’s available 24/7.

Bottom Line

This is a fun and welcome addition to Dijon. The hotel’s design, a mixed bag that’s more likely to induce claustrophobia than vertigo, is easy to overlook because of the excellent central location, affordable price, comfortable beds and quiet rooms.