Mama by the Sea, Mama Shelter Marseille, France

Now Spring has arrived, you have little excuse not to maximise those weekends. Fly to Marseille, and book yourselves into Mama Shelter. You’ll find yourselves in the centre of town, in the heart of one of the most interesting cities in France.

Mama Shelter Hotels (with outposts in Paris, Bordeaux, Istanbul, Lyon and Los Angeles) are living and meeting spaces. Modern and lively, friendly and sexy. Curl up on their sofas, share plates, enjoy a drink, and enjoy a great nights sleep in Mama’s bedrooms and suites.

The Starck designed brand of hotels are renowned for their whit, bar life and casual attitude. Medium Mama rooms start at 89€ including breakfast this time of year so you really have no excuse.

We arrived super later from a long days drive, but parked up in their underground carpark and headed straight for a cocktail and dinner in the buzzing restaurant, even for a Sunday night.

In Mama Shelter restaurants, the local Chefs propose simple, generous and authentic dishes with references to local specialties. Everything is homemade.Sit back, relax and ponder over those ceiling illustrations, featured in all hotels.

Good, original design is everywhere, such as this Gitta Gschwendtner bench below (also in the permanent collection at the V&A), to their brilliant in house shop. Cabinets filled with all sorts of things you never needed but can’t resist.

As the brand recognised prior to their Paris opening, the world is moving, tastes are changing, and people are looking for shorter and more original stays.

Managed by the Triganofamily, co-founder of the Club Med, Mama Shelter broke the codes of tourism and has emerged as one of the new standard of urban hospitality.

Stay connected with the hotels series of Macs dotted around the hotel, also featuring in every room.

Children’s floatation aids form the restaurant lighting installation

The ceilings are adorned with various illustrations, here in Marseille, sailing is the theme

Our Medium Mama room, sexy is pretty much the theme. Because luxury is the opposite of modern-day tackiness, a Medium Mama is about what matters, a calming 17 to 21 sq/m room where you can enjoy yourself. It has everything you need to be comfortable such as a 27″ iMac (with saucy photo booth), TV, radio, Airplay, free WiFi access and on-demand movies and a minibar, and there’s even a desk for those boring diehards who have work late. The bathroom was great, filled with Mama Skin products (available to buy in the lobby) and a huge shower.

The famous masks, a pair in every room, perfect of the photo booth play time.

Our chosen masks!

Take breakfast on the terrace in the morning, our room overlooked this fab space which stays covered in winter. The hotel is perfectly affordable for a short break. Top marks from LWSY.

Mama Shelter 64, rue de la Loubière
13006 Marseille
France
T +33 (0)4 84 35 20 00