Mama Shelter Paris West, France

Mama Shelter Paris West, France

Bringing fun and affordability to the French capital’s Périphérique, Mama Shelter Paris West welcomes its guests like family, with a sharing-style restaurant, off-the-wall interiors and customisable souvenirs, all within a short journey from the city centre.



There
are copious hotels which aim to make a stay feel like a
homecoming of sorts. The mission of Mama Shelter Paris West is no
different – though, with its price point you’ll question whether
your booking has come with a serious family discount. Its welcome
message would sound something like: “come on in, take your coat
off, leave your shoes on… act like you own the place.” Mama Shelter
is a sociable sort, as its communal tables and sharing-style menu
can attest. It’s creative too; you’ll spot a printing station off
the lobby.

Accommodating and affordable, with some of the friendliest staff
we’ve encountered in the city, the hotel’s only con (on an
otherwise pro-dominant list) is that it’s positioned on Paris’s
Périphérique, meaning it’s not exactly prime flânuer terroir.
Still, with metro station Porte de Versailles a six-minute walk
from your hotel, it’s hardly a deal-breaker.

Bedrooms

Ranging from Medium Mama to XXL Mama, all 207 rooms come with
the same amenities – free movies, a flat-screen TV, desk space and
sinkable beds – the only real difference is the square-metre
coverage. Affordable in price, rooms start from €109 per night –
near unheard of by Parisian standards. Trippy monochromatic carpets
and a personalised welcome note scrawled across your bathroom
mirror give bedrooms a fun-loving character. The signature style of
designers Dion & Arles is abundant; expect doodles on the
bathroom tiles and masks of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader slipped
over the woven lampshades either side of the bed. Concrete walls
are softened with velvet furnishings while welcome treats of
chocolate-chip and hazelnut cookies, lollipops and Haribo add
further sweetness. The real insulin hit? The woven headboards,
which are very Ceraudo-meets-Matilda Goad vibes.

What’s for breakfast?

Breakfast is a bountiful buffet. Grab a plate and work your way
around the central counter, stopping with purpose at the patisserie
station at both the beginning and end of your preliminary food lap.
After you’ve chomped your way through your pain aux raisin, crêpes
Suzette and fruit salad, head up for seconds, this time opting for
a medley of scrambled eggs, buttered mushrooms and streaky
bacon.

How about lunch and dinner?

Open from 12pm, the restaurant is great for lunch during the
week, or, if it’s Sunday, make brunch plans from 12.30pm.
Regardless of time, the setup is the same. An open kitchen reveals
yellow-and-white chequered tiles and a cohort of chefs hard at
work. A hive of activity that the kitchen is, it has a lot to
compete with considering that the long dining space is bedecked
with ceiling murals, carnivalesque lighting panels, mismatched
seating, kitsch animal statuettes, foosball tables and the many
tendrils of (faux) plants. Dinner service is when the main
restaurant really hits its stride. Chicken on a spit gets top
billing on the pamphlet-style menu because “Mama Loves Chicken”,
apparently; pair this with homemade French fries and green beans
for extra crunch. The roasted half cauliflower and the veal tartare
served with wasabi mayonnaise and homemade crisps are also strong
contenders where main courses are concerned. Precede with the zingy
salmon tataki and finish with the soft-bake chocolate cake and
confit oranges – the desert takes 15 minutes, so prepare to wait.
Admittedly, the restaurant is so vast that you’ve probably become
used to waiting by now – take charge and signal to waitstaff when
you’d like to order and hey presto, problem solved. On the plus
side, hovering wait staff won’t be an issue. Word to the wise: dine
in The Alcove (a cornered-off section of the restaurant) for
quieter conversations and intimate meetings.

Is there a bar?

The hotel’s main bar is open daily until 1.30am. Positioned at
the centre of the main restaurant, it’s a great spot for
people-watching – that is, when you’re eyes aren’t fixed on those
fabulous fringed lamps or the screens playing old movies without
audio (we could watch Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief for hours on
end. When the sun shines, head to the rooftop or ground-level
terrace for a Kiss Me cocktail – Mama Shelter’s riff on a pisco
sour.

Amenities

If you’re in need of an original gift (say a t-shirt with your
face on it or a tote to immortalise your trip to Paris) stop by
Mama’s Print Shop and design your own. Seeking another souvenir?
The Mama Shop in the lobby is a cabinet of curiosities, peddling
neon gym bags and Mama Shelter-crested slippers – you’re sure to
find something that’s “a bit of you”.

Things you should know

Free movies, searchable by language are available on your TV.
You’ll also find the WiFi code for your room at the top of the TV
menu.

Within a short walk you’ll find…

Mama’s neighbour is Porte de Versaille Expo, Europe’s largest
exhibition centre. A little farther out – just over 30 minutes by
foot – you’ll stumble upon the Musée Bourdelle. Entry is free. Make
sure to peep inside the ground-floor studio of the late, much-fêted
sculptor Antoine Bourdelle who once trained under Rodin.

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