June 2024 will see Mama Shelter Nice open its doors in the alluring Côte d’Azur, in the artistic and epicurean city of Nice, with 102 rooms, a rooftop with pool, a bar and pizza counter, a restaurant, two workshops, two studios, and breakroom. Dropping another anchor in the Mediterranean, this opening will bring the 11th Mama Shelter location to France, totalling 18 worldwide.
LOCATION
Mama Shelter will bring a new offering to the Riquier district, true to Mama Shelter’s commitment to opening in cities and neighbourhoods that are on the rise. The hotel will occupy three buildings including one from the early 20th century with a preserved façade. Mama Shelter will become the vibrant heart of the Riquier district, attracting locals and tourists alike, and set amongst the various parks dedicated to boules.
Cédric Gobilliard, General Manager of Mama Shelter, says “Nice and its neighbourhoods are ever-evolving, and are attracting young people and families more than ever. Our latest addition in France, the 11th Mama, will settle in this welcoming city where conviviality and creativity reign. Within its walls, Mama Shelter Nice will tell both the ancient and contemporary story of the city – an inspiring story rich in flavours, maritime essence and artistry.”
DESIGN
Benjamin El Doghaïli, architect and head of the Mama Shelter design studio, has embraced Nice’s artistic heritage and designed the hotel to be at one with its environment. El Doghaïli draws his inspiration from the works of the many painters who settled there, in the palettes, motifs, subjects, and collages of Matisse, Braque’s birds, Picasso’s ceramics from the Vallauris period.
On the white walls of the lobby, hand-painted frescoes will pay homage to these artists illuminated by large mirrors alongside giant hangings by artist Kate Mary . White carries over into the rooms, textured directly on the walls and brightened by ochre curtains to resemble the walls of 19th -century Niçois buildings. The carpets are designed by artist Laureline Galliot, and celebrate pointillism, the technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of colour are applied in patterns to form an image. Powdered pink bathroom tiles form an infinite checkerboard from floor to ceiling and Mama’s iconic cartoon masks will hang on bedside table lamps, as they do across all the hotels in the portfolio.
Throughout the property, El Doghaïli’ demonstrates his love for bright and vibrant hues by marrying saffron yellow, red ochre, ultramarine blue and Nice olive green with the smeared palettes of impressionist painters. In collaboration with talented artists and artisans like Lola Mercier or Beniloys, bouquets of mediterranean fruits, flowers and vegetables – such as lavender, sunflower and wheat poppy – will adorn the top of columns enhanced with plaster capitals, evolving with the seasons, in the style of a Van Gogh still life. At the centre of the restaurant, an olive wood bar reigns on a floor paved with perfectly laid terracotta tiles, and suspended luminous sculptures inspired by festive street lights lighten up the room.
Between the three buildings is a verdant patio and flowered alleyway covered by a retractable glass roof. The rooftop is home to a mosaic swimming pool with wicker screens for shade, lounge chairs and bar.
FOOD AND BEVERAGE
The ground floor restaurant offers a large room with an open kitchen, slanted mirrors, cast iron columns adorned with frescoes where communal tables rhythmically fill the space and set the tone: convivial, friendly, laid-back. For lunch and dinner, guests can enjoy a Mediterranean-inspired Mama Menu – from sharing platters to vibrant salads – or opt for the daily special. At breakfast, the overflowing buffet offers a mix of savoury and sweet dishes and Sunday brunch can be enjoyed by groups of all ages.
At the rooftop restaurant, meats, fish, and vegetables are prepared on a Big Green Egg barbecue to enhance flavour or are grilled in a Josper charcoal oven for a hint of smokiness. Pizzas from the pizza oven are served by the slice and displayed on a counter, to be enjoyed with an accompanying glass of rosé.
ABOUT MAMA SHELTER
After many wonderful years at Club Med (co-founded by the Trigano family), in 2008, Serge Trigano launched Mama Shelter in partnership with his sons Jérémie and Benjamin. From the outset, they wanted to offer their customers an enjoyable environment and exceptional service at an affordable price. They have based themselves in the cities they love, in districts that tell a story. Focusing solely on such cherished locations has enabled the founders of Mama Shelter to express their ideal of an unusual, eccentric and unique place. More than rooms and restaurants, the Mama Shelter hotels have an energy, a vibrancy; they are true urban refuges, not just aesthetic and modern, but also popular, welcoming and sexy. The Paris East hotel was followed by hotels in Marseille, then Lyon, Bordeaux, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Prague, Belgrade, Toulouse, Lille, London, Paris West, Luxembourg, Rome, Lisbon, Paris La Défense, Rennes and Dijon. Future establishments are currently planned for Nice, Dubai along with many other places. In 2014, the international hotel chain Accor joined forces with Mama Shelter to extend this concept and welcome travellers from all over the world. Mama Shelter is part of Ennismore, a creative hotel group rooted in cultures and destinations, with a global portfolio of entrepreneurial brands. Ennismore is a joint venture with Accor founded in 2021.
