Mama Shelter Marseille
What We Love
- The friendly staff have great recommendations for shopping and eating
- The endlessly entertaining décor, especially the inflatable pool toys that hang over the bar
- Not having to leave the hotel to have a good time; the restaurant and bar rev up at night, with DJs spinning and an infusion of locals to mingle with
What To Know
- Ask for a room at the back to avoid the noise from bar-goers at the weekends
- The “Small Mama” rooms are very small indeed
- No room service
- Free WiFi
Amenities
- Bar
- Free WiFi
- Handicap Accessible
- Parking On Site
- Pet-friendly
- Restaurant
Overview
The Lowdown
For a base from which to explore Marseille without spending a fortune, Mama Shelter does the trick, with the added benefit of colorful, Philippe Starck–designed rooms and a vibrant social scene. Each room comes with an iMac pre-loaded with movies (ask for a keyboard at reception if you want to use it as an actual computer), and, while many rooms are small and bathrooms minuscule, the décor is on point: concrete walls set off pastel furniture and colorful linoleum floors, while accents like plastic masks are there to play around with. We love the extra terrace bar for warm weather; it has a menu of over 40 kinds of pastis and a pool filled with giant chess pieces. Don’t leave without browsing the hotel shop, which sells a host of products made in collaboration with hip French brands like the Mama Skin organic range of cosmetics, chocolate bars by Le Chocolat des Français, and stuffed plush toys in bright colors.
In the Area
Snuggled between the Vieux Port (the old port) and the artsy Cours Julien neighborhood, Mama Shelter is a good base for checking out the city. It’s a 20-minute walk to the touristy port, crammed with bars, restaurants, and the Notre Dame church and just five from the indie shops and coffeehouses of the much less glitzy Cours Julien. The MuCEM, a landmark museum of Mediterranean culture designed by Rudy Ricciotti and with a very Instagrammable location overlooking the sea, is a half-hour walk. For explorations deeper into Marseille, there are metro stops five minutes away. And, in the summer, there’s always the beach: ask the staff to book you a sun lounger in the hotel’s private section.
How to Get There
Reviews
First of all, am big fan of mama shelter stay regularly at the hotel in Bordeaux and also have stayed in Lyon
On this occasion we only visited for drinks and dinner
It’s a good 20 minute walk from the vieux port, fine for us. Restaurant/ bar all looks lovely, as usual great cocktails
We wanted to have dinner, I for the chicken and my partner asked about burgers, but were informed that burgers only a lunch time option
I find it strange that a hotel restaurant would turn away paying customers because it’s now the evening and not the daytime - there was no ‘I’ll go and ask for the chef’ it was just a no - there was no customers at the bar and only a few at dinner - so no-one was really rushed off their feet
I feel it’s time for this chain to get with the modern world and give paying customers what they want
Shame really as we walked back to the vieux port area and went to a great place for dinner with numerous burger options - something that mama shelter could have done really
Don’t think we’ll be back
Great cocktails though !
comfortable rooms, which have good showers and high-quality linen, it's a shame the staff are snotty and rude. Will return, but I will need to brace myself for the attitude. The bar is pleasant, I didn't try the food there but it the restaurant seemed popular.
Very good breakfast, not only in terms of food, the variety and quality of which was very high, but in terms of the ambience of the room where it was served. The rooms were very cleverly designed for their small space, with high tech automations. We were travelling by car and the garage was very good and spacious.