So many hotels have had to close during the pandemic. Classic places, like New York City’s Roosevelt Hotel and Omni Berkshire Place, Chicago’s Palmer House Hilton, Boston’s Hotel Buckminster, Washington D.C.’s Marriott Wardman Park. Lots of newer hotels permanently closed their doors, as well.
With all the closures, any time you see openings of a hotel during the past 18 months or so, especially when it’s a smaller chain, it gives you a little faith that things will get better. When they’ve managed to open several new hotels around the world during that time frame, it’s worth a shout-out. So here’s our shout-out.
Mama Shelter was established in Paris in 2008. As of late 2019, Mama Shelter had 12 properties in 6 countries. But they now boast 17 properties on 4 continents (the ones in boldface are the new ones):
- France (Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Paris [Paris West, Paris West, Paris La Defense] & Toulouse)
- Europe (I know France is in Europe – but I guess they separate France out because they’re from France? š ) (Belgrade, Lisbon, London Shoreditch, Luxembourg, Prague, Rome)
- The Americas (Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro)
- Middle East (Dubai)
Part of the Accord collection, Mama, “…is much more than somewhere to eat and sleep. It’s an urban kibbutz, a lively place for meeting and sharing. Mama is like motherly love. It’s like being in her arms: cozy and snug, a sanctuary, somewhere that feels good. Mama also feeds you like a mother, with generous, unique dishes concocted by great chefs. Like a mother, Mama just wants to take care of you!”
I don’t think that most mothers would supply their offspring with condoms (their own brand, no less) and free streaming porn in each room (it can be shut off at the front desk upon request- they pride themselves on being family-friendly), but this Mama is a little different, I guess. š
Each Mama Shelter has at least one restaurant and makes food and beverage a centerpiece of its hotels, complete with popular, trendy restaurants and rooftop bars. With those, they’re able to convince guests to stay (and spend) on-site, and possibly get some locals to come to visit, too.
As a modern hotel, each Mama Shelter has a very worthy entertainment system that, “allows guests to watch TV, listen to the radio, connect to the Internet (Airplay), and as Mama thinks about everything, she also gives them access to the Mama Shelter room directory from their TV screen. Mama has provided a wide range of TV channels featuring free films, TV series and more… Mama also offers a unique experience and allows guests to keep a memory of their stay by taking pictures or videos of themselves directly in their room.”
Mama Shelter takes COVID very seriously and requires a valid Health Pass, or proof of a negative RT-PCR or antigenic test or self-test (performed under the supervision of an authorized health professional with the issuance of a certificate) taken within 72 hours before check-in, or evidence of a positive RT-PCR or antigen test of at least 11 days and less than 6 months attesting to recovery from Covid-19. Their website explains more for specific hotels.
Mama Shelter hotels are considered Midscale and, of course, rates vary with location. As an example, they start at about $200 in Los Angeles for a medium room (they’re located on Selma Ave., 3 miles from the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and 4 miles from Los Angeles County Museum of Art), €89 for a small room in France, and have special deals in London. They tend to get 3.5 to 4 stars (out of 5) on most online review sites.
As part of Accor, they’re also part of the company’s Accor Live Limitless rewards program.
Joe and I enjoy staying at places that aren’t the “same old, same old.” That’s probably why we enjoyed our visit to The Moxy so much. When and if we’re ever in a city that has a Mama Shelter, I think we’re going to check it out (Note from Joe: I did consider it on one of our trips to LA but we stayed at the Andaz West Hollywood instead) (Note from Sharon: Ha! I had no idea!)
Feature Photo: Mama Shelter / Facebook
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
