Opening its doors to guests in March 2023 and marking the brand’s 17th property, the Mama Shelter group will be launching their latest 119-room hotel in Rennes, a medieval city in northern France where modernism and tradition meet.
Prime Location
Known for opening properties in cities and areas that are in the rise, the new Mama Shelter Rennes will be centrally located just a few steps from Place des Lices and the famous rue de la Soif. Just a five minute walk to the Sainte Anne metro station, it will also be only 20-minutes to the TGV train station – connecting Paris Montparnasse to Rennes in 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Complying with the instructions of the Architectes des Bâtiments de France [conservation law], Mama Shelter Rennes is writing a new chapter without overshadowing the previous ones. The hotel welcomes locals as well as visitors from abroad, and is ideally located in the centre of a square where passers-by can stroll and wander in. In this square, guests can enjoy the cocktail bar, the lounges and nine food shops, including a restaurant that are all retailers independent of Mama Shelter.
A natural extension of the city and a new district in the historic centre, city dwellers here can stock up on exceptional products or enjoy F&B offerings with the hotel’s guests, in a friendly square.
Serge Trigano, Co-Founder & President, commented: “At Mama Shelter in Rennes, our teams have successfully met two challenges: to establish a contemporary hotel in a renovated historic complex, many parts of which come under the Bâtiments de France jurisdiction.
We also wanted to soak up traditions in this region of Brittany, with its strong personality and highly sophisticated culture. Having completed the work, we are now looking forward to sharing Mama’s festive spirit with the people of Rennes and all those who love Brittany. To invite them to experience and feel the city, in its restaurants and bars, which subtly tell its story. We’re also looking forward to welcoming fans of Mama’s in the heart and soul of Rennes.”
Chic Design
Leading the design front, Benjamin El Doghaïli, architect and head of the Mama Shelter design studio, has embraced Rennes’ vibrant heritage and designed the hotel to be at one with its environment.
The 119 bedrooms will vary in sizes and shapes, with some nestled under the roofing, and some carrying old mouldings and a fireplace. The bathrooms are timeless, with large black and white striped tiles, a large space for toiletries and organic beauty products from the Mama Skin range.
Of course, it all boils down to the intricate details. The lobby is home to a large rounded counter adorned in a mosaic frieze of buckwheat pancakes, a classic delicacy of the area, in the Odorico brothers’ style, with salted-butter-caramel coloured walls.
In the large brasserie restaurant offering beautiful views over the city, upholstered benches with a custom-made fabric evoke the popular saying “Vouloir le beurre et l’argent du beurre” [To have one’s cake and eat it, too]. One of the ground floor lounges is decorated entirely in pink and embellished with lobsters, mussels, seaweed and oysters, to evoke the delicacy of local seafood platters.
Jumbo-sized Chinese umbrellas showcase the umbrellas mixologists decorate cocktails with, as a reminder that the Breton people are travellers at heart. The pattern on the carpet along the corridors represent the lace of the Bigouden headdresses, the stoat of the flag of Brittany, and the wolf, the fox and the weasel of a medieval song of Burgundy origin.
Luxe Wellness Amenities
Another jewel will be the swimming pool, with disabled accessibility, a hammam and a sauna and a Mama Skin Spa – the very first for Mama Shelter – a boudoir nestled under stone vaults. Absolution, a French organic cosmetics house, has partnered with Ho Karan, a Breton cosmetics brand renowned for its hemp-based treatments to offer various relaxing treatments.
Guests can enjoy the rooftop with sweeping views of the city. The rooftop, a novelty in Rennes, provides an incredible view of the city’s well-tempered character, bourgeois 19th century buildings, ramshackle 16th century houses, and towers built just like the tapered bell towers of its churches. In the basement, several colourful karaoke rooms will be available to hire for groups.
“Living intelligently, means knowing how to live together, in social harmony” This is the motto of the city of Rennes, which also reflects Mama Shelter’s ethos” says Cédric Gobilliard, Mama Shelter’ Managing Director.
Mama Shelter is a unique place of economic and social vitality, breaking down codes and sharing its values of equality and freedom. Opening the first Mama in Brittany, in the centre of Rennes and in a listed building, is a testimony to the boldness of Mama Shelter’s disruptive concept and its sincere desire to unveil its brand and festive spirit to the people of Rennes and to travellers who are lovers of authenticity”.
Make it happen
When: Opening spring 2023
Cost: A one-night stay at Mama Shelter Rennes will start from €99 for a medium room.
How: Find out more and make a booking via mamashelter.com
