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Mama now Shelters in Lyon

During Lyon’s Festival of Lightsour Delphine had already tipped you on where to spend a Big night and have sweat dreams in the city. Her choice was very straight forward: Mama Shelter. Today, we’re sharing with you all it’s secrets and why we love it. 

The story begins with a huge bar, in the middle of the hotel: it’s the centre piece of the project. The one in Mama Shelter Lyon measures 32 meters and is the largest one in town. Designed by Philippe Starck – member of the 2013 jury of the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie in Geneva by the way – the hotel offers a fun and funky alternative to hotel accommodation. If you are antisocial and prefer to stay alone in your dark room, don’t go because @ Mama Shelter there is no room service. You heard us, NO ROOM SERVICE and you want to know why? Because this is the place where you are meant to meet people. Hence the location: in the 7th district of Lyon, right next to the melting pot of La Guillotière, across from the basketball playground. “This district is our Brooklyn and when the time came for the opening of a new Mama Shelter, we knew it would be here and nowhere else” mentions the director of the hotel, Mr. Castillon. 

Nothing is left to chance, details create a unique universe: the white flag at the entrance of each hotel (because Mama Shelter is also located in Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Istanbul and soon in LA… but when in Geneva????) means you can stop the ‘war’ while you enjoy your stay. Ceasefire, relax, disconnect and this is precisely what we needed for our little getaway, 1h30 minutes drive from Geneva. 

Mama Shelter understood who we are: people who constantly work, check their Smartphones and take very little vacation. Bookings can be made with a couple of clicks, with special internet rates and rooms are available starting from 69€. Upon your arrival, and after a super fast check-in, it is time to go back to your 
childhood ……. a few foosball games are available and superhero masks are waiting for you in your room.
We can see that the “no room service” is still an issue. Here’s another reason why you may end up actually enjoying leaving your room (no matter how comfortable it is): every single culinary experience @ Mama Shelter – breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner – is consulted by Alain Senderens, aka the French Gastronomy’s rebel who after obtaining his 3 Michelin Stars, said no thank you and specifically requested not to be part of the Michelin Guide anymore. His very own chef – Jérôme Banctel – makes sure that on every single day, you get quality, quantity and pleasure.
As for the Mama Shelter’s spirit, you may thank Cyril Aouizerate… the urban philosopher. And yes, that is a job. A full-time job actually and he’s good at it because he predicted before anyone else that tourism in the 21st century will be urban where people would want to meet each other. Well, there you go: during our stay, we met Steve who plays in a rock band and who served us breakfast with a Big smile. Mr. Castillon kept us company during our lunch and shared many incredible stories with us. During the apero, we met the locals – Caroline, Marion, Marc & Guillaume – who shared the latest trends of their city with us. And all of that took place next to the graffiti of the calligrapher artist Tarek Benaoum, which can be spotted nearly everywhere. The director confessed to us: “his work of art is what we like to call our very own Sistine Chapel”.

Last few Geek words: free wifi, iMacs are not only available at the lobby of the hotel but also in your room with a huge variety of movies for free. If you are a bit naughty, Mama Shelter has a few very hot but so chic accessories to spice up your night (and if you are naughty but also shy, you can order them when you book your room on the internet). 


To cut the Big story short: 1) you HAVE to go @ any price, from 69€ for a Mama Double room up to the Big Maman Terrace Corner which starts @ 239€. 2) What we learned, but actually already knew: Mama Shelter is the Big idea of the Trigano family (yes, the founders of the Club Med) but a Big idea never becomes reality if you don’t have a Big team around you. 

Pictures from our stay are available on our Pinterest gallery
13, rue Domer
, 69007 Lyon France
+33478025800

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