As we were in Paris 3 weeks ago for a Palais de Tokyo exhibit (more about this later on this blog), we stayed a night at Mama’s. It was not our first visit to Mama Shelter , and certainly not the last.

I always call it ‘a style youth hostel for adults’. Everything breaths fun, joy-de-vivre, love and care.
Play is here a must, and the vibe is vibrant, colorful and although you recognize some of the most comic furniture of Starck, it’s not his usual cosmopolitan chic style.

It’s a shelter, after a long day strolling in Paris, not in high heels but in sneakers.

It’s a shelter with a late night pizza restaurant, and a extra long guest table. A shelter with an intranet in the rooms, to communicate or send silly pictures to the others.
And off course, a bar, a Parisian breakfast, delicious goodies to take with you as gifts for friends or just for you. (I bought the snowball with a golden Eiffel Tower 2 times, I forgot I had the first one, and now I have two) And look at the beauty products in the room: mama loves you from head to toe.
How great is that?

OK, the hotel is not in the center of the city, but know that the shelter is located in a diverse, surprising and interesting area (20th) and even better, Mama’s Shelter is exact 5 minutes walk from the world famous cemetery Père Lachaise  (as if you needed an extra reason to book there).

Off course we took the opportunity to have a walk in the early morning, before the shops open you have plenty of time. We visited the tomb of Jim Morisson, Edith Piaf and the American writer and ladies man.
The cemetery survives the test of time even if a lot of graves are pushed up, covered by moss and overgrown by trees. It only adds to the mysterious atmosphere and the frozen silence.

Jim’s grave is a real sanctuary where lifelong young and older fans honor their idol. The grave itself is hidden by others, surrounded by fences with attached handwritten locks. But the nearby tree is covered by chewing gum leftovers, train tickets and personal belongings. This is the real tomb and it’s poetic, as Jim would have liked it.

Oscar Wilde’s grave is protected by an enormous glass wall that is covered with hundreds of lipstick kisses. Weird and very cute.

Piaf has a more regular idol grave, full of flowers but somehow a bit forgotten.

If you’re visiting, pick some of the known artists, and pay them a visit.
Victor Hugo, Maria Callas, Molière, Modigliani, Yves Montand and Chopin, to name a few.

Just a last must-know about Mama Shelter Paris.

Mama takes care of you, your friends, your family in Paris, in Istanbul, Lyon, Bordeaux Marseille and soon in L.A. There’s been no formal announcement but there’s been no secrecy surrounding it either.
We’re talking about the pending Mama Shelter Hotel for Los Angeles. See, it’s right there on the Mama Shelter Twitter bio. They say end of 2014 is probably not going to happen. But we’ll keep our fingers crossed.

We can’t wait to come to Mama this summer.

MAMA SHELTER PARIS

109 Rue de Bagnolet
75020 Paris
France

T +33 (0)1 43 48 48 48


http://www.mamashelter.com