Design at the new Mama Shelter Rennes, embracing local culture and gastronomy

Posted in News on 16 March, 2023

Mama Shelter Rennes opened its doors for the first time this month (March 2023), in the mediaeval city of Rennes in northern France. Its quirky design celebrates local culture and gastronomy, its rooftop bar will be a novelty to the city, with sweeping views of mediaeval towers and it will be home to Mama Shelter’s first ever “Mama Skin Spa”, nestled under stone vaults.

Design highlights include
Benjamin El Doghaïli, architect and head of the Mama Shelter Design Studio, has embraced Rennes’ vibrant heritage, blending the cities history with Mama’s playful brand identity

The 119 bedrooms vary in sizes and shapes, with some nestled under the roofing, and some carrying original 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

In this former banking property where currency was once minted, 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]

The ground floor lounges are 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 mediaeval song of Burgundy origin

mamashelter.com