Mama Shelter to occupy former bank in Rennes

Mama Shelter is set to open a new hotel in Rennes next March, bringing its signature style to the medieval city in northern France.

Located just a few steps from Place des Lices and the famous Rue de la Soif, the former banking property will comply with the region’s conservation law, writing a new chapter without overshadowing the previous ones. 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 – including Mama’s luxury bedding – vary in sizes and shapes, with some nestled under the roofing, and some carrying old mouldings and a fireplace. The bathrooms are timeless too, with large black and white striped tiles, a space for toiletries and organic beauty products from the Mama Skin range.

The lobby is home to a 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 brasserie restaurant meanwhile, upholstered benches with a custom-made fabric evoke the popular saying “Vouloir le beurre et l’argent du beurre” or “to have one’s cake and eat it”. One of the ground floor lounges is also decorated entirely in pink and embellished with lobsters, mussels, seaweed and oysters, to reflect 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.

The rooftop, a novelty in Rennes, provides views 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. And in the basement, several colourful karaoke rooms will be available to hire for groups. Another highlight is the swimming pool, with disabled accessibility, a hammam and a sauna and a Mama Skin Spa – a first for Mama Shelter – a boudoir nestled under stone vaults. Absolution, a French organic cosmetics house, has also partnered with Ho Karan, a Breton cosmetics brand known for its hemp-based services, to offer various relaxing treatments.

“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,” says Serge Trigano, co-founder and President of Mama Shelter. “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.”