Mama Shelter is heading to Rennes

The new hotel will open in March 2023, with Mama Shelter’s first ever “Mama Skin Spa” and Rennes’ first rooftop bar.

In the medieval city in northern France, where modernism and tradition meet, Mama Shelter’s new home is centrally located, just a few steps from Place des Lices and the famous rue de la Soif. Perched on the square, guests at Mama will have easy access some of the city’s independent retailers, restaurants, cocktail bars, and lounges right on their doorstop.

A former banking property where currency was once minted, the listed building has been restored with love, writing a new chapter with Mama, without overshadowing its history. The 119 rooms at the hotel come in varying sizes and shapes, some nestled under roofing or featuring period 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.

Public spaces draw inspiration from the local culture. The lobby is home to a large, rounded counter adorned in a mosaic frieze of buckwheat pancakes, a classic delicacy of the area, 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 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.

On the rooftop, guests can enjoy sweeping views of the city – a novelty in Rennes – encompassing the 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.

Another highlight in Rennes is the swimming pool, 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 partnered with Ho Karan, a Breton cosmetics brand renowned for its hemp-based treatments to offer various relaxing treatments.

Mama Shelter Rennes will be the brand’s 9th hotel in France and its 17th worldwide.