CHECKING IN | MAMA SHELTER LA DEFENSE

We recently got our croissant, natural wine and gooey cheese fix by hopping over the channel to Paris. It doesn’t matter what time of year you visit, Paris will always deliver. When we weren’t hanging with the locals in hipster wine bars or carb-loading in bakeries, we were staying at Mama Shelter. 

By the looks of it, Mama Shelter is currently on world domination, popping up in various cities across the globe. They have three sites in Paris, the home of the brand where it all started out back in 2008. We checked into their La Defense hotel, which is located out in the city’s business district (it’s the Paris equivalent of Canary Wharf). Although it may feel like you’re in the suburbs, La Defense is super accessible, only a 15-minute metro ride to the centre. 

Mama Shelter injects a heavy dose of fun and personality into a relatively serious La Defense. The hotel’s playful and colourful branding is instantly recognisable and a welcomed contrast to its surrounding neighbours – think plenty of neon signs, bold interiors and a cheeky personality. This runs throughout the whole hotel, from the minute you step into reception right up to where you lay your head. Like at the sister sites, you’ll even have the classic cartoon masks hanging by your bed. 

It’s a large hotel, with over 200 rooms. We stayed on the 11th floor, which came with a corker view of the Eiffel Tower and river Seine. The room also had a massive bed, an even bigger TV and plenty of amenities. Their TVs come loaded with some of the latest films and even x-rated vids – ooh la la. And if you’re looking for an extra couple of hours in the room, (perhaps you’ve painted the town a little too hard the night before) you can do what we did and opt for a 3pm checkout. 

There are two restaurants housed in the hotel. Up top is the Mama Penthouse, which has panoramic views of Paris. As well as serving the breakfast buffet, they serve dinner and plenty of cocktails. During our trip to Mama Shelter, we visited the brand new retro diner located on the ground floor. Decked out like a fifties American diner, the restaurant makes for an Instagram dream with pastel pink decor, planet lights, jukeboxes and leather booths. The menu is packed full of naughty treats like burgers, tacos, nachos and mac & cheese, which you can wash down with one of their thick raspberry mascarpone shakes – heaven. 

If we’re honest, pre-visiting Mama Shelter we’d never consider setting up camp in La Defense. That being said after visiting we were converts, and you should be too. A dose of playfulness in a hotel that doesn’t take itself too seriously is just what you need on a city break and exactly what we got from Mama Shelter La Defense.  

10 Rue Jean Jaurès, 92800 Puteaux, France
mamashelter.com

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