The expansion of the Mama Shelter brand in French provincial towns and cities has been in the pipeline since the announcement at the end of last year of new hotels in Nice, Dijon and Rennes. Among these destinations, Brittany is set to launch this salvo of openings by welcoming from March 2023 the ninth hotel in the lifestyle brand created by Serge and Jérémie Trigano and now part of Accor. " Mama and Rennes: an obvious choice, because Mama Shelter is a unique place to live, challenging codes and sharing its values of equality and freedom." said Cédric Gobilliard, Managing Director of Mama Shelter.
Rennes is not only a business city, but also France's second-largest student city, and its festive atmosphere is a perfect match for the Mama spirit. Especially as the hotel will be set up just a stone's throw from rue Saint-Michel, one of the most famous 'thirsty streets' in France. In the heart of Rennes and its streets lined with half-timbered houses. Mama Rennes will be part of a new urban complex with historic roots, set to become a focal point of the centre of Rennes.
Grouping four listed buildings Located next to the Place des Lices, the hotel is organised around a square where passers-by can stroll or enjoy a drink on the terrace of the hotel's cocktail bar. The square is also home to several food shops and a restaurant, all independent of the hotel. The 119 rooms of this establishment, which is open to the city and its inhabitants, also revolve around this friendly square.
Each room is different, with top-of-the-range bedding and beautiful bathrooms stocked with organic, solid-form products from the Mama Skin range. Some rooms are tucked away under roofs, while others have mouldings and fireplaces. With in the corridors, iconoclastic nods to local culture : " On the carpet in the corridors leading to the bedrooms, I've mixed the lace of the Bigouden headdresses, the ermine of the flag, the wolf, the fox and the weasel from the song. It all makes sense: the pop codes of Breton culture mixed with those of Mama." said architect Benjamin El Doghaïli, head of Mama Shelter's creative studio and designer of the hotel.
And the rest is just as good, with a mosaic frieze evoking buckwheat pancakes on the lobby counter, salted butter caramel-coloured walls or the lobster, mussel, seaweed and oyster motifs in one of the lounges on the ground floor. To reinforce its role as a popular meeting place for local customers, Mama Rennes will also offer a brasserie, as well as several karaoke rooms in the basement and a rooftop, a rarity in the Breton city, and, on the relaxation front, a swimming pool and a Mama Skin spa.
But the hotel is also ideal for business trips, whether in bleisure mode or not. Just a short distance from the Jacobins ConventThe new Mama Shelter can be reached in 20 minutes on foot from the TGV station or 5 minutes from the Sainte Anne metro station. The new Mama Shelter will offer business customers five "workshopsThese modular spaces can be used for seminars and meetings as well as professional and private events.
