The entirety of London Instagramati were in Marseille this summer but don’t let that put you off.
Here’s a secret – the beach city is brilliant in August, yes, but visit in the colder months to enjoy it without the rats, cockroaches and the Airbnb hordes and enjoy it like a local.
Of course, experiencing a city like a local is as much to do with the neighbourhood you find yourself in as it is knowing which restaurants to eat in and beaches to frequent, so it’s good to position yourself in one where you can stumble across great things if you can.
Mama Shelter Marseille offers just that. With a knack for finding under the radar areas where no hotelier (at least no reputable one) has set foot before, the brand chose the cusp of the hipster fifth and sixth arrondissments to the south of the city’s centre.
If you're here for easy sightseeing this might not be the hotel for you, if you just want to soak up some cool atmosphere you won't do better.
Style
The common parts display all the brand’s typical party-friendly bar-cum-hotel lobby flourishes – black paint, chalk board graffiti, graphic print furniture – and it turns into a popular party spot at weekends, with DJs playing until the small hours.
By contrast, the rooms are more restrained and calming with concrete featuring heavily, along with fresh, simple white paintwork and bedding.
Large windows are shaded with sheers, allowing that Mediterranean sunlight to filter gently through, and there’s a nod to the zesty location in neon-painted or pastel nooks.
The hotel prides itself on clever space-saving layouts to maximise the smaller square meterage of the tiniest rooms, and the Marseille outpost is no exception, with open clothes hanging spaces and spotless, white-tiled bathrooms squeezed in to unexpected spaces.
Local design gem
Tucked slightly off the beaten track, the hotel is only a short walk from the gritty edged but decidedly hipster enclave on rue de Lodi.
Pick up a speciality coffee and organic brioche at Ferments Bakery before strolling along to Provisions, a charming deli, vintner and bookshop that stocks various chic locally-made homewares.
Architecture buffs must make the trip to Le Corbusier’s tremendously influential modernist apartment complex, the Unite d’Habitation on Boulevard Michelet.
Book in advance for dinner at the on-site restaurant or just explore the visitor accessible areas and the design-friendly shops on the third and fourth floors. For more access to this still mostly residential building book onto a guided tour.
Also unmissable is Maison Empereur, a quite astonishing homeware emporium in the Nouailles district. It stocks just about every utensil or gadget you can imagine, alongside a great array of Marseillaise olive oil soap, gorgeous toys and stylish clothing and lifestyle bits.
Good to know
The hotel offers a party on the premises at weekends. Along with its relatively low price point this can make it particularly attractive to group visitors, so there’s a risk you’ll be kept up by a rowdy stag party if you end up on the wrong floor at the wrong time.
Unless you book an inclusive rate, breakfast is charged at 21€. For that you get a pretty comprehensive buffet, including a huge array of pastries, breads, eggs, charcuterie, cheeses, fruit and crepes, among many other things.
Get the look at home
The lobby shop offers an array of on brand accessories to take home with you, including t-shirts, olive oil, and crockery. You can find an even bigger selection of items on their website, including bedding and mattresses made in France, a comprehensive clothing line and homewares.
How to book
From €108.10 (£93) for a small room (sleeping one-two at 15 m²)
