Mama Shelter Nice hotel open its doors this year on the beautiful Côte d’Azur in the artistic and epicurean city of Nice, France. The property offers 102 rooms, a rooftop pool, a bar and pizza counter, a restaurant, two workshops, two studios, and a breakroom. The opening has brought the 11^th Mama Shelter brand to France, and the brand’s 18^th location globally.

© Mama Shelter Nice

Mama Shelter’s newest property is in Nice’s Riquier district, part of Mama Shelter’s commitment to opening hotels in revitalized neighborhoods. The Riquier District has cobbled streets, Baroque churches and bustling markets. Guests can visit museums dedicated to Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall or explore the collection at Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Located close to the Old Port, the historic center of Nice, the property occupies three buildings, including one from the early 20^th century with a preserved façade.

Mama Shelter has already become a trendy destination in the heart of Riquier district, attracting locals and tourists alike, and close to the various parks dedicated to boules. The hotel is easily accessible from the airport and the Nice central rail station, both by a direct tramline.

© Mama Shelter Nice

Benjamin El Doghaïli, architect and head of the Mama Shelter design studio, embraced Nice’s artistic heritage and designed the hotel to merge with its environment. El Doghaïli drew inspiration from the works of the many painters who settled there, from Matisse, Braque and Picasso.

On the white walls of the lobby, hand-painted frescoes pay homage to these artists, illuminated by large mirrors alongside giant hanging artwork by artist Kate Mary. White color carries over into the rooms, textured directly on the walls and brightened by ochre curtains to resemble the walls of 19^th-century Niçois buildings.

© Mama Shelter Nice

Carpets are designed by artist Laureline Galliot and celebrate pointillism. Powdered pink bathroom tiles form a checkerboard from floor to ceiling, and Mama’s iconic cartoon masks hang on bedside table lamps, as they do across all the hotels in the brand’s portfolio.

Throughout the property, El Doghaïli demonstrates his love for bright and vibrant colors by combining saffron yellow, red ochre, ultramarine blue and Nice olive green with the palettes of impressionist painters. In collaboration with talented artisans like Lola Mercier and Beniloys, bouquets of Mediterranean fruits, flowers and vegetables, including lavender, sunflower and wheat poppy, adorn the top of columns and evolve with the seasons in the style of a Van Gogh still life.

At the center of the restaurant, an olive wood bar sits on a floor paved with perfectly laid terracotta tiles and suspended luminous sculptures like festive streetlights. Between the three buildings is a patio filled with flowers and covered by a retractable glass roof. The rooftop itself is home to a mosaic-floored swimming pool with wicker screens for shade, lounge chairs and a bar.

© Mama Shelter Nice

The ground-floor restaurant offers a large room with an open kitchen, slanted mirrors, cast-iron columns with frescoes, and communal tables that fill the space and set the tone of the hotel, which is extremely friendly and laid-back.

For lunch and dinner, guests enjoy a Mediterranean-inspired Mama Menu, from sharing platters to salads, or choose one of the daily specials. At breakfast, the overflowing buffet offers a mix of savoury and sweet dishes, with a Sunday brunch that is especially enjoyable.

At the rooftop restaurant, meats, fish and vegetables are prepared on a Big Green Egg barbecue to enhance flavor or grilled in a Josper charcoal oven for a hint of smokiness. Pizzas from the pizza oven are served by the slice and displayed on a counter to be enjoyed with an accompanying glass of rosé.