mama shelter

when the hotel is a concept

“I love Paris” sings Ella Fitzgerald and I sing along with her. Whenever I go, the city is always charming me. As my hometown Brussels is only 250 kms from Paris, you can often find me there. Whether it be in summer or winter, spring or autumn. Although I can easily make a return trip, I prefer spending the night there.

A few years ago I was recommended a hotel, that since then became our fixed address in the French capital. Mama Shelter is a hotel designed by Philippe Starck. Small but cosy rooms, design furniture, a big iMac computer that serves as computer, television, radio and movie screen, … And a trendy bar, restaurant, pizzeria and breakfast lounge. The staff is very helpfull — rather unusual for Parisian norms — and could either be standing behind the bar or sitting in front of it, next to you, sipping from one of their tastefull cocktails. Mama attracts a rather younger audience. Young in the sense of being very open minded, networked and connected, live and virtually.

Last February my partner and I decided to spend our summer holiday in Tel Aviv. We were really looking forward to it as it seems to be a very aspirational city. But then troubles started in the Gaza region, with Hamas responding to the Israeli bomb attacks by aiming rockets at Tel Aviv. After consulting with a war correspondant on site, a colleague that is working for the same television network as I do, we decided not to go. It is not that I feared for my life, but I prefer vacations to be stressless. And it doesn’t feel right to spend a vacation in a country at war.

So 48 hours before our vacation started we had to change our plans. Istanbul was second on the list, so the choice was easy and tickets were quickly booked. We tend to be “selective” in our choice of hotels because in my world vacation also means sleeping longer, reading plenty of newspapers over breakfast, getting engaged in a novel, start writing the first chapter of my new book, and enjoying a bottle of wine in the room.

Istanbul has plenty of five star hotels at a fairly reasonable price. As discovering new hotels is also part of our vacation, we were hesitating to book a room in the newly opened Mama Shelter Istanbul, affraid it would be more of the same. And indeed it was more of the same : enter the lobby and the same hotel fragrance enters your nose. The lifts and carpets are similar and the staff trained to be as friendly. A lively terrace restaurant with similar urban bobo’s drinking similar cocktails.

I am sure this would bother some people. I travel a lot for work and get to sleep in Hilton’s, Sheraton’s, Best Western’s, … and each night spend in one of these hotels feels like sleeping in nomansland. Rooms can be nice but they are like containers in wasteland. Sleeping in Mama Shelter is different : as I come home in Mama Paris, I come home in Mama Istanbul. Indeed Mama Shelter is a concept, as Hilton is a concept, but a different one. “Mama Shelter c’est la liberté, le rencontre, l’intelligence, la construction, la sensualité … abordable à tous, trans-social, trans-générationnel, trans-ethnique, trans-culturel” says designer Philippe Starck, when Mama Shelter Bordeaux opened. He may be right, but for me personally Mama Shelter is the concept of coming home, in a shelter that feels like that of mom.

To compensate for not going to Tel Aviv we booked a Big Mama Terrace room. The red Anfora Trio 2011 (shiraz, kalecik karasi, cabernet sauvignon) tastes wonderfull. The view over Istanbul is stunning and I just started writing the first chapter of my new book.