Mama Shelter Bordeaux Centre

What Starck Did to a Plain Building in the Old Centre

Rue Poquelin Molière is a narrow street in the historic centre of Bordeaux, and the building Mama Shelter occupies had nothing to say for itself before Philippe Starck got to it. What he did was refuse to be tasteful about a city that takes taste very seriously. Hundreds of pool floats hang from the ceilings. Cartoon masks watch the room. Calligraphy runs across the walls in handwriting rather than signage. In a town of eighteenth-century stone and wine-trade restraint, the effect is a deliberate provocation, and it has aged into something the city is fond of.

Why It Works

We kept this address because it is the one hotel in Bordeaux with an argument. The design is authored rather than decorated, and it runs from the lobby through all ninety-seven rooms instead of stopping at the entrance. The rooftop and the restaurant pull in locals as well as guests, which is what keeps the place from turning into a hotel bubble. Beds are properly specified under the jokes. And it takes both children and dogs, which quietly removes two of the constraints that narrow the field in this city.

Why This Location

This is the middle of the old town rather than its edge. The Grand Théâtre, the Place Gambetta and the Triangle d’Or are within a walk of a few minutes, the shopping run of the rue Sainte-Catherine passes close by, and the quays of the Garonne, the Place de la Bourse and the miroir d’eau lie east. Being on a narrow street rather than a boulevard means the noise of the centre stays outside. The sixth-floor rooftop turns that geography into a view: from up there the whole eighteenth-century roofline is laid out.

Fast Facts

• Price: Upper mid-range

• Vibe: Designed, playful, loud in the right places, quiet in the rooms

• Rooms: Ninety-seven rooms designed by Philippe Starck, with high-specification bedding

• Best For: Design travellers, groups, families and dog owners, anyone who wants the hotel to be part of the evening

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The sixth-floor rooftop, open from noon to midnight, which is where the city skyline and the cocktail list meet

• Dining: A restaurant that functions as the heart of the house, plus the rooftop for shareable tapas, charcuterie and cocktails

• Amenities: Rooftop terrace and bar, restaurant, Starck-designed interiors throughout, dogs accepted, family rooms

• Attractions: The Grand Théâtre, Place Gambetta and the Triangle d’Or, rue Sainte-Catherine, the Place de la Bourse and the miroir d’eau, the quays of the Garonne

The Rooftop, Six Floors Up

The rooftop is the reason locals come and the reason guests stay in rather than going out. It opens at midday and runs to midnight, serving shareable plates, charcuterie and cocktails, and it looks out over a city that is almost entirely low and pale, so the view carries a long way. It works at three different hours: lunch when the terrace catches the sun, the end of the afternoon when Bordeaux turns gold, and late, when it becomes a bar. Booking a table is worth doing in advance in the warm months.

Ninety-Seven Rooms, and What They Are Actually Like

Behind the jokes the rooms are competent. The bedding is high specification, the equipment is complete, and the design carries through every category rather than being reserved for the suites. What varies is size and outlook, so the question worth asking at booking is which floor and which side. Families are catered for and dogs are accepted throughout. The restaurant downstairs handles breakfast, and it is the same room that fills with people in the evening, which tells you what kind of hotel this is: one where the public spaces are the point and the room is where you sleep.