Hotel Restaurant Mama Shelter, Marseille

The hotel was designed by Philippe Starck and his influence is felt in many of the hotel’s features – multicoloured paddling-pool rings in the shape of ducks strung across the bar in the restaurant (!)  , unpainted concrete walls in the bedrooms,  which were nevertheless very attractive and ultra-modern –  though it would have been nice to have somewhere to sit other than on the bed-  with a micro-wave oven and kettle concealed behind a metallic strand curtain. Also free wifi and free films – very different from many hotels which use these two commodities to hike up your bill. The restaurant was excellent – the chefs are Alain Senderens and Jerome Banctel-  and offers several  innovative dishes such as sea bream with orange glazed carrots and pink bayberries, and cod in a coffee crust with sesame coated peas, as well as classics such as huge steaks with home-made chips , spare ribs, squid in batter and crunchy Caesar salad.  Another nice feature is that they have no problem with guests sharing dishes and three of us split a huge baba au rhum which we still  had difficulty finishing!   Prices range from Euros 6 to 10 for starters, Euros 14 to 26 for the main courses, and desserts from Euros 6 to 10. There is an outside patio, decorated with huge chess pieces, where pizza and drinks are served,  and on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 9.30 p.m. onwards  there is a disc jocky on stage  in the restaurant , which is then packed out and heaving with a mainly young crowd.  For this reason it’s wise to request  a room on the higher floors as the music goes on till 1 or 2 in the morning…… The rack rate for the double bedrooms is Euros 199, but we got a great deal for Euros 99 on the net, including a delicious buffet breakfast, with scrambled and boiled eggs, bacon and sausages, as well as fresh squeezed orange juice, fruit salad, and a variety of breads, croissants and cakes. Marseille is the 2013 European Capital of Culture, so the perfect time to visit!