After the success of their hotel in Paris, the Trigano family, also the co-founders of Club Med, and French urban philosopher, Cyril Aouizerate have opened the second Mama Shelter hotel in the city of Marseille. The interior in its entirety was left in the hands of Philippe Starck, a designer who never fails to impress with his flexibility and unique approach to interior design.

On entering the restaurant through glass doors with stainless steel frames, the space is a fusion of fun and functionality. The brightly colored life savers above the bar are in fact a light installation, the signature table football game is center stage to invite guests to play after dining with new friends encountered at the communal trestle tables. A raised stage with a backdrop of musical instruments assures the evening’s entertainment by the resident DJ or visiting bands.

Stylized graffiti on the ceiling and floors lead the guests up to the hotel’s 127 rooms. Colors of the Mediterranean have been used as the hotel relates to its location as seen through a young avant-garde eye. The team wished for a ‘slightly industrial and very urban’ tone to the interior of this new ideal of affordable luxury in a design hotel.