Mama Shelter Nice

Since opening its first hotel in Paris in 2008, Mama Shelter has expanded into a multitude of locations around France. The brand’s 2024 arrival on the Côte d’Azur is particularly welcome, especially considering the home base it found for Mama Shelter Nice: a trio of historic buildings in the buzzy Riquier district near the Old Port. The designers took inspiration from maritime history and the work of Matisse and Picasso, alongside various other artists who called the city home — think hand-painted frescoes in the lobby, impressionistic smears of color on the walls, and a decorative light installation casting a magical glow over the bar.

Rooms follow the Mama Shelter formula, ranging in size from Small to XXL and featuring whimsical patterned carpets, luxurious linens, and vintage-styled bathrooms lined with pink tiles and stocked with organic bath products. Revolving around a smart-looking central bar that’s open all day, the hotel’s atmospheric ground-level restaurant is modern but relaxed. DJs and musicians play live sets on the weekends, moving outside to the pergola-shaded rooftop in warmer weather. Also open in summer is the photogenic outdoor pool, a relative rarity in Nice, surrounded by parasol umbrellas and rainbow-hued daybeds.