Mama Shelter Los Angeles

Los Angeles has its fair share of fun, youth-oriented boutique hotels, but leave it to Mama Shelter to make many of them look like funeral parlors by comparison. This French import took seven years to turn up on American shores, and they’ve made an entrance that’s worth the wait.

Like the original Mama Shelter it’s bright and vibrant, with only the extras that matter: namely in-room iMacs, free wi-fi, and a surplus of inviting public space. The restaurant unpretentiously combines French and American influences, naturally enough, the bar projects a bit of a game-room vibe, and the coffee shop is buzzing from breakfast on through to early evening.

Also like the original Mama Shelter, it’s refreshingly easy on the budget, and it had better be, because it’s aimed at an authentically eclectic crowd: not the moneyed elite so much as the creative class, who tend to have more taste than liquid cash. This is the new, largely bling-free Hollywood, a destination for a generation of artists fleeing New York’s extortionate rents. The central Hollywood location ensures it’s a bit of a melting pot — relevant local landmarks include Amoeba Music, one of the world’s last great record stores, and that temple to the projectionist’s art, the Arclight, which is among the last places you can count on a properly reverent cinema experience.