Mama Shelter Bordeaux

Viewed through the lens of tourism, Bordeaux is all about wine bars and Michelin stars, and the hotels range all the way from quite luxurious to very luxurious indeed. But of course Bordeaux is a living city, not just an open-air wine museum — and any city worth its salt needs a stylish, budget-friendly boutique hotel in the Mama Shelter mold. Some concessions are made to the city’s status as a culinary destination — there are twice as many eating and drinking venues as the recipe originally called for — but for the most part, it’s got more in common with its cousins in Marseille and Lyon than with the rest of the Bordeaux hospitality scene.

This means minimalist-chic rooms, livened with a bit of whimsy (superhero masks, splashes of pale pink or neon green), stocked with the bare minimum of necessary luxuries: free wi-fi, connected TVs, and not much else. The real action here takes place in the public spaces: in the open-plan restaurant with its French, Italian, and Asian flavors, in the bar with its live DJ sessions, and on the rooftop terrace (which you’re welcome to reserve for yourself and 99 close friends).