New Paris hotel in affordable-yet-hip shock! This former multistorey-carpark site (gritty, sustainable, zeitgeisty) opened in September 2008, offering 172 rooms and suites, luxury essentials (great bedlinen, iMacs and microwaves as standard, Kiehl’s goodies), and decor by funster Philippe Starck. The rough-edged, jokey design – graffiti and concrete abound – might be chafing for sensitive souls, but if Mama Shelter’s mission is to to democratise hip hotellery, it’s a great success. The eastside location is a boon if your Paris is more about dirty dive bars than bourgeois bistrots. No room service,
but there is a bar with communal table and continuous rolling news, and a restaurant serving trendily unweird food; a rooftop barbecue takes place every single sunny day.