Mama Shelter Paris East — Hotel in Paris

BEWARE OF THIS HOTEL!!!!!!

I had a tantrum in the lobby of this hotel. I’m not proud of it, but I’m going to try to explain why.

My wife and I live in the Paris suburbs with our 3 children. For my 5Oth birthday she organised diner at an incredible restaurant with my mother who came to visit from Australia, then she surprised me with the news that my mom was going to head home to look after the kids and we were going to spend the night in a very cool hotel in an area that I absolutely love.

We were pretty excited when we walked into the lobby, lots of buzz, funky cabinets displaying all these design oddities an ajoining restaurant with heaps of weird and wonderful people coming and going.

I sat down on these very odd but surprisingly comfortable metal stools while my wife sorted the reservation.

It wasn’t long before she gave me a distressed look from the counter.

I headed over, she explained that no room for us!

Me: No room !?! Concierge1: Oui monsieur...no room. Me: No you must be mistaken, we have a reservation. C1: Sir we are very busy. Me: I can see that and the vibe is really cool that’s part of reason why we want the reservation.... that and we paid for the room in advance. C1: Oui monsieur but this is not possible...We have arranged for a room in another hotel. Me: Oh.....OK....Where? C1: The Novatel!

Me: Are you kidding me?

In the meantime another concierge has sensed the défenses need shoring up. There are now 2 of them.

C2: Sir, you must understand this is fashion week. Me: FASHION WEEK, WHAT HAS THAT GOT TO DO WITH OUR RESERVATION?

People are starting to stare, and my wife has her head in her hands, she doesn’t like scenes, but I can’t get my head around it.

Me: IT’S MY 50th BIRTHDAY, AND THIS IS REALLY SPECIAL FOR US AND WE DONT CHOOSE TO SPEND THE SPECIAL MOMENTS OF OUR LIFE AT THE NOVATEL!!!

I spot a well dressed group on their way to the restaurant.

Me: (to the passers by) NEVER BOOK A ROOM IN THIS HOTEL GUYS ..... (I realise that they’re probably in fashion.)

C3: (they are stacking up back there). Shall I call you a taxi? Me: Can I ask a simple question? Why wouldn’t let us know you were overbooked and saved us the trouble. C4: Well...ere....I....ahhh.

4 blank looks.

C3: Sir you are not the only people with that have had to go to the Novatel . Me: WHAT YOU MEAN TO SAY YOU PULLED THIS ON OTHERS TOO?.....IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME FEEL OK?

More blank stares.

And then the penny dropped this was not an oversight.

They did it deliberately. It was just business for them.

They overbook on purpose, took our money, hoping to get no shows. If everyone shows up they have prearranged deal with the Novatel to take the excess. This was confirmed when we received an envelope when we arrived at the Novatel titled ‘no name1 - mama shelter’, with our Novatel room keys.

It’s a scam in a way, to max out their profit. It it doesn’t happen enough to harm their review average. It’s just a numbers game, but it’s also dishonest and cynical.

The Novatel was right on the périphérie , a jungle of criss crossing highways. Just the place you want to spend you’re 50th birthday, when you already...

My stay at Mama Shelter Paris East was extremely disappointing. All style no Substance. Everything from the service to the facilities was below the standard you would expect for a hotel of this cost. Save yourself some money and stay somewhere cheaper, you’ll have a nicer experience. Check in was slow with just a small area with one desk and staff member causing long queues. The room was clean and comfortable, the bed especially was very comfortable. The room is basic though, there are zero facilities; no kettle etc. the lighting was dim, this was presumably due to the hanging light in the corner which was broken and on the floor. Despite it being a double room there was only a small single bottle of water offered. The bathroom was basic but functional. There were few complimentary items and what was offered were only single items, not duplicates for a double occupancy room. Instead of shower gel/shampoo all that was left was a single small body wash bar of soap; very unhygienic for two people to share and this was not replenished for day two despite the room being serviced. The facilities of the room is more akin to a cheap hostel in central Paris rather than the boutique hotel this claims to be with its associated price tag. Service was poor across the board. We went to the roof terrace; despite there being 3 staff members and only three tables it took 15mins for anyone to come to our table despite us asking and being told to wait - the staff members seemed to prefer chatting and taking photos on their phone than serving customers. Breakfast was a huge disappointment. Despite charging 21€ per person it was one of the most shambolic hotel breakfasts I’ve ever experienced. Staff are very slow to flip the tables so you spend most of your breakfast next to piles and piles of dirt crockery. On the first morning most items had run out; including the croissants. My partner was unable to get a bowl for cereal; when asked they were told they were in the wash. She had cereal in a glass and then was told there were no spoons so attempted to eat it with a fork. Ordering a coffee involved a 15min queue and then it was disgusting; tasted like the beans had been burnt. Giving them the benefit of the doubt that it was a Sunday morning and close to breakfast finishing we tried again the next morning but it was the same; despite there being 90mins left of service most items had run out. The croissants eventually were replenished but what little hot food there was sat there cold. I attempted again to order a coffee; two staff members took my order and then walked off and finally a third was able to make a latte. My partner had stayed here last year and raved about the breakfast but it had certainly got a lot worse. Do yourself a favour and avoid the breakfast by paying 7€ for one of the many breakfast offers in the countless local cafes and brasseries nearby. All in all this hotel was a huge let down, a waste of money and is staffed by a lot of disinterested employees whom seem to care little about food service and guest satisfaction. It’s a real let down to the Mama Shelter brand and I will not...

We were really excited to come back to Mama Shelter Paris East since we were familiar with the hotel chain and had already stayed here before. We loved it, we’re big fans, and we’ve tried several Mama Shelter hotels including London, Marseille, and Toulouse.

The hotel used to be a reference point for others, but unfortunately, it is now quite different from what it was before. This place was once a real hotspot in town where both hotel guests and locals came for dinner and drinks to enjoy the vibrant atmosphere, whether at the restaurant, the trattoria, or the rooftop.

Upon check-in, the lady at the desk (we believe her name was Bettina or something similar) first continued doing her admin before attending to us, which didn’t feel very welcoming—unlike our experience during other stays. The check-in process was quite slow. Upon request we were also informed that the pizzeria (trattoria) had closed, supposedly because there was another pizzeria across the street, and that the rooftop—which would have been perfect in the summer heat—was closed for the three days we were there. She just said that all the info was clearly in the website. That left us a little disappointed.

We booked a triple room expecting three single beds. To our surprise, when arriving at the room, we saw a double bed and a sofa bed, which we still had to pull out ourselves. The sofa bed was not very comfortable and the sheets were wrinkled. We went back to the lobby to ask another receptionist (Axel) if the issue could be solved. He kindly agreed to change our room, which we appreciated, and we were given a family room instead.

We also wanted to have dinner at the restaurant, but it was empty and lacked atmosphere, so we chose to eat elsewhere in Paris. The same applied for breakfast: at 21€ per person, we found it a bit overpriced and preferred local bakeries and cafés where we could find cheaper alternatives. More than anything, we ended up using the hotel mainly just to sleep.

Upon check-out, Axel asked about our stay. We explained that we didn’t feel fully satisfied. He was very understanding and offered us parking, which helped improve our overall impression.

Unfortunately, we don’t think we’ll be coming back to this hotel, and we are now doubtful about staying at other Mama Shelter hotels as well.

PS: I believe this may be linked to the hotel being acquired by Accor, as the management seems to have changed. Other friends also shared similar experiences after the acquisition. I would really like for the team to take this feedback seriously and act on it, instead of just sending AI-generated responses. This hotel has so much potential, and I fear that if things continue this way, many guests will choose to go elsewhere.

I truly hope this review can be seen as constructive, and that it helps inspire some changes. We sincerely wish that this hotel can return to the high level it once had—and hopefully go...