Mama Shelter: Parisian hotel puts an iMac in every room

Not long ago we wrote about New York City’s tech-enabled Pod Hotel, and now across the ocean comes a like contender that takes the technology focus even further. Located in the Saint Blaise neighbourhood of Paris’s 20th arrondissement, Mama Shelter has equipped each of its 172 rooms with a 24-inch Apple iMac multimedia center. Gone is the oft-seen (but rarely enjoyed) web access through TV; rather, guests can enjoy HDTV, music, radio, CDs, films, DVDs and of course internet, all through their in-room computer. Computer monitors are also built into an oversized table in Mama Shelter’s entryway, as well as into columns throughout the hotel; wifi, of course, is freely available too. Through a partnership with French tech provider DirectStreams, meanwhile, Mama Shelter offers what it calls the iBooth–also based on the iMac–giving guests the opportunity to make their mark on the hotel by taking instant pictures and seeing them distributed in the lobby and rooms. Created by the Trigano family–founders of Club Med–along with Parisian philosopher Cyril Aouizerate and designer Philippe Starck, Mama Shelter combines modern, technology-enabled accommodation with a friendly, communal vibe. Each morning a board lists local cultural events, and a variety of live performances take place in the hotel as well. Dining options range from a communal table to cold cabinets stocked with meals available for in-room candlelight dining 24/7. Mama Shelter’s rooms vary from 15 square meters to 35 square meters, priced starting at EUR 79 per night–very affordable by Parisian standards. By replacing the ubiquitous in-room TV with the multimedia iMac, Mama Shelter not only mimics the same type of shift going on in many homes, it also ups the ante for hotels in urban centers around the world. Hoteliers: one to emulate! (Related: High design, low touch hotel — New no-frills chic hotel chain opens in Amsterdam.) Spotted by: Murtaza Ali Patel