Mama Shelter is a popular boutique hotel in Europe and owner Serge Trigano along with his sons Benjamin and Jeremie decided to bring it to the United States in the hottest address they could find - Hollywood. The family who founded Club Med said in a post in variety.com that they did not want to risk experimenting when they've already tried their formula that worked so well in five locations in France and Istanbul. "We only go to places where we would like to live," Benjamin Trigano said about the 1920s building that is home to the latest Mama Shelter.
In the same post in variety.com, Philippe Starck's design wizardry was responsible for the success of the European Mama Shelters but this time they opted to go with a "Pulp Fiction" theme and placed a neon sign in the 6-storey property in the West Coast. There are 70 fashionable rooms that use 27-inch iMacs plus it has a round-the-clock bistro run by Chef Benjamin Bailly, a former protégé of Joel Robuchon. He became executive chef at Petrossian and Cliff's Edge. Local artists were also commissioned to do chalk drawings that are displayed in the ceiling. Benjamin describes it as "like if Mama Shelter had a baby with Chateau Marmont. We didn't want to make it homage to L.A., but we wanted to include a few elements that bring in an L.A. vibe."
In another post in zagat.com, a more detailed description of Mama Shelter's food offerings in its restaurant came out. Omelets, grain bowls and acai are breakfast fixtures. While for lunch, guests can expect Tartine sandwiches, big salads and croque monsieur and madams. Dinner is a treat of comfort food specials like hotdogs with sesame slaw, espresso-braised short rib shepherd's pie and the classic fried chicken are just some of the items on the menu.
