The 13-time Grammy rapper, songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams and nightclub entrepreneur David Grutman have announced that they will open a new lifestyle hotel in 2024. Set the be the creative duo’s largest hospitality project, Somewhere Else, will be located on a small island just off Nassau in The Bahamas. Editor Hamish Kilburn writes…
It’s not the first time celebrities have dipped their toe in the hospitality waters, with the likes of Hugh Jackman, Donatella Versace, Elizabeth Hurley and of course Robert De Niro among A-listers owning hotels. The recent addition to the list includes Pharrell Williams and David Grutman who in 2021 opened The Goodtime Hotel to rave reviews.
Less than a year later, the pair have tasked design and architecture studio Rockwell Group to bring to life their next hotel vision of a design-forward lifestyle hotel in The Bahamas.
“Throughout the resort, there will be a strong emphasis on indoor-outdoor flows with flush, freeform landscaping.”
The new hotel will be situated on Atlantis Paradise Island, in a building that has been, until now, referred to as The Beach – and was the island’s first hotel, originally designed by the late Morris Lapidus who was a leader of the vivacious ‘Miami-modern’ style.
The 400-key hotel, named Somewhere Else, is slated to open its doors in 2024 and will shelter multiple F&B outlets and bungalows featuring recording studios. Throughout the resort, there will be a strong emphasis on indoor-outdoor flows with flush, freeform landscaping. Williams referred to the project as “tropical modernism” in a recent interview.
The design of the property will be led by Shawn Sullivan, Partner at Rockwell Group. The overall aesthetic will take inspiration from topography of the landscape. The latest renders show a water-coloured depiction of a flamingo pink-trimmed building. On the site, the hotel will feature cascading pools that draw the eye towards the sea and polychrome room concepts with flashes of colour, CNN reports.
Despite this project being Williams and Gutman’s largest and most complex development undertaking to date, the 13-time Grammy winner and the nightclub entrepreneur have previously completed two other hospitality ventures; Miami-based restaurant The Swan and The Goodtime Hotel.
Main render credit: Somewhere Else/Rockwell Group
