In the coming weeks, Hotel Designs will be profiling the 50 finalists in the HD Brit List 2017 – this week, we start with the first five designers…
ROBERT ANGELL – ROBERT ANGELL DESIGN INTERNATIONAL
Born and raised in Dorset, Robert’s passion for design started at a young age when he became fascinated with making and creating things. Robert began his career being mentored by the late great David Collins, working together for 15 years, before launching his own design studio: Robert Angell Design International in 2010.
Since then, Robert has developed his own timeless and bespoke style, with design steeped in masterful glamour and luxury; he has designed some of the most talked-about hospitality spaces including the Award-winning Piccolino Cicchetti, London and Marcus at The Berkeley.
SUSIE ATKINSON – STUDIO ATKINSON
Recognising the importance of how a space will be used and that the architecture is only ever enhanced by a considered interior finish, Susie’s designs eschew the ‘fashionable’
to bring a room to life with exquisite colours, contrasting textures, surprising and delightful pieces of furniture.
She builds on these elements in a design process that is about the balance of texture and mixing these with different textured surfaces such as wood, zinc or granite. Her timeless interiors can be found in private country houses, London town houses, boutique hotels – including Babington House – clubs, restaurants and spas.
GRAEME BANKS – BARR + WRAY
With 50 years’ experience Barr + Wray are the UK’s leading provider of spa engineering solutions and ideas for water and thermal experiences. Most of the spas commissioned are located within hotels and resorts of exceptional style and presence and their aim is to design and build spas to compliment a guest’s surroundings in every respect.
Graeme is design director at B+W’s Dubai office, and has played a crucial role in the operational design, interior design and technical design that goes towards creating B+W’S ‘unique spa experiences’ in what has become an over-saturated spa market.
DAVID CARTER – ALACARTER DESIGN
David is a celebrated London based interior designer, who works principally on high-end residential and commercial projects in the UK and abroad. He has been running his 
interior design practice for almost 25 years, providing his expertise to an international clientele. He works for clients who don’t want an ‘off-the-peg’ design solution, but who are looking for something genuinely bespoke and different.
His unique vision and the haunting beauty of his interiors have always attracted a huge amount of coverage in the world’s most influential design magazines. He has twice been shortlisted for the highly prestigious Andrew Martin International Interior Designer of the Year Award.
HENRY CHEBAANE – BLUE SKY HOSPITALITY
Blue Sky Hospitality is a multi-disciplinary design studio specialised in the creation and development of hotel, retail, restaurants, bars, clubs and leisure branded concepts. The studio was created in 2002 by Henry Chebaane following 18 years of experience working for several international designers and luxury hospitality brands. The experience of the studio is built on over 250 projects in 39 countries.
Henry Chebaane, speaking about Blue Sky’s work at the Fireworks Steakhouse at the JW Marriott Absheron in the Azerbaijan capital Baku, said it was ‘inspired by the cultural and culinary lineage of fire within Caucasus’ – having been given the brief of creating a ‘land of fire’.
