The new 61 bedroom LEGOLAND Castle Hotel opens straight on to the LEGOLAND theme park, offering guests a completely immersive LEGO® experience.
Award winning architecture and interiors practice, The Manser Practice, was commissioned by Merlin Entertainments Ltd to design and deliver the ultimate LEGO family hotel, as well as extension works to the LEGOLAND Resort Hotel facilities at the resort.
With the aim of achieving an enchanted life-size LEGO themed castle for guests to stay in, the ‘LEGO Castle’ range was used as inspiration for the colour scheme and material choices for the project as well as the bespoke facade. Vital to the scheme was the need for guests to feel that they have been transported to a LEGO world.
The design and layout were critical in achieving this, enabling the hotel to smoothly operate without guests being aware of what is going on ‘behind the scenes.’ From the moment guests approach the drawbridge they become part of the LEGOLAND Castle Story. Chris Jeffcoate, Associate Director at The Manser Practice, said: “The LEGO theming has been considered at every stage and is truly woven into the fabric of the building. We worked closely alongside Merlin Magic Making to coordinate the project from
inception to completion, harmonising layouts and design and build elements with the artistic theming and interior design to ensure that every construction detail would work with custom graphic wallpaper and complex 3D theming. It was essential to understand how children and adults would use and react to the space.”
The complexity of the internal theming presented a challenge for co-ordination of services and structure. Whether in the grand entrance, the restaurant or the bedrooms, each and every element, from light fittings and grilles to FF&E and finishes, has been carefully chosen to tie in with the LEGO brand and colour palette to ensure that the fantasy is fully maintained. Durable furniture selection was also necessary given the intense everyday use by children.
A fully bespoke Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) cladding system was developed by The Manser Practice for the façade of the building. The cladding gives the impression that the hotel has been constructed of 25x scale LEGO bricks – meaning a scale replica could in fact be built from LEGO. This GRC system was created from tessellating panels formed off site in a predesigned mould which are worked to strict LEGO brick proportions and replicates a unique stonework texture.
The hotel also features a Grand Entrance Hall and a full serviced ‘Tournament Tavern restaurant.
