Serious five-star soft furnishings goals

1024 681 Hamish Kilburn
  • 0

All month, Hotel Designs is shining the spotlight on Soft Furnishings, Fabrics and Textiles. Here are some five-star examples of hotels that nailed their soft furnishings first time around…

Getting the finer details in the soft furnishings right when it comes to creating an iconic design hotel is vital if you want your guests checking in to your hotel to linger for longer. From small, charming hotels in the country to extravagant palatial buildings, here are top examples of hotels that our editorial team believe got it right first time around.

1) Palazzo Versace Dubai

Image credit: Versace

The hotel that originally planned to open the world’s first refrigerated beach (that’s right, that record is yet to be claimed) blended together the best of hotel design and the catwalk. Here, Donatella Versace and her team injected bling into the guest rooms without even having to use gold. The interiors of this hotel opened to be as timeless as the fashion brand itself!

2) The Swan Southwold, England

Image caption: Project Orange

The Swan Hotel has occupied its current site in the renowned Suffolk coastal town since the 17th Century. Ale has also been brewed on site for more than 650 years and is now the heart of Adnams coastal campus brewery and distillery. The brief for Project Orange was to recreate The Swan as the jewel in the Adnams crown, as the gateway to the brewery complex and as a premium coastal hotel with a vibrant food and drink offer. The Adnams brand and core values are to be at the heart of the new proposals. Project Orange took risks from start the finish in the interior design of the hotel. The result, a highly modern, yet comfortable, hotel that projects the building’s buzzing personality, with the occasional welcome surprise – just look at those bed posts!

3) Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Image caption: Hilton Hotels

In 2015, HBA London completed the interiors of a hotel that went on to completely challenge and change hotel airports forever. No longer was the hotel airport and resting place at a landing strip on the fringes of a city. Lead designer at the time Constantina Tsoutsikou used its iconic location when imagining the interiors. In the oversized atrium, for example, the furniture if viewed from above is designed to replicate an areal point of view of the city, the same perspective that guests would have coming into land at the airport. Genius!

4) Kameha Grand Zurich

Image credit: Kameha Grand

When designing a ‘chocolate suite’, it’s difficult not to become cliche. However, the Kameha Grand Zurich, with its clever interiors, boldly fuses together a playful luxury pad that’s always in the heart of the action.

5) The New York Edition

Image credit: Edition Hotels

Everyone’s favourite home-from-home in the city that doesn’t sleep, the New York Edition’s signature style was created by Ian Schrager. With a further eight openings this year alone, the edition brand, under the creative direction of Schrager, is arguably taking over and redefining the luxury market, one hotel at a time! “All of the Edition hotels are unique, original and one of a kind, embedded with a sense of time and place,” said Schrager.

Main image credit: Edition Hotels

Hamish Kilburn / 18.07.2018

Share

  • 0

Fun fact: I’m usually the person friends rely on to organise trips, schedules, and group plans.

Workhighlights: Successfully coordinating events from planning through to delivery and seeing everything come together on the day.

Fun fact: I’m a keen cyclist and will happily bore people with copious amounts of cycling chat. My top cycling experience (so far) would have to be riding in the spectacular mountains of Crete.

Work highlights: Charles joined Forum Events in 2022. With a background in publishing, editorial media and events, Charles brings a wealth of experience to his role as Senior Production Manager. Having being involved with SPACE from the outset, he is excited to see the brand grow and develop.

Fun fact: People tell Sienna she gives off Bridget Jones vibes, and she loves to bake, always making sure there are shortbreads floating around the office

Work highlights: Sienna joined Forum Events & Media Group while studying Communications and Media, starting in the sales team where she managed and helped launch the first the PA Life Leading Venues of London SHOWCASE, where she built relationships with luxury venues across the capital. Drawn to the stories behind these spaces, she naturally transitioned into the editorial team, creating social media and editorial content. Upon graduating in June 2026, she is excited to be joining as Assistant Editor for Hotel Designs and SPACE.

Fun fact: When not working, Jess can usually be found tending to her kitchen garden in the Sussex countryside or foraging for herbs in the nearby woods. A keen grower, she recently studied a RHS Level 2 Diploma in the Principles of Horticulture during her spare time.

Work highlights: Jess joined SPACE magazine in 2022 and has since progressed from Assistant Editor to Editor. During this time, she has worked across many aspects of the publication – from shaping editorial strategy and overseeing operations to contributing to art direction and representing the brand on stage at industry events including Surface Design Show and WOW!house.

Alongside her role at SPACE, Jess has built a creative career spanning the arts, culture, design and travel sectors. Prior to joining the magazine, she spent more than a decade in the commercial art industry, in artist liaison, gallery management, and curating collections for the hospitality sector across hotels and cruise ships. During this time, she also worked on freelance projects as a writer, photographer, and creative content producer.
 
Jess studied photojournalism at London College of Communication and the Danish School of Media and Journalism and holds a first-class BA (Hons) in Culture, Criticism and Curation from Central Saint Martins.

Fun fact: Katy has spent years perfecting all kinds of accents and loves a good impersonation!

Work highlights: Katy has been with Hotel Designs since the beginning, way back in 2015 when Forum Events & Media Group acquired the brand.

During this time, she has fostered many meaningful relationships with clients from across the hospitality spectrum, as well as playing a pivotal role in the launch of The Brit List Awards, Hotel Designs MEET UPs, client-led roundtables and panel talks, brand and website redesigns, HD Wellness Sets, DESIGN POD podcast, Hotel Designs LIVE panel talk series, Accessible Design Talks and more. Katy is always on the lookout for the next opportunity to help grow the Hotel Designs brand even further.
 
Most recently Katy has stepped in to the role of Publisher at SPACE magazine, the printed bi-monthly publication focused on hotel design, architecture, and development.

Together these platforms offer a comprehensive 360-degree service encompassing digital media, print publishing, and live events – providing unparalleled value to advertisers, partners, and readers alike.