Weekly briefing: Award winners, design trends and a new Nobu

A gif of all the stories from the week
730 565 Hamish Kilburn
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Weekly briefing: Award winners, design trends and a new Nobu

In the same week Hotel Designs LIVE flooded the industry with four panel discussions on meaningful topics, Hotel Designs published breaking news stories from brands such as Accor, Nobu Hospitality and Hyatt. In addition, we caught up with a few leading designers to make sense of design trends in 2021. Editor Hamish Kilburn writes your weekly briefing…

A gif of all the stories from the week

Well, well, well – we don’t want to jinx anything but, from the looks of things, it seems as if hospitality is preparing its comeback and permanent exit from what has no-doubt been the most challenging situations our industry has faced in modern times. My inbox is flooding with press releases referencing hotels being signed left, right and centre, which is painting our pages on the website with optimism. And the good vibes keep on coming as we are currently preparing to share the recordings of the conversations we had earlier this week at Hotel Designs LIVE (first editorial piece is landing early next week).

But before that, let’s look back at the major hotel design headlines that dropped this week:

Outstanding Property Award London: Winners announced

OPAL collage

Image credit: OPAL

The annual OPAL Award celebrates and give exposure to the most exceptional projects in architectural design, interior design, and property development from all over the world. From a shortlist of more than 600 global projects, the OPAL jury panel selected three “Designs of the Year” winners in Architectural Design, Interior Design, and Property Development along with Platinum Winners, Winners and Honourable Mentions.

Read more.

Nobu to arrive in Hamburg, Germany

Image of minimalist design guestroom in Nobu hotel

Image credit: Nobu Hospitality

As Nobu Hospitality prepares its arrival in Marrakech, the brand continues to expand its luxury lifestyle portfolio, which now includes a new hotel in Germany as details of a new 191-key hotel emerge. The Nobu Hotel and Restaurant will be located within the Elbtower, a project by SIGNA Real Estate, one of Europe’s leading property companies. The Elbtower will be a mixed-use development destination encompassing premium office space and the Nobu Hotel and Restaurant set within the tallest high-rise in the city.

Read more.

Interior designers make sense of 2021 design trends

library/lounge in Rosewood Baha Mar

Image credit: Rosewood Baha Mar

Since 2021 started, we have deliberately put an emphasis on trends – from surface design trends to architecture trends and recently predicting what colour palettes will be popular this year and in the future. Instead of rolling our eyes, which is often the reaction when the trends are mentioned, we are embracing new ideas and meaningful solutions following what has been the largest disruption to hospitality in living memory.

In order to understand how designers worldwide are thinking right now about the future, we have heard from seven leading professionals from Wimberly Interiors. Here are their predictions.

Read more.

Accor’s Mondrian to arrive in Singapore in 2023

Accor Announces First Mondrian

Image credit: Accor

The international hospitality group Accor has announced Singapore’s first Mondrian hotel will be built in the heart of the city’s prominent Duxton Hill neighbourhood and is set to open in early 2023, which will come after seven Mondrian hotel openings globally, which are slated for 2022.

Read more.

MINIVIEW: Inside newly renovated Hyatt Regency Houston

Image of stylish king bedroom in Hyatt Regency Houston

Image credit: Julie Soefer

New York-based Stonehill Taylor lives up to its reputation as a leading interior design firm operating in the luxury lifestyle hospitality arena by unveiling a clean and sophisticated renovation inside Hyatt Regency Houston.

Read more.

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Hamish Kilburn / 26.02.2021

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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.

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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.

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