Weekly briefing: design departures, hotel development & a new era for F&B

Weekly Briefing 25 06 21
730 565 Hamish Kilburn
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Weekly briefing: design departures, hotel development & a new era for F&B

Editor Hamish Kilburn here, reporting for duty to patch up your week with a round-up of the hottest news and features that have emerged in the hotel design and hospitality industry over the last few days. This week’s briefing includes an emotional farewell, a look into the future of F&B hospitality and a glimpse at some of the major hotel development projects that will complete in the coming months. Scroll down and enjoy…

Weekly Briefing 25 06 21

In the latest Hotel Designs newsletter, sent out yesterday, I summed up this week’s news as ‘bitter-sweet’. In the same week we bid our fond farewell to a design studio that led the charge in hotel design for 30+ years, we also gathered some of F&B hospitality’s world-renowned experts in order to explore how the dining experience will evolve in 2021 and beyond. What’s more, we shared features on lighting, a hotel lobby unlike anything else we have seen and a look inside Viceroy’s debut hotel in Europe. It’s been a wild week, here on the editorial desk, so here’s our snapshot of the hottest, most-read stories:

Farewell for now: A look back on RPW Designs’ iconic projects

Image credit: RPW Design

In case you haven’t heard, leading hospitality design firm RPW Design became the latest casualty of the pandemic recently after its Managing Director Ariane Steinbeck announced that she had put the company into administration. With Steinbeck’s blessing, we reflected (past and present) on some of the hospitality design studio’s most iconic projects…

Read more.

EXCLUSIVE // Roundtable: How F&B hospitality is evolving in 2021 & beyond

For all brands working in hospitality, shutting up shop due to Covid-19 was a hard pill to swallow. But could F&B hospitality emerge from this crisis evolved and better shaped for the new demand of modern travellers and locals alike? Hotel Designs, in association with LUQEL, gathers some of the UK’s leading figures in the industry to find out.

Read more.

Lobby goals! Inside Graduate Hotels’ debut property in New York

Lobby inside Roosevelt Island hotel

Image credit: Steve Freihorn

Designed by Stonehill Taylor and SnøhettaGraduate Roosevelt Island becomes the Graduate Hotels’ 29th property and marks the brand’s arrival in New York City. With an arrival experience unlike any other (literally with a 12-foot sculpture greeting guests checking in), let’s take a look inside the 18-storey, 224-key design-led hotel.

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Inside Viceroy Kopaonik Serbia, the brand’s debut hotel in Europe

Arriving on the European hospitality scene for the first time, Viceroy Hotels & Resortshas just opened the 119-key Viceroy Kopaonik Serbia, a luxe mountain resort rich in culture, natural beauty and boundless adventure. Let’s take a look inside.

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New renders released of W Rome, months ahead of its opening

W Rome - Wet Deck

Image credit: W Rome

W Hotels Worldwide is preparing to make a bold arrival in Italy this autumn with the debut of W Rome. Located on Via Liguria, next to the Spanish Steps, the historic palazzo-turned-luxury-lifestyle-hotel will offer an unapologetically Italian experience, where guests can live in the moment and anticipate the future of the Eternal City.

Read more.

(in video) Hotel Designs LIVE: Workspace design trends in hospitality

In the final session of Hotel Designs LIVE on May 11, 2021, we positioned the spotlight on workspace design trends and how they are impacting hotel design and hospitality. In an exclusive panel discussion, editor Hamish Kilburn welcomed leading figures in residential, workspace and hospitality design in order to confront the topic from three separate perspectives.

Watch more.

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Hamish Kilburn / 25.06.2021

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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.