Many things can drive the genesis of a new hotel chain, but mostly it is driven by personal views of owners. Room Mate was a response by three friends in Madrid to their inability to find an hotel that satisfied their view of what an hotel should be. Setting out objectively to list what they were looking for they created the first Room Mate Hotel. Following a well-trodden path, they looked for city centre ‘location, location, location’. They wanted creative design and value for money, personal service without unnecessary extras, just a good breakfast.
The formula worked and there are now a dozen hotels in Europe, the US and South America, each with its own personality and each with a person’s name to reinforce the sense of them as individuals. Oscar is the latest of the four Madrid Hotels, opening in a Bauhaus building in Chueca. Lead designer on Oscar was renowned Spanish Interior Designer Tomas Alia.
Photo from Hotel Oscar website
The designs for Oscar are youthful, bold and avant-garde, the overall image is sensual and sophisticated. The designer uses subtle variations of finish and texture to enrich the visitor experience.
The designer tried to create walls of contrast, using different materials to bring different qualities. In the public areas the lighting plays a principal role in softly changing the colours and subliminally transforming the space.
Photo from Hotel Oscar website
There are 75 rooms and suites arranged over seven colour–coded floors, which look out over the Plaza Vazquez de Melia. The predominantly white bedrooms all feature cool contemporary furniture and striking design flourishes such as bright block colour, bold patterns or giant monotone photographic images. If you want a night in, or a bite to eat before you go out and party, there is a restaurant, cocktail bar and rooftop terrace bar with plunge pool.
With curling organic forms allied to light and subtle colour accents Oscar breaks away from the vernacular to introduce a new aesthetic.
