Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced that they have sold the 179-room St. Regis Aspen for $70 million to 315 East Dean Associates Inc., a Delaware Corporation represented by Bangkok-based OptAsia Capital Co. The sales price is immediately accretive to earnings and represents a multiple of 17 times anticipated 2010 EBITDA. Starwood will maintain a 50 year management agreement and continue to operate the resort under its ultra-luxury St. Regis flag. Guest service and hotel operations will continue uninterrupted, providing seamless signature St. Regis service and exceptional guest experience which distinguishes the brand’s properties around the world. In addition to the purchase price, the buyer has committed to a major renovation of the resort, including the refurbishment of all hotel guest rooms and public areas and incorporating the extensive courtyard space into dining outlets for year-round offerings, including enhanced après-ski use.
According to Simon Turner, President of Global Development, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, “Asset sales such as this are illustrative of Starwood’s strategic disposition of owned real estate. We are committed to our strategy of systematically moving toward a more asset light operating model over time, taking advantage of when opportunities to sell our owned real estate are in the best interests of our shareholders.”
Denise Coll, President North American Hotel Operations, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, added, “We are delighted that Starwood will continue to manage this one of a kind resort in one of the world’s premiere luxury destinations on behalf of an owner who shares our passion for the St. Regis brand and for Aspen.”
Ideally located at the base of Aspen Mountain, the St. Regis Aspen Resort is situated between the mountain’s two primary base ski lifts and within walking distance to all of Aspen’s shops, restaurants and entertainment. The hotel is just ten minutes from Aspen’s airport and offers convenient access to all four ski areas as well as area golf courses.
Launched at Focus was an array of new products from Vaughan, including glass lamp bases as shown below.The Klosters Candlestick Lamp is a modern and fresh take on the classic candlestick, with textured glass and nickel base.
The Aspen Rope Lamp is a pretty twisted glass that looks like its melting into a pool which forms the base.
The Courcheval Twisted Lamp is a slightly shorter, but just as pretty glass twisted base.
The upscale hotel management company, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, has opened the iconic Ibn Battuta Gate Dubai, its third hotel in the United Arab Emirates, raising its portfolio to 67 properties globally.The five-star Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel offers guests a privileged location in which to enjoy Dubai’s world-class entertainment and shopping. The property is situated next to the landmark Ibn Battuta Mall, in the heart of New Dubai, close to the Metro and not far from Palm Jumeirah and Jebel Ali Free Zone, while the city’s main financial hubs and Dubai International Airport are easily accessible via the adjacent Sheikh Zayed Road highway.
The hotel is cleverly inspired by the journeys of the 14th century celebrated Arabian explorer, Ibn Battuta and his travelog is elegantly reflected in every aspect of the property including its eclectic architecture, decor and cuisine.
All 396 guestrooms and suites enjoy contemporary furnishings, together with touches that hark back to the hotel’s Arabian heritage and culture. The landmark hotel features 29 individually decorated suites, which have been themed to reflect the travels of Ibn Battuta, and guests booking into these rooms have complimentary access to the executive lounge.
Three floors are dedicated to business travellers, with a separate reception and lounge areas, but the hotel is just as ideal for families, with convenient three-way interconnecting rooms available.
“The hotel has many iconic elements,” said the hotel’s general manager, Jan Kaiser. “It is adjacent to the statuesque Ibn Battuta Gate, which at 60 metres high, is larger than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.”
The hotel lobby spans 90×30 metres in length and height, providing a sense of grandeur for departing and arriving guests. “We call the hotel lobby the Grand Hall,” added Kaiser. “It is majestic yet inviting and has numerous signature features, including 88 mammoth, eastern-style lanterns dangling elegantly into the wonderful space that is best described as ‘the hub on the house’.”
The Grand Hall is also the gateway to seven of eight equally iconic restaurants and lounges. Guests are taken on a culinary journey with cuisines representing the lands Ibn Battuta visited on his travels.
Centred around an open kitchen, Mistral is a Mediterranean restaurant offering breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets; Chor Bazaar features exotic flavours of northern India; Sicilia, the Italian speciality outlet, offers a rustic and unpretentious menu; and Shanghai Chic is a stylish restaurant offering authentic Shanghai and Szechuan cuisines.
Guests can unwind in a range of relaxed settings, which include Olive Tree, the rooftop pool bar, Majlis – the Middle Eastern Shisha Lounge – and Moroc Lounge, Bar, and Terrace. The gourmet shop, Pastane @ Ibn Battuta is the place to go for freshly baked pastries and breads.
The hotel’s Spa offers an extensive range of ancient cures and modern treatments in six treatment rooms and additional leisure facilities include a fitness centre and 30-metre rooftop pool. For children, the Camel Club offers a wide range of fun-filled activities, complemented by state-of-the-art technology.
Guests can also enjoy exclusive access to the private beach and pool at Oceana Beach Club on Palm Jumeirah, which is less than 20 minutes away by hotel shuttle.
For meetings and conferences, the hotel has 11 thoughtfully-designed meeting rooms for up to 250 people, plus numerous interesting terraces for ‘al fresco’ functions. The Grand Hall can host 1,000 people.
Where else can you find a more stunning location for the most important day of your life, than The Inn on the Lake Hotel, Ullswater. It enjoys one of the most spectacular settings in the Lake District, in 15 acres of grounds with lawns sweeping down to the shores of the lake.The Inn on the Lake, which has 47 en-suite guest rooms and an AA rosette restaurant, is part of The Lake District Hotels Group and specializes in providing the ultimate wedding experience. It is licensed for Civil Wedding ceremonies and has three approved suites.
The hotel now offers a new and unique feature, with the recent addition of an attractive 6m diameter Lakeside gazebo, supplied by Andy Thornton Ltd. It provides an idyllic sheltered location for the ceremony and offers the perfect photographic opportunity to capture the moment, with Lake Ullswater or the magnificent Helvellyn Mountain Range providing a perfect backdrop from every angle.
The architectural metalwork department at Andy Thornton designed, manufactured and installed the gazebo, which at 6m diameter, is large enough to accommodate the bride and groom, registrar and close family and friends. Additional seating can also be provided around the gazebo, for up to 120 guests.
The impressive structure comprises six elaborate cast aluminium columns with interconnecting spandrels, decorative balustrade panels and hardwood handrail. The eye-catching two-tier curved roof structure features a convex cupola with central weather vane. Internally there is a recessed flat ceiling which incorporates illumination. The finish is a resilient powder coat in white with verdigris roof.
The Lakeside Gazebo is proving a very popular attraction at the hotel, since being introduced this summer. Hotel proprietors Charles & Kit Graves are delighted with the additional business it has generated and commented, “We now have a totally unique and memorable location for holding weddings.” They have already asked Andy Thornton to design and cost another decorative enclosed structure for one of the other hotels in the group.
It is the last call for all young Interior Designers looking to enter the prestigious IDA Young Commercial Designer of the Year Competition!ScotHot 2011 is reminding that entries for the UK’s newest interior design challenge closes at the end of October and those looking to prove their talent to the world respected judges and lucrative Scottish hospitality industry should submit their entries by 22 October.
Hosted by ScotHot 2011, the first ever IDA Young Commercial Designer of the Year Competition in association with the British Contract Furnishing Association (BCFA) and the Interior Design Association (IDA), is the only competition aimed solely at designers under 30.
The winner will not only be awarded the prestigious title, but will have their design built in the BCFA Interiors and Design Pavilion @ ScotHot 2011 giving them the opportunity to showcase their work in front of more than 8,000 hospitality professionals and buyers, as well as the panel of judges, comprising a team of industry experts. Also up for grabs is a £1,000 cash prize.
The challenge for entrants is to design a 6m x 4m bedroom, including en-suite bathroom, for a four or five star refurbished boutique hotel. Maximum budget for the design is £25,000 and with sustainability a key focus for ScotHot 2011, designers must take in to account origin and air miles of their materials, but keep full product lifecycle sustainability the most important factor. Points will be awarded to those who use UK suppliers and no products are to be sourced from outside Europe.
Entrants must be under 30 years old and detail all aspects of the room design including technology, surfaces, fabrics, and furniture, with specific emphasis on how the room design enhances the guest’s overall enjoyment of their stay and how they meet the sustainability criteria.
The panel of judges features some of the countries top designers including Colin Watson of the Interior Design Association, Kate Mooney of Occa Design, Stephan Oberwegner of Max Bentheim, Jim Hamilton of Graven Images and Ronnie Burns of Burns Interior Design along with industry experts such as Kiki Max of Wyndham Hotels. Two highly commended candidates will also have the opportunity to mount their designs in the BCFA Interiors and Design Pavilion @ ScotHot 2011.
ScotHot is Scotland’s only hospitality interiors, tourism and catering event and attracts over 8,000 trade only professionals at the SECC in Glasgow ranging from hotels, restaurants, clubs, bars, schools, colleges and universities. With over 175,000 people employed in hotels and restaurants and 16m tourists a year, hospitality is one of Scotland’s key industries. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of leading professionals representing this very vibrant and dynamic sector.
For further information on how to enter please see: www.scothot.co.uk
Terms and Conditions: • The maximum age of the applicant is 30 years old. • All applicants must have a BA (Hons) Degree in interior design or similar. • All entries should be submitted no later than the 22nd October 2010 • The successful applicant as well as two highly commended applicants will be informed by 12th November 2010.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. has recently announced that the Cambria Suites hotel on Racetrack Road in Washington, Penn. has opened. The 105-suite hotel is the first of two Cambria Suites properties opening in Pennsylvania and is owned by Adios Associates, L.P., an affiliate of Horizon Properties Group and Madison Realty Group. Conveniently located near the Tanger Outlet Mall as well as The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, the Washington Cambria Suites brings a fresh, new and upscale all-suites option for the greater Pittsburgh area. Each suite features separate work and living areas with ergonomic chairs, movable desks, luxury linens, and Bath & Body Works(R) products. The all-suites hotels offer the latest in technology, including a media wall with two 52-inch televisions in the open, airy two-story lobby, and each suite includes two flat-screen LCD televisions and MP3 jacks. Every suite offers MediaHub(TM) plug-and-play technology, allowing guests to connect their laptop, MP3 player, game console, digital camera or CD/DVD player hassle-free. Free high-speed wired and wireless Internet access is available throughout the hotel, in addition to complimentary remote printing, so that guests can stay connected when on the road.
Like all Cambria Suites, the Washington property features Reflect, a dining and gathering area serving a dinner menu, liquor, wine, beer, and a barista bar featuring Wolfgang Puck(R) coffee, Cheesecake Factory(R) desserts and a hot breakfast buffet; Refresh, a state-of-the-art fitness center with an elegant pool and hot tub/spa area; and Refill, a 24-7 convenience store that offers energy drinks, snacks and sundries, as well as freshly prepared grab-and-go gourmet salads and sandwiches.
A message from Tony Attard OBE, FRSA; Group Chief Executive of Panaz Limited
One of the most exciting global challenges for a yachtsman to dream about is to sail the Atlantic. For many years sailors have been inspired by the around the world expeditions of Joshua Slocum, Chay Blyth, Sir Robin Knox Johnston, Sir Francis Chichester, Dame Ellen Macarthur and Dee Cathry. The personal achievements by such determined characters live on in history long after the voyage is over.Although crossing the Atlantic seems a small step by comparison to the achievements of these great adventurers, for me it will be an enormous challenge as my previous experience has been limited to crossing the Channel!
I will be sailing in November, and although none of us have sailed the Atlantic previously and this will be our longest trip at sea, the team are experienced sailors. However I am the novice and so a great deal of training and study will be required by me within the next few weeks to ensure I reach the levels of knowledge and sailing skill required.
I am taking the opportunity while crossing the Atlantic to raise money and indeed awareness for our UK industry specific Charity the Furnishing Industry Trust, known as FIT.
Our Charity FIT was established over 100 years ago to support people in the UK who have been employed in our Furnishings Industry with practical help. We give weekly grants to help with ongoing financial hardship, and one off payments for respite breaks and holidays, mobility aids, (for example wheelchairs) for people suffering critical illness. FIT is also developing grants to provide students with University bursaries to cover some of the costs of furnishing industry related courses. My Ambitions are to cross the Atlantic and raise £10,000 for FIT, and I hope that you can help. Every donation, large or small will enable FIT to give grants and payments to some of the most deserving and needy people in the UK.
Turkish Tourism Investment Association Secretary General Koray Yetik has given a ringing endorsement to the Central Asia and Turkey Hotel Investment Conference (CATHIC), to be held in Istanbul from 7-9 February 2011.Mr Yetik said: “The CATHIC conference will focus the attention of Turkish and global hotel investors and developers on our targets for tourism development in Turkey. Our goal is that the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic in 2023 will see 70 million tourist arrivals to Turkey and tourism revenues reaching US$80 billion by that date”.
According to Mr Yetik, investment in Turkey’s tourism over the next 13 years will see an additional 500,000 hotel beds, 35 new golf courses, 40 new marinas and an additional 55,000 airline seats.
“In order to achieve these goals, private investment of US$24 billion in Turkey’s tourism infrastructure will be required, and the hotels sector alone will require $US14 billion of that total in order to deliver 500,000 additional beds. Government funding of major infrastructure projects of a further US$15 billion is also called for,” Mr Yetik added.
The CATHIC conference will bring global hotel investors, operators and developers together to discuss opportunities, challenges and to make deals. The conference programme includes speakers with knowledge and expertise in regional and international hotel development, finance, hotel branding and operations. Further sessions will give perspectives from government, non-governmental organisations and industry analysts.
In addition to the formal conference programme, the CATHIC event offers various networking opportunities and an exhibition. Delegates will have ample opportunity to meet other participants, discuss opportunities and to do business.
“Having the endorsement of the TYD – whose members comprise the most influential hotel owners and investors in Turkey – is testament to the level of interest and real development opportunity that Turkey and the Central Asia region has to offer,” said Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of Bench Events, co-organisers of the CATHIC conference.
To register to attend this event, and for details of the conference programme, please visit www.cathic.com
Swissôtel Tallinn is proud to announce the receipt of the prestigious award of the World Travel Association (WTA) as it was singled out this year as “Estonia’s Leading Hotel”. The award ceremony was held in the city of Antalya in Turkey beginning of October. The World Travel Awards European regional ceremony united senior management and decision makers of Europe’s travel and tourism industry to celebrate their achievements. Also referred to as the “Oscars of the travel and tourism industry” by the Wall Street Journal, the World Travel Awards was founded in 1993 and is recognized globally as the foremost recognition of excellence in product and service worldwide. This year results are based on an independent vote by 185’000 travel agents and tourism professionals in over 200 countries.
Swissôtel Tallinn is a luxury hotel with 238 guestrooms and suites set admidst the business district of Tallinn, boasting unrivalled postcard panoramic views across the UNESCO listed Old Town and the Baltic Sea. Only 10 minutes away from the Airport and in walking distance to all hotspots of the city, Swissôtel Tallinn offers excellent accommodation, a wealth of facilities including three restaurants, the largest ballroom in Estonia as well as the Amrita Spa & Wellness Centre for relaxation and a wide range of treatments.
“Being recognised by the World Travel Awards in this way confirms our company slogan, a passion for perfection, which is based on our warm Swiss hospitality combined with quality, efficiency and reliability”, says Bart Westerhout, General Manager of the outstanding property. “It is pleasing that the Swissôtel Tallinn, which is representing Swissôtel in this extraordinary destination, has within a few years established a reputation to earn this prestigious award.”
The Rezidor Hotel Group has recently announced the Radisson Hotel Zavidovo. The 230-rooms property is scheduled to open in 2014. “Radisson is Europe’s largest upscale hotel brand. I am delighted that this hotel allows us to further grow our contemporary and exciting portfolio on the emerging Russian market”, comments Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Rezidor. The Radisson Hotel Zavidovo will be located in a picturesque resort area which is considered one of the most environmentally pristine areas of Russia. It stretches along the scenic Ivankovo Lake and borders a 1,250 km² nature reserve. The hotel is only 90 km northwest of Moscow and is easily accessible from the M10 highway, which is the main road linking Moscow and St. Petersburg. Planned as a popular retreat for the elite of Moscow, Zavidovo is also home to one of the official vacation residences of the President of Russia. The residence has also been utilized since Soviet times as a military hunting ground and as a venue to host foreign leaders. The surrounding area is rich in wildlife including bears, lynxes and foxes. Guests also enjoy an active sports and entertainment calendar which includes boating regattas, equestrian competitions, a rock festival, an aqua-bike world cup, extreme sports festival, etc. The hotel will also take advantage of the nearby 18-hole PGA Europe golf course to be opened in 2012.
Besides 230 guest rooms featuring Radisson signature services such as free high speed internet access, the property will offer 2 restaurants, a bar, a destination spa, conference facilities, and a yacht club. The hotel will be developed by ProfEstate, a Russian company developing a master-planned community in the area. “Zavidovo is an established resort and conference destination nearby Moscow with a lot of tourists, activities, special events, and yet a shortage of quality accommodation and services. Being the first 4-star hotel in the area, the Radisson Hotel Zavidovo will fill this gap and add a new momentum to the local development. We firmly believe in its success”, says Sergey Bachin, President of ProfEstate.
The Rezidor Hotel Group currently has over 60 hotels with a total of more than 14,500 rooms in operation and under development across Russia/CIS. The region belongs to the company’s focus areas for future business development, and is managed out of a full service branch office in Moscow.
Easy access to both business hubs and shopping, Courtyard by Marriott Suzhou provides guests with the best of both worlds, allowing them to work and have fun. Nestled in the heart of Suzhou Industrial Park the newly opened hotel delivers on the Courtyard brand promise, offering travelers spacious rooms and excellent value. Owned by Suzhou Industrial Park Hengyu Real Estate Co., Ltd., the hotel operates under a long-term management agreement with Marriott International and is headed by Tony Sum as general manager and Neon Li as director of sales.The new hotel is centrally located, offering easy access to the Suzhou International Expo Center, Times Square shopping center, Jinji Lake and scenic downtown that is known for its stone bridges, pagodas and gardens. Other nearby attractions include: Lingering Garden, Lion Grove Garden, the Canglang Pavilion and Suzhou silk museum.
The calming colors and contemporary design of the large guestrooms make them feel warm and stylish. Featuring amenities that provide both comfort and efficiency the room layouts allow the space to be multi-functional. Deluxe bedding, 42-inch LCD panel TVs, iHome docking stations and satellite channels ensure that guests are able to enjoy down time and unwind while well-lit work areas, high speed internet, laptop size safes and the latest in-room technology tools help to increase productivity.
Guests looking for a treat should visit the hotel’s 27th floor where they’ll discover the highest indoor pool and gym in the city. The fully equipped health club provides inspiration while working out to the exceptional view of the surrounding city.
Located on the 25th floor, the executive lounge offers personalized check-in and check-out services as well as complimentary breakfast, international newspapers, laundry service, complimentary use of meeting rooms, evening cocktails and snacks.
High ceilings, experienced staff and state-of-the-art conference facilities make events at the Courtyard by Marriott Suzhou stylish and stress-free. Offering a total of 717 square meters of function space including seven individual meeting rooms, the 450 square meter grand ballroom can accommodate up to 350 people in theater style. A 45 square meter board room filled with natural light makes the venue ideal for local businesses gatherings.
Langham Hotels International has signed a management agreement for Langham Place, Ningbo Culture Plaza, Ningbo with Ningbo Culture Plaza Investment & Development Company Limited. The move marks the luxury hotel operator’s first flag in one of China’s strategic second tier cities.The deepwater port city of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province on China’s Eastern seaboard is home to one of the world’s top five container ports. Located just two hours from Shanghai and linked by a 33km cross-sea bridge, the ancient Silk Road city of Ningbo is a crucial modern economic as well as a regional artistic hub.
The Ningbo Culture Plaza has been earmarked as one of the city’s key developments for the arts, fashion and retail industries. The multi-use complex will include commercial, educational, recreational, retail, gallery, exhibition and theatre space. The 140-room property, including seven suites, is located in two distinctive low-rise towers linked by a modern art deco corridor. Set to open in late 2011, Langham Place will form the centrepiece of the local arts and cultural hub.
With Langham Place’s strong emphasis on the arts, the hotel will masquerade as an art gallery, stimulating with a carefully-curated collection of exciting local art pieces. The modern property will also host the city’s key art functions and other events in its dynamic spaces including a state-of-the-art 830 sq m ballroom and five versatile meeting rooms.
Langham Place, Ningbo Culture Plaza will introduce three dining concepts. Ming Court, a sibling of its two-Michelin Star counterpart in Hong Kong, serving Cantonese and local specialities; an all-day dining restaurant and a speciality restaurant and bar.
Recognising that today’s guests often work and then relax in the same space, the group’s signature Portal – Work & Play will have the latest state-of-the-art technology for complete connectivity and DJs will gently spin lounge tunes during the evening.
The vibrant and entertaining art hotel is balanced with the introduction of a modern health club and swimming pool as well as the group’s signature Chuan Spa, offering treatments based on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
One of the latest developments of Baulmann Leuchten, a new family of LED table-lamps and floor-lamps, has now been completed with the matching pendant luminaires.Like the table- and floor-lamps the pendant are available in two different designs with a “horizontal version” and a “vertical version”.
All these LED luminaires are equipped with the latest LED technology, using a special “flood-light LED” with an excellent colour rendering and a warmwhite colour temperature.
The “horizontal” pendant luminaire is using 5 x 3W LED while the “vertical version” is equipped with 12V DC LEDs.
The Ready to Weave concept from Axminster Commercial has led to a significant rise in the popularity of semi-bespoke carpet, fulfilling the needs of contractors, hoteliers, restaurateurs and publicans, and it is now set to offer even more scope with the introduction of another 16 colours.Now with a total of 32 colours, Ready to Weave is one of the most flexible semi-bespoke services on offer today. Not only can specifiers choose from an extensive library of traditional and contemporary patterns and 32 colours, but also from two widths – 0.91 and 3.66m – and seven different weight qualities, tailoring the carpet to their exact requirements.
Manufactured from a performance blend of 80% wool and 20% nylon, Ready to Weave carpets can meet the wear needs for front of house applications such as dining areas, bars, receptions and lounges, but are also equally adept at providing less frequented areas such as guest rooms with a carpet that delivers value.
From the spinning of yarn at Axminster Spinning Division, to the dyeing and final manufacturing, Ready to Weave is produced entirely in the UK, helping to minimise environmental impact through the use of renewable resources and minimal transportation.
“The Ready to Weave concept has been embraced by many projects already, but with a total of 32 colours now available, it is likely to tick even more boxes for a wide range of locations and provide the perfect addition to refurbishments or fit-outs,” explains Steve Upperton, Sales Director.
By combining the latest technology with traditional axminster weaving, Ready to Weave offers fast-track custom carpets at costs previously only achieved with large production runs in a fraction of the time normally associated with a custom commissioned service.
Specialist hotel and leisure refurbishment contractor Ramparts Interior Contracts Ltd has been purchased from Liquidators BDO for an undisclosed sum, by a team led by former Sales and Marketing Director, Gary Crosbie.Founded in 1972, Ramparts was recognised as the leading interior fit-out contractor in its sector and preferred partner to the most respected operators in the market place, in its prime turning over £20 million. However, the sale of the business for £4m in 2006 by its founders was not the platform to build the business further, but the beginning of a turbulent storm of legal wrangling and boardroom instability adversely affected performance from which it was unable to weather.
Gary Crosbie commented, “Having been heavily involved in the growth of the business up to its 2006 sale I was shocked to see what was once a well run operation falter so quickly. It was particularly upsetting to see the efforts of almost 40 years reduced to a jumble of packing cases in a warehouse and hear of pointless and expensive litigation which took the focus off what paid the rent.”
“I have been fortunate and amazed to be able to put together a team of people who know the top end and contract refurbishment market inside out, with diverse skills from construction, soft furnishings and building services. We have the team ready and waiting to tackle any shape and size of project, but strategy is very much a walk before we run situation as we aim to take Ramparts to reclaim its former industry leading position.”
The purchase and restructure of the business will see Ramparts move from its traditional home of Macclesfield to South Manchester.
“From a personal point I’m sad to see the move from Macclesfield, as the old office is only 100 yards from my house, but from a business point of view, we have to strip out every unnecessary cost and overhead. Business is tough, price is king and not having a huge overhead can only be good for our competitiveness.”
Whilst business has not been trading for several weeks, Ramparts hopes to be re-engaging former staff sub-contractors and suppliers as soon as possible.
“The first stages of redundancies started over a year ago and the company shed staff along the way to its eventual demise in May. Ramparts built up its reputation on the backs of these people, clearly some have found new jobs. However, it is my firm intention to get as much of this talent back on board as soon as possible and get this once great market leading contractor back to its rightful place in the industry. I intend to expand its repertoire and build a solid future based on its past strategy of understanding its clients needs and making sure they are fulfilled.”
FW Lighting and Elektra Ag, has been chosen to provide lighting and wardrobe door sensors for the new Crowne Plaza Heythrop Park-Oxford, part of a 50 million investment in Heythrop Park, resort which includes a stunning new 18 hole golf course, leisure club and spa. Designed by architect Thomas Archer and completed in the early 18th century, the main house of the original Heythrop Park was originally commissioned for Charles Talbot, the then 12th Earl of Shrewsbury. Set in 400 acres of landscaped gardens and woodland, the hotel is an early example of English Baroque manner.
Elektra’s LD1.9-1 range of halogen capsule lights (with Osram 4000hr lamps) has been used due to their long life operation, high light output and low energy consumption. Transformers used were from Elektra’s ETf range, which incorporate the latest in low heat producing circuitry. These new breed of transformer requires little or no air gap and so can be mounted into tight areas without fear of early life failure or shutdown. Also, its slim-line design and ease of connectivity ensure quick and simple installation on site.
Both hinged and sliding wardrobe doors were used in the design, and we needed to use two styles of door light operating switches. The first was the spring loaded, push button type for hinged doors, and for the sliding doors we proposed Elektra’s PIR furniture sensor. Discrete in design, the adjustable head and photocell design allows the body to be hidden behind cabinetry, providing almost invisible light switching control.
To link everything together, Elektra’s patented 2.5Amp Mini Plug system was used to interconnect every component in the lighting design. Manufactured by Elektra, Mini Plug uses round male and female connectors that need only an 8mm hole cut-out to pass through cabinetry and walls.
In the Mini Plug range, Elektra produces 230v 2.5Amp, 6Amp and 16Amp versions as well as, 12v and 24v colour coded connectors for their extensive range of high powered, chip on board, LED lights.
If you would like to find out more about Elektra please visit the FW Lighting page in the Directory.
Hilton Hotels announced the opening of the upscale Hilton The Hague in June 2010. Set within the restored 1950’s shell of the former Royal Dutch Telecom headquarters, Hilton The Hague is the fifth Hilton hotel to open in the Netherlands, where the brand has had a presence since 1962.“As the global leader in hospitality, we are pleased to open this new upscale hotel that brings our signature style and service to this great international city,” Dave Horton, Global Head, Hilton Hotels brand said. “Visitors to Hilton The Hague will enjoy an interior designed by noteworthy Dutch talent, contemporary meeting facilities and exceptional food and beverage offerings.”
The new Hilton The Hague, prominently located in the embassy quarter of the city centre, offers 195 bedrooms, many of which have views over the grand cityscape.
The Hague is home to one of the world’s most esteemed hotel management schools such as the Hotel School The Hague, where many of the new hotel’s team members, including its general manager, Jan van der Putten, trained for their career in the hotel industry.
“I am delighted that our new Hilton hotel is now open in this wonderful city. For many years the former Telecom headquarters has been a building of significant interest in The Hague and it has been a dream to help restore this structure so it can become one of the finest hotels in the region. We will be offering guests our world-class service, with our new take on hospitality, in the beautiful surroundings of The Hague,” Jan Van der Putten, General Manager, Hilton The Hague, said.
The traditional hotel concierge is being shaken up by Premier Inn as the hotel chain announces it will be introducing an innovative Twitter based ‘virtual’ concierge service for its guests.Not only is this revolutionary take on the concierge concept a UK first, but Premier Inn is also becoming the first budget hotel chain to offer a concierge style service to its guests.
To access Premier Inn’s weekend Twitter concierge service, guests must tweet @PremierInn #concierge and simply ask for recommendations on anything from local activities for the kids, karaoke bars in the area, directions to the local theatre or even where to find an emergency dentist.
The weekend Twitter concierge service will initially run as a trial for one month on Friday evenings in October with a view to extending it if it’s proved of value to guests.
Steve Conway, who is leading innovation at Premier Inn, says: ‘We aim to offer our guests great service and outstanding value. We’re very proud to be the first budget hotel brand in the UK to offer guests this unique Twitter concierge service to help them make the most out of their weekend away.’
Ex-air hostess Danielle Lineker has a background in providing quality customer service and will therefore be acting as Premier Inn’s first virtual concierge on launch day. Danielle will offer personal recommendations to guests ranging from family activities, to romantic tips for couples or suggestions for making the most of a girly weekend away.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is proud to announce the launch of Shine for Sheraton, a global spa concept designed exclusively for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. On the heels of the brand’s recent $6 billion brand revitalization effort, Shine for Sheraton will debut in new properties across the globe and as a new spa solution for existing hotels and resorts. Sheraton has selected Germaine de Capuccini, a leading global spa and skincare brand, as the preferred product partner for Shine spas.Shine for Sheraton was developed exclusively for Sheraton by Starwood Hotels’ in-house spa team to offer both business and leisure guests an upscale, approachable spa experience. In collaboration with Shine’s preferred product partner, Germaine De Capuccini, the spa offers five signature treatments – including a massage, facial, body treatment, manicure/pedicure and a treatment for two – to help guests find their glow. Sheraton also utilized guest feedback when designing the spa concept. Research reveals that the Sheraton guest values the quality of luxury, but not the pretense often accompanying it. Eight out of 10 Sheraton guests are likely to consider using spa services when traveling, including male guests – 54% only visit spas while traveling.
The brand’s signature new spa offering is currently available at select hotels in China, Vietnam, the Maldives and the Slovak Republic. The global roll out of Shine for Sheraton will continue with l2 openings scheduled over the next 15 months including the Sheraton Shanghai Hong Kou, the Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng and the Sheraton Yantai Golden Beach Resort followed by further expansion in North and Latin America.
Designed to evoke a welcoming and relaxing arrival, Shine for Sheraton spas will utilize colors and materials that convey a playful yet upscale environment. Rich, lustrous materials in warm creams, browns and burnished gold will be highlighted with vivid cobalt blue, tourmaline and coral accents. Throughout the spa, materials with innate shine such as, marble and onyx, high gloss mahogany, polished metal and glass will be incorporated in homage to the spa name. At Shine spas, conversation will be welcome as Sheraton believes that life is better when shared.
Morgan Furniture, the design-led British manufacturer of contract furniture, has re launched their Arena and Siena Collections for 2010 with refreshed designs and new shapes that bring both ranges bang up to date.Arena tub chairs are cleverly designed with an identical footprint so can be grouped together to provide a varied visual arrangement. This concept has been expanded further with a new contemporary slim seat chair with a clean linear profile and a newly introduced brushed steel swivel base. The same design is available with a deeper comfortable sit for lounges and as a small two seater sofa that complements the range and is ideal for reception areas.
Siena is a relaxed but elegant collection of tub chairs, swivel base chairs, daybeds and benches featuring a flowing curved profile and choice of simple turned legs or a more substantial polished timber base. The Siena 650T swivel armchair is a new addition to the Siena collection and has a hidden swivel mechanism above the show wood base making it ideal as a generous lounge chair that combines a timber base with the added comfort of the swivel action.
The range is comprehensive with models to suit every application including meeting and dining rooms, reception and lounge areas, plus more relaxed areas such as hotel bedrooms and spas. The rectangular and square benches bring added versatility for creating varied seating design schemes.
Both the Arena and Siena Collections are designed by Morgan Design Director, Katerina Zachariades.
All designs are exclusive to Morgan and are made with care in their own factory in Hampshire by a team of craftsmen.
Decor:Fusion, the Manchester based interior solutions company, has announced their involvement with the recently refurbished bar area at the Cheltenham Park Hotel (Gloucestershire, UK) for Barceló Hotels.The 152 room elegant country house hotel is located just two miles from Cheltenham and sits at the edge of The Cotswolds in beautiful landscaped gardens. The revitalisation of the Lilly Brook Bar and Lounge offers a sophisticated setting for post-meeting drinks, or to finish your day after visiting the Cheltenham Racecourse!
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has announced that its global powerhouse Sheraton Hotels & Resorts plans to open eight more hotels in China before the end of 2010, and another 18 by 2015. The Sheraton brand also marked a major milestone this month with the opening of its 30th hotel in Greater China- Sheraton Zhongshan Hotel, which is Starwood’s 60th property in Greater China.Later this year, Sheraton will open Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel, signifying the brand’s debut in the city of Guangzhou, southern China’s largest metropolis and a key transportation hub. Other key 2010 openings include the brand’s third hotel in Shanghai – Sheraton Shanghai Hong Kou Hotel; and in 2011 its second in Beijing – Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel.
In 2011, Starwood will open Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort, the first Sheraton hotel to open in China’s most promising new resort destination.
Sheraton Hotels Opening Before the End of 2010:
Sheraton Zhongshan Hotel, Zhongshan, China Located in the city’s central business district, the 30th Sheraton Hotel in Greater China will offer 362 spacious guest rooms, 3 restaurants and bar as well as 2,250 square meters of meeting space.
Sheraton Wuxi Binhu Hotel, Wuxi, China Opening Located in the heart of the Binhu district, the hotel complex is adjacent to a retail mall, dining and entertainment district
Sheraton Tianjin Binhai Hotel, Tianjin, China Situated in the heart of the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), one of the fastest growing economic zones in mainland China, the hotel is within easy reach of the Tianjin TEDA Administration Commission, the future Modern Service District (MSD), International Convention and Exhibition Centre, shopping and office areas.
Sheraton Wenzhou Hotel, Wenzhou, China In close proximity to the Government Administration Center and the central business district, the hotel will offer 303 guest rooms including 76 suites, each created for a relaxing stay, with a well-appointed bathroom, wireless High Speed Internet Access in addition to Sheraton brand’s signature programs.
Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel, Guangzhou, China Located in the heart of Guangzhou’s Tianhe central business district, the Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel is part of Teem Mall, the leading commercial and shopping complex in the city.
Sheraton Shanghai Hong Kou Hotel, Shanghai, China Opening Only one mile from the Bund – one of the city’s landmarks, the hotel will provide 490 spacious and inviting guest rooms and suites offering the signature Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed, five restaurants and bar, health club, indoor heated pool and spa.
Sheraton Jiangyin Hotel, Jiangyin, China Opening With a city center location, Sheraton Jiangyin Hotel boasts its own attached convention centre with almost 3,700 square meters of flexible conference and event space, and state of the art meetings technology including a 2,100 square meter Grand Ballroom.
Sheraton Shenzhou Peninsula Resort, Wanning, China It’s the perfect home base for exploring all that Hainan Island has to offer with a beachfront location to the southeast of Wanning City on the beautiful Shenzhou Peninsula, a tropical paradise boasting 8 km of white sandy beaches and beautiful coves, with many recreational options–including golfing, fishing and water sports.
Dawson Design Associates, Inc. has recently unveiled the intended design for the popular Topaz Hotel in Washington, D.C., owned by LaSalle Hotel Properties and managed by Kimpton Hotels. Located just off Dupont Circle in Washington DC, the Topaz Hotel was the first Kimpton Hotel property on the east coast and is a popular boutique-style hotel catering to locals, dignitaries, and tourists since its open in 2001. Dawson Design Associates, Inc., a long-standing strategic design partner with LaSalle Hotels, and the original designer of the hotel, was contacted in February to help evolve the Topaz by updating its identity and attitude. For firm President, Andrea Dawson Sheehan, it was nice to revisit the old design and enhance its look for today’s fashion-savvy guest. “When it opened, the design was so extreme for the market at that time and was highly published on an international level. Quickly, it became the place to be seen in Washington,” remarks Sheehan, going on to say that, “it also opened 3 weeks after 9/11 and people still felt under siege. It was a great diversion as well as an opportunity for guests to escape all the fear in the news. It was a huge success.”
The goal for this new renovation is to respect the original design intent and character. “The hotel’s current personality and appeal still works,” says Sheehan, “and the new design is a representation of a very familiar friend who has matured over the years, gaining another layer of sophistication. It’s still the same body with the same quirky personality, just a bit more refined and worldly.” The new look is a subtle representation of motifs inspired from Maghreb bazaars and le cirque, drawing on French influences of the exotic, playfully executed.
Sheehan notes that many of DDA’s clients are now strategically following through on multiple renovations that were put on hold due to the recession. “Their goal is to evolve their current hotels’ personalities, rather than completely repositioning. They want to capture another seven to eight years of life, economically, while still achieving a fresh new look. The designs have to be both smart and strategic to meet these goals.”
Anti Copying in Design (ACID) members Aspinal of London have secured a settlement after a long battle against copycat predators who marched off with their products, mimicked their website and shamelessly created a look-alike business, free riding on the back of Aspinal’s hard- fought- for brand identity and reputation. Despite denying liability, the defendants, in a confidential settlement, agreed not to trade in any capacity in the leather goods business for 10 years and to pass over all the assets including all the stock and their entire business to Aspinal. The case was described as being one of the most complex cases to come before the London Patents Court in fifty years. An outraged Iain Burton the Chairman and Founder of Aspinal said, “This was an extraordinary example of unscrupulous business persons believing that they could, with impunity, walk off with an entire business and create a copycat trading company using every aspect of Aspinal’s brand identity, including its look and feel, text, brand voice and communication platform. The case boiled down to infringement of intellectual copyrights and also breach of numerous common law torts. The case was, of course, difficult to pursue and the costs were quite extraordinary, but in building a brand for generations to come it is an important principle that a company’s intellectual property and its brand identity and its confidential information must be fiercely protected.”
Aspinal of London, one of the UK’s fastest growing British luxury brands, had been forced to take action against individuals with whom they trustingly shared an office and warehouse premises. Without warning, they vacated the shared premises and promptly set about to manufacture a wide range of more than 100 designs, copying or mimicking Aspinal’s entire range of products and designs, the Aspinal “ look and feel” and the entire Aspinal business model. The case against the defendants was pursued in two parts. The first was breach of copyright, Community rights, registered designs and unregistered designs. The second was a case of common law tort, including the misuse of confidential information and inducement of Aspinal’s manufacturers to breach their agreements and exclusivity.
Dids Macdonald, ACID’s Chief Executive said of the case, “The fact that we are not allowed to mention the other party’s names is a great shame but the message to Aspinal’s competitors (and others who may think about following the same business strategy), must be crystal clear, brand protection and the intellectual property that underpins the success of Aspinal of London is its lifeblood and any infringement whatsoever by third parties will be taken very seriously indeed in the future.”
A master plan for a 129-hectare resort along Tamuda Bay on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast has just gained planning consent by royal approval. The development is set to become a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.The site is adjacent to significant wetlands that are home to many species of migrating birds, including flamingos, and is naturally punctuated with numerous water channels. These features were the starting point for the designer’s scheme. “It was key that we worked carefully to conserve and preserve the existing ecological qualities of the site in order to develop a sensitive master plan,” says Phil Jaffa, director of Scape Design Associates. “The challenge for us was to fit quite a lot of elements onto the site in way that they all harnessed the wet areas and the sloping gradient as well as the views in one direction of the Mediterranean and in the other of the Rif mountains.”
The result is an evolution of a tranquil wetland environment into a resort that flows around water and which provides a logical series of experiences for guests and ease of operations for staff. The 100- bedroom hotel is located at one of the higher points of the site on a bi-polar axis providing views of both the wetlands and the 18-hole golf course that meanders around much of the site. Water channels are used to create space between small clusters of villas and all 200 villas and apartments have views of either the mountains, the bird sanctuary or the water. A small dam is to be introduced, achieving a fresh water lake, and there will be a waterfront village with retail, restaurants, bars and cafés. In addition, there will be a large conference facility, spa, health club, kids club, young adults club and tennis courts.
Scape developed the master plan in collaboration with architects WATG and Jack Nicklaus who are responsible for the building and golf course design respectively.
The interior designers have now commenced work on the technical master plan. Site preparation works are scheduled to begin towards the end of this year with completion slated for 2012.
The biggest budget hotel chain in Northern Ireland, Premier Inn, is working closely with the Department for Employment & Learning (DEL) and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) as part of its latest recruitment drive in Northern Ireland, demonstrating its commitment to offering equal opportunities for employees and guests alike.The new Premier Inn Titanic Quarter / City Airport launched a recruitment drive for its new hotel opening on 8th November with a focus on providing opportunities for deaf candidates, those hard of hearing, and the long term unemployed. The three day recruitment fair saw over 200 candidates being interviewed on day one alone, including a number of deaf and hard of hearing candidates.
The RNID have been a key partner in supporting Premier Inn in its bid to not only offer equal opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing candidates, but also in training all existing team members in basic sign language so that any deaf or hard of hearing guests have a world class experience when they visit.
Employment Minister, Sir Reg Empey said: “This is an exciting recruitment opportunity at a time when the local economy is under significant pressure. I welcome Premier Inn’s decision to offer job opportunities for the long term unemployed and people with disabilities.
“My Department’s Bridge to Employment Programme will assist the long term unemployed to gain the necessary skills to secure employment with Premier Inn. The Programme has been designed with full co-operation of the employer to ensure it meets Premier Inn’s needs. All candidates who successfully complete the Programme will be guaranteed an interview for employment within the hotel.”
Premier Inn Titanic Quarter / City Airport is opening on 8th November – the first hotel opening in Titanic Quarter which helps to cement Premier Inn’s position as the biggest budget hotel provider. The hotel will include 120 bedrooms and feature an on-site restaurant offering an excellent choice of hot or cold food and an ‘All You Can Eat’ Premier breakfast.
Each bedroom caters for up to two adults and two children (aged 15 and under) and includes an en-suite bathroom with shower and bath; a king-size bed with duvet; remote control TV/ radio alarm; tea/ coffee making facilities, and a spacious desk area with internet access.
Palmerston Hotels & Resorts will be the driving force behind a spectacular beachfront resort on Boracay Island in the Philippines it was announced recently. The company, which specialises in turn-key development and the management of luxury boutique hotels and integrated resorts, will bring to fruition one of the most prestigious luxury resort and residential developments in South East Asia.Known as the Palmerston Boracay Resort, the first phase of the five star development will be the Palmerston Beach Club which benefits from its own private beach and access to Fairways and Bluewater, a world class 18 hole golf course designed by Graham Marsh, will comprise a luxury hotel together with outstanding leisure facilities.
Palmerston Place – the second phase of the development and the heart of the resort – will afford an additional 187 standard bedrooms and suites as well as conference, dining and spa facilities. Thereafter, the jewel in the crown – the Royal Palmerston Hotel – will be developed as a deluxe boutique hotel with 59 luxurious suites and 18 villas affording both owners and guests the most enviable lifestyle experience.
Construction on the Palmerston Boracay Resort will commence in early 2011 with an anticipated three year building programme managed by Palmerston Hotels & Resorts´ skilled team who will also operate the development and manage the community upon completion. The Palmerston Boracay Resort is one of many development projects that the company is undertaking either solely or with joint venture partners.
Centara Hotels & Resorts has won seven awards in four different categories from SmartTravelAsia.com, an online travel magazine. Winners of the Best of Travel Poll 2010 were voted for by worldwide readers and users of the website.Three properties were voted into the Top 25 Leisure Hotels & Resorts category, with Sofitel Centara Grand Resort & Villas Hua Hin appearing in the 10th position, Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui at number 18, and Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya at number 23.
Sofitel Centara Grand Resort & Villas Hua Hin was also voted into 11th position in the Top 25 Spa Hotels & Resorts category, while Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui was voted 13th.
Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld was voted 18th in the Top 25 Conference Hotels category, and number 22 in the Top 25 Business Hotels. The awards were presented to Centara Hotels & Resorts by Vijay Verghese, Editor&Director of SmartTravelAsia.com.
Centara had previously won four awards in SmartTravel’s poll for 2009.
“We are delighted to have received these seven awards,” said Suthikiati Chirathivat, Chairman of the Executive Board of Central Plaza Hotel Public Company Limited (CENTEL). “This does we feel reflect the fact that Centara is expanding fast as a company and achieving strong brand recognition in the prime marketing categories.”
Chris Bailey, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Centara Hotels & Resorts, said that the awards are enormously encouraging for the group’s marketing division. “More and more of our business is done via the internet, and the awards raise and strengthen our profile,” he said. “This is vital for us as we expand the number of hotels and resorts within the group, both in Thailand and overseas.”
Centara Hotels & Resorts has currently a total of 41 properties, 35 of them in Thailand and 6 overseas. Of this total, 28 are open for business and 13 are under development. Three will open during this year, three in 2011, six in 2012 and one in 2014.
September saw the completion of Glasgow’s first long awaited luxury spa at the five-star Blythswood Square hotel, designed by Graven Images as a soothing refuge from the bright lights and busy streets (but often inclement weather) of one of the UKs most vibrant cities.The Spa at the Blythswood Square hotel is located over two floors, covers an area of 10,000 square feet, and incorporates nine luxury treatment rooms, a thermal suite with a range of experiences, two relaxation pools, a relaxing lounge and cafe area plus several additional relaxation areas.
With reception and changing rooms on the lower level and treatment rooms on the upper level, the guest’s journey through the spa is designed to be a soft sensorial experience, with a muted, largely monochromatic colour palette of natural stone, Calacatta marble, dark oiled oak veneers and subtle lighting creating a calm, serene mood.. This reaches its fullest expression in the Spa’s dark vitality pool, situated at the furthermost point from the Spa’s entrance, where lighting, dark natural stone and a cool, dark body of water combine to create a moody, dream-like environment which guests may find difficult to leave.
The calm, luxurious yet understated atmosphere of Blythswood Square Spa is the ideal location for a range of especially designed treatments including the Blythswood Thermal Experience – a seven stage journey of alternating temperature experiences to sooth, relax and detoxify the body prior to spa treatments or as a restorative therapy. The Spa’s menu also features the UK’s first indigenous Scottish treatments designed in conjunction with luxury organic skincare house, ila, and special Seaweed Bath complete with organic hand-harvested seaweed sourced direct from the Hebrides.
The emphasis on distinctly Scottish products continues the theme set by the designer’s client The Townhouse Collection in the Blythswood Square hotel, in which Scotland’s textile heritage is celebrated with the creative use of Harris Tweed on a range of luxurious floor-length curtains to bespoke lampshades, chairs and event waiters’ uniforms. Jim Hamilton, Graven Images’ design director, explains:
“Our intention was to continue the guest experience of staying at Blythswood Square hotel into the spa –it is designed to feel essentially ‘Scottish’ but in a sense, celebrating all that is good about contemporary Scotland and not tartanalia. As vibrant and sociable a city as Glasgow is, it often does not enjoy the best of weather. After pounding the streets of Glasgow, both day visitors and guests of Blythswood Square hotel can seek the refuge of Blythswood Spa and know from the instant they enter that they will be cosseted and relaxed for the duration of their stay.”
RJD Interiors Ltd are predominantly experienced in hotel interior fit outs both in the UK and abroad. We also offer full service shopfitting and bespoke furniture services as well as manufacture and install bespoke bars and reception desks.Our newly launched website reflects our professional service and displays our diverse portfolio of projects. To view the new website, please visit this link: www.rjdinteriorsonline.co.uk.
Alternatively, please visit RJD Interiors in the HotelDesigns Directory.
Hersha Hospitality Management is proud to unveil its new “refreshing business” lobby makeover in Brookline Massachusetts at Courtyard by Marriott Brookline. This is the first Courtyard in the Boston area to showcase Marriott’s latest lobby design and positioning for the Courtyard brand. Replacing the former more traditional style is a fashionable, modern design, mindful of the hotel’s unique locale and capturing the essence of Boston. Offering convenient access to downtown Boston, Faneuil Hall, Symphony Hall and just a short drive away from Boston College and Boston University, the Courtyard Marriott Brookline remains the finest choice for business or leisure travel.
The energetic yet relaxed feel of the newly launched lobby is vibrant in color and allows guests a wide range of options from attending a virtual business meeting to grabbing a bite to eat at the Grab and Go Bistro. There are a variety of seating options that range from inviting communal tables in the middle of the action, to more private media booths featuring high‐definition televisions, to an even more intimate, semi‐enclosed lounge area.
“The Boston market continues to outpace competing cities in year over year growth and we are proud to have launched the new lobby at the Courtyard Brookline – a revolutionary approach to serve business and leisure travelers alike with better food, connectivity and gathering spaces,” said Naveen P. Kakarla, President and CEO of Hersha Hospitality Management. “This is the first of a half dozen such investments our Courtyard owners are making to stay ahead of our competition.”
Also featured in the new lobby is the Courtyard’s exclusive GoBoard™, a 52‐inch LCD touch screen displaying local information, weather, maps and news headlines. Guests can use the GoBoard™ to find a variety of restaurants, attractions and directions in the Brookline/Boston area.
The new lobby is equipped with free WiFi access as well as an ample amount of electrical outlets for digital devices. Guests can take advantage of the extensive business library, which features several complimentary computer terminals, free printing and a dedicated computer/printer for airline and other transportation related activity.
Dining has been completely redesigned with The Bistro – Eat. Drink. Connect. The Bistro offers a casual atmosphere, flexible seating and deliciously convenient fare with healthy menu options for breakfast and lunch and serves Starbucks coffee.
Contra Curtains Ltd are delighted to announce the completion of soft furnishings to the latest citizenM property in Glasgow, Scotland.citizenM hotels aims to provide a new type of hotel experience for a new type of traveller. The group’s founding philosophy is held central: to offer “affordable luxury for the people.”
On September 9, 2010, the award-winning citizenM hotel group officially opened the doors to its first property outside Amsterdam in the very heart of Glasgow’s city centre, an area bustling with theatre, music, shopping, art and vibrant street life.
Contra supplied each of the 198 bedrooms with a Silent Gliss Wave Sheer System. Wave Systems were also used throughout the Public Areas in the hotel.
Contra worked successfully with the project team and delivered all items on time and within budget.
Joining blue chip organisations such as M&S, Hilton, Dyson and 3M – Skopos Design Limited, manufacturers of contract fabrics, based in Yorkshire, have been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard. Skopos are one of few textile manufacturers to achieve this standard – driven by a consistent carbon footprint reduction involving initiatives throughout the business.Sue Spurgeon, Managing Director stated “The Carbon Trust Standard is a mark of excellence awarded in recognition of measuring, managing and reducing carbon emissions – it has involved everyone in the business – manufacturing and our sales/marketing and administrative functions. We are proud to achieve the Standard and remain committed to invest in driving down our carbon footprint every year”.
Not complacent with such an achievement, the business is now stepping up a gear, with significant capital investment to further drive energy efficiencies both in print and fabric prep/finish.
The desire to minimise environmental impact is fundamental to Skopos’ manufacturing and product development plans – clear environmental details for all products are shown on the Skopos website – making it easier for clients to make informed environmental decisions.
Skopos is an ISO9001 accredited company and has over 30 year’s specialist experience in the design and manufacture of high performance FR contract fabrics.
From the Lodging Conference 2010, Choice Hotels International, Inc. recently announced that it will reach 1,000 domestic units online for its Quality Inn brand with the upcoming opening of the fully renovated 86-room Quality Inn & Suites Conference Center of Mattoon, Illinois. The Quality brand, franchised by Choice Hotels International, was the nation’s first hotel chain when formally founded as Quality Courts United in 1941. The brand has a rich history of industry firsts, including the first to guarantee reservations and to offer 24-hour desk service, in-room telephones and 24-hour-a-day, toll-free reservations.
Quality hotels are known worldwide for superior hospitality, having served travelers for nearly 70 years. Quality is a mid-priced hotel that offers all the accommodations and essentials to make each guest’s stay satisfying.
In the face of a continuing challenging economic environment – and with access to credit a significant barrier to hotel ownership – Choice has launched a limited-time offer for hotel developers interested in converting an existing hotel to the company’s Quality, Clarion or Econo Lodge brand. These brands represent strong conversion opportunities in the mid-scale and economy segments — with one of the world’s largest, most well-respected lodging franchisors.
Help keep your energy costs down this winter with Hafele and individually controlled radiators throughout your property, each with 0% CO2 emissions and no combustion as does not require a boiler, gas or liquid fuels. Each radiator works independently of each other and can be programmed to specific requirements for that room.• Energy Saving – 12 hours running only draws 5 hours of energy consumption • Natural air Convection – Keeping moisture within the room • 10 Year Guarantee – 2 years on the electrics on registration • Easy to use & install – Simple on/off and temperature control on each radiator • Fully Programmable – Full programming function can be accessed via the front panel of the radiator using a sequence of buttons detailed within the instruction manual or using the infra-red remote control (optional extra). • Different sizes – 7 sizes of radiator available and 4 sizes of chrome towel radiator.
For information on the full range of Häfele products please contact the sales department through our page in the Directory.
Estimated example of a technical heating study for 80 sqm dwelling or commercial premises, located within a cold area of the UK. Comparing four different heating systems providing 12 hours/day-night heating maintaining the ambient temperature selected of 21°C.
TechVision are pleased to be offering 20% off their stylish 17” Infiniti Waterproof LCD TVs (in Mirror finish) until 1st December 2010, as follows:
Special Price – £480+vat (per unit) – normally £600+vat! (This price includes: 17” Waterproof TV, 2 x waterproof ceiling speakers, waterproof remote control, cabling and shipping, within the UK)Infiniti TVs are waterproof rated IP67, making them perfect for use in wet and humid areas, i.e., bathrooms and washrooms, adding ultimate luxury!
The units come with free view and digital radio built-in.
There are two simple installation methods:
1) The TVs can be recessed into the wall, 2) They can be wall mounted, using a standard vesa-bracket.
All units come with 24 months UK warranty.
*Please note this promotion only applies to Mirror finish units and does not include the clear glass version.
Using promotional code TVIF1700m480, please fax your orders to: +44 (0) 1484 653993, or e-mail debbie@techvision.co.uk
If you require more information, please get in touch via our page in the Directory.
The Algonquin Hotel, New York city’s famed literary landmark hotel located at 59 W 44th Street, announced their official affiliation with the Autograph Collection, a portfolio of upper-upscale, independent hotels and resorts, each with distinctive personalities. The Algonquin Hotel is the first New York City property to become a part of the collection. The Autograph Collection is a new group of hotels within Marriott International, Inc’s global brand family, taking an innovative approach to selecting iconic hotels with distinctive personalities that promise guests a unique experience. Hotels in the Autograph Collection can fall into the resort, historic, boutique or urban hotel categories.
The Algonquin Hotel, as part of the Autograph Collection, will be featured on Marriott.com and affiliated with Marriott Rewards, Marriott International’s award-winning guest loyalty program, where guests can earn points at more than 3,300 hotels in 69 countries. As a member of the Autograph Collection, The Algonquin Hotel taps into Marriott’s industry-leading global reservations system, and powerful consumer outreach through its leading technology, and sales and marketing platforms which have helped build Marriott into one of the world’s leading hotel operators.
The Algonquin Hotel recently underwent a complete renovation – modernizing many elements of the hotel experience, while maintaining its famed historic charm through the inspiration of famed designer Alexandra Champalimaud. All guestrooms feature signature Algonquin beds and bedding, and unique amenities including New Yorker magazines and available eReaders for the enjoyment of our guests looking to “wind down with a download”.
A New York City landmark recently named to the National Trust Historic Hotels of America, the Algonquin Hotel is located in the heart of midtown Manhattan at 44th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, just steps from Broadway’s Theatres and world-class shopping. The recent $4.5 million renovation effort focused on refreshing the hotel lobby, upgrading all guest rooms, laying new guestroom carpet and introducing new bedding to the 174-guestroom hotel – creating a new era of elegance at the historically significant hotel.
Three years after launching GECKO in the market place, Création Baumann is again expanding its innovative collection of self adhering textiles. With even more motifs and colours the Swiss manufacturer from Langenthal is responding to the demand from residential and contract sector furnishing. New to the range is GECKO CRYPTA II, a variant of GECKO which incorporates eight intensive additional colours on the popular semi sheer Crypta quality. Four new designs are also causing a stir – amongst them the first photorealistic motif.That the adhesive GECKO textile would establish itself in interior design as a versatile protection against glare and intrusive stares within such a short time could, at the outset only have been a dream by the Swiss textile virtuosos in Langenthal. Following an extended period of development, Création Baumann brought the silicon coated self adhering textile first to the market in 2007. It caused a small sensation as it could be applied directly to glass and other pore free surfaces from which it could be removed without any residue. Moreover it can subsequently be reapplied several times over without any loss of adhesive properties.An ingenious principle that offered undreamt of functional solutions, both for the residential and the public sector.
That GECKO can do more became apparent with Création Baumann’s launch of the GECKO Think Forward competition in 2008. “GECKO IN THE BOX“ – a box with pre cut components for decorative window styling offers an equally beguiling demonstration of how GECKO can be used as a creative style element in interior design.
The decorative added value of the adhesive textile is underlined by the Création Baumann’s design team’s four new designs. GECKO VECTOR consists of overlapping, geometric hexagones. The burnout process, an ingenious technique from the décor fabric sector, generates exciting effects at the window. Sections of the textile are marked and etched out thus creating a pattern. The 3D-effect brings the hexagonal shapes to the fore; the fabric looks dense and sheer at the same time. GECKO DISCO invokes an urbane ambiance in the home. The mix of sharp and blurred colourful circles evokes reminiscences of the bright lights of a metropolis which, with the right angle of incoming light, look amazingly real. GECKO LISTRA beguiles with an array of gaily coloured ribbons that look as if they were fluttering in a breeze. The elegant, haphazard arrangement of overlapping strips in differing widths can be displayed vertically or horizontally. Multi colouring makes combination with other colours easy. GECKO ILLUSION has the wow factor. The coulisse like motifs from everyday objects such as bowls, vases and books look amazingly realistic. This is the first time that the textile experts from Langenthal have used photorealistic images. Proving once again that they are progressively broadening the limits of this adhesive textile, by exploring ever new and delightful variations. This applies not only to designs but also to colours. Because GECKO CRYPTA is so popular, Création Baumann is expanding the range of the flame retardant textured fleece by eight colours. The colour palette of GECKO CRYPTA II now encompasses 17 colours; leaving the customer with a choice between the bright and youthful tones or more muted classic beige and grey shades.
The new GECKO collection is available from specialist outlets from the autumn of 2010.
The Swiss furniture manufacturer Girsberger will present PEPE, a new multi-purpose chair, at Orgatec in Cologne. The chair was designed by Dieter Stierli. The chair’s design is clear-cut and simple. A shell of shaped wood, bent upwards in a tight radius on three sides, forms the seat, backrest and armrests. The slimly upholstered shell is covered with fabric or leather from the extensive Girsberger collection.
The seat shell is supported by a delicate skid frame which follows the same lines as the contours of the armrests. The frame is made of steel wire with a diameter of 12 mm. It is available in nickel chromium steel or in chromed steel.
As a multi-purpose chair, PEPE has a wide range of uses: as a visitor chair in offices, as a conference chair in meeting rooms, in waiting areas, in cafeterias and for many other purposes.
Orgatec, the leading trade fair for office furnishings, takes place from October 26 to 30 at Cologne’s exhibition center. You will find Girsberger in Hall 10.2 at Stand No L002/P002. PEPE will become available for orders immediately after the trade fair.
To capitalise on its growing success within the cruise & passenger shipping marketplace, Chelsom Ltd has appointed an agent in Miami to promote their lighting collection to interior designers and operators of luxury cruise vessels in USA. Debra Breslauer is based in Miami, the cruise capital of the world. With a strong design background, she has over 20 years of experience in this rapidly developing market and has built up an enviable bank of knowledge. Debra has already been over to the UK to meet the Chelsom export team and fully understands the design & manufacturing capabilities of the Chelsom factory.
Will Chelsom, Director, said, “We are delighted that Debra will be joining the export team, with a specific remit to cover passenger shipping in the greater Miami area. We have already received great feedback on the new lighting range from a recent trip to the shipyards and cruise interior designers in Germany and are confident that, with Debra’s help, we will get a similar response in Miami.
Designers were really impressed by the quality of Chelsom products and perhaps even more by the competitive prices. We have worked hard on the new collection to make it adaptable for use on cruise liners, so we are confident that our range will perform well in this sector. Debra has extensive first-hand knowledge of the industry so I am sure that having her on board will be a major boost to Chelsom’s growing success in this market.”
This site has enjoyed notoriety in the past. It was home to the Greater London Council’s Architects Department that created for themselves (as architects will, of course) a building that consistently won the votes of Londoners as London’s Ugliest Building. Londoners were delighted when the building was demolished, although its ghost lives on as hundreds of thousands of tons of demolition materials were used in the construction of London’s largest hotel. The 1,051 (at the last count) bed roomed Park Plaza Westminster now graces the site.
Park Plaza is having a love affair with the South Bank. This is fully justified in my view, as many of the best views in London are from the south looking north. Certainly this hotel enjoys a spectacular view of the Houses of Parliament at the opposite end of Westminster Bridge. Park Plaza now has nearly two thousand rooms on this side of the Thames; Park Plaza Waterloo is on the opposite side of the road with 343 rooms, and Park Plaza Riverbank is a ten minute walk away with 395 rooms and its suite operation offers 55 rooms there for a grand total of 1844 rooms and suites. The new hotel is built to the latest environmental standards as the reuse of demolition materials shows. London has a growing problem with rising groundwater. Kept in check in the 20th century by the amount of industrial use of water in London, the water table has been steadily rising for years threatening many building basements and the Tube lines with flooding. Park Plaza Westminster’s contribution to solving this problem is the creation of its own bottled water. A bottling plant in the basement produces thousands of bottles of purified water from the underground aquifer for use in the hotels.
The location has not been an easy one to work with. The road system was a major challenge, and the changing of the circulation pattern, which caused so much disruption to London drivers over the last few years, has transformed the approach for guest. Now instead of a seedy underpass full of rough sleepers there is an open plaza in front allowing tourists to stroll directly onto Westminster Bridge. The building plan has been oriented to maximise the views across the bridge, making the views from some of the rooms some of the best in London, if you are a fan of Barry.
Relocating the roads has also enabled the hotel to have a sensible street presence. The rear, facing the railway, has staff and delivery entrances, and a slip road gives taxis access around the base to the front doors, which of course front the bridge. The glass of the building reflects the views and this whole area of London is now cleaning up nicely as it becomes a major tourist magnet. The removal of the Channel Tunnel terminal from Waterloo certainly does not seem to have reduced in any way the number of people thronging the area. Without going north of the Thames attractions such as the National Theatre, Hayward Galleries and Imperial War Museum are all an easy walk. This is indeed an inspiring location for any hotelier, and fully justifies the 15 years spent on bringing this building to fruition.
The Kingsley by Thistle is celebrating the 1st birthday of its multi million pound refurbishment and rebrand with the launch of its first ever in-suite library for guests. Drawing on its heritage as the former home of Charles Kingsley and the Bloomsbury Set of Writers, The Kingsley will offer guests staying in its Suites access to an exclusive series of ‘lost classics’ brought back into print by local publishers, Bloomsbury Publishing.Guests partial to a book before bedtime will also be treated to a luxurious Thistle reading pillow and complimentary hot chocolate in each of the suites, with regular guests able to take the books out on loan, returning them on their next visit.
Literary bloggers and authors have shared their suggestions of cherished books for the library with selected books available in each room, or a full reading list can be ordered free of charge from Reception. Titles on offer include Henrietta’s War by Joyce Dennings, Love’s Shadow by Ada Leverson, Mrs. Ames by E.F Benson and a host of other great classics from the early twentieth century.
The Kingsley by Thistle recently completed a £10million refurbishment and restoration programme which saw the property lovingly restored to its former Edwardian splendour. Formerly called Thistle Bloomsbury, the hotel also reverted back to its original name as a mark of its literary heritage. Today marks the 1st birthday of the refurbishment programme which has seen the hotel transform into a stylish and relaxing haven in Central London, perfect for both business and leisure travellers.
Johan Scheepers, General Manager of the hotel comments: “We are incredibly proud of our hotel’s heritage so want to invite our guests to share in our exclusive literary past and relax and unwind with one of the many great books available from The Kingsley’s library. Whether you’re one of our regular customers visiting on business, or a passing leisure guest, you should always make time for a good book so just give us a call and we’ll deliver it to your door.”
A charming, new boutique hotel has opened in Milan, the Italian capital for fashion, design and lifestyle. The Hotel Milano Scala lies in the artistic and cultural district of Brera, the heart of the city centre and the location for many of the city’s most important theatres, museums and exclusive shopping streets. Following a soft opening on September 2nd, the hotel celebrated its Grand Opening on the 21st September 2010. Located in a late nineteenth century, seven-storey building and blending beautifully into the surrounding architectural landscape, the Hotel Milano Scala distinguishes itself for being the first zero-emission hotel in town. It stands as one of Italy’s few hotels to employ a heat recovery system to both control climate and produce hot water, while also only buying energy from suppliers using clean and renewable energy sources. This process ultimately produces energy without any kind of fuel and without releasing CO2 into the environment – a breath of fresh air in one of the most industrialized and polluted cities in Europe.
The old palazzo hosting the Hotel Milano Scala has recently undergone a complete renovation, and now offers 62 rooms including 10 suites, three meeting rooms, and a charming restaurant and Sky Terrace, a scenic terrace with a breathtaking view of Milan’s historical centre. Both the hotel’s name and its concept are strongly connected to musical culture – and in particular Opera – something considered by many to be one of the preeminent characteristics of Milan. From the moment they arrive, guests are taken on a sensorial, photographic and musical journey, gently drawn in by the hotel’s quiet, elegant atmosphere.
Within the hotel there is a strong desire to make the rooms and public areas places where people can meet, act as a stage for events, or simply offer pleasant surroundings for a break from hectic city life. This desire led to the process of designing a “ground floor” where guests are initially welcomed by the warm and vibrant atmosphere of the contemporary-style Lounge Bar, Primadonna; guests are then led on to a comfortable “Lobby”, formerly the ancient courtyard of the building, today turned into a conversation room, a thematic library and an area featuring individual stations to enjoy one’s favourite music. The “Lobby” also boasts a crystal ceiling offering a delightful view of the vertical gardens. The restaurant, La Traviata, invites guests to savour traditional dishes of the Milanese cuisine, with an international touch.
The hotel is part of WORLDHOTELS, one of the most important and prestigious affiliation hotel chains.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has announced plans to debut its Aloft brand in Cleveland, Ohio. Aloft Cleveland Downtown is scheduled to open in early 2013 as a key element of the Flats East Bank development – Cleveland’s newest, upscale mixed-use complex. Managed by Heritage Development Company, the newly constructed hotel will offer style at a steal with 150 spacious, open rooms, a tech-forward sensibility, and a vibrant, social atmosphere.Aloft Cleveland Downtown will be built as part of the $275 million first phase of the Flats East Bank project – a joint venture between The Wolstein Group and Fairmount Properties – along with a 450,000 square foot office tower, retail, restaurants, entertainment venues, a riverfront boardwalk and 14 acres of parks and green space. The highly anticipated development overlooks the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie, boasting dramatic water views and cityscapes. Easily accessible from Hopkins International Airport via Rapid Transit, the hotel will be just minutes from many downtown attractions including the Warehouse District, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the East 4th Street entertainment district, Playhouse Square and several major sporting venues. The hotel will provide access to nearly 3,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, perfect for business meetings and social gatherings.
The hotel is being financed by the Cleveland International Fund which has raised $20 million in funding and commitments for the hotel project.
An invitation to the showroom launch of a new range is always a tough one. The logistics of central London in early morning are not fun, and a breakfast of canapés is not enticing. However, the opportunity to be early and photograph JAB’s showroom properly took me on the Overground to Imperial Wharf on a bright sunny morning when the Thames looked its best.My design practice was in this part of London for many years; I have watched the development of the area from the 1980’s. The area desperately needed the Imperial Wharf Station, which is already becoming a busy one. It is a shame that London Overground runs such small trains here, ensuring that the service mimics the much-overcrowded Tube. The JAB showroom represents a haven from this crush, cool, spacious and with its own tea bar for clients.
MD Mike Constable confesses it was a gamble moving from Chelsea Harbour, but the company wanted control over its costs. With the expensive space in the Design Centre itself putting upward pressure on rent at every lease renewal, the purchase of the showroom was one way of bringing more predictability to budgeting. He is delighted with the result so far. Having budgeted for a small drop (due in part to the recession as well as the move), he is pleased the company has shown a small gain in sales. He anticipates this will be the start of an upward curve in performance helped in part by the launch of Four Seasons New England and Soleil Bleu Saint Honore ranges.
The majority of people, who studied at University in the past, think of student halls of residence as the dingy, cold, stark buildings that would supply you with a desk, a chair, a bed and wardrobe and the luxury of a kitchen and bathroom shared with ten other students. Not the students of 2010. The competitive market of student accommodation has resulted in an increase of schemes which offer students an ensuite room, with internet access, safes in wardrobes, kitchens and lounges with LCD screens and a common room resembling a hotel foyer. So as the new build halls become bigger and better each competitor University Hall needs to be offering just that little bit more.
The University of Leeds, has recently stepped up to this mark, completing their new 460 ensuite bedroom halls of residence, directly on campus – Storm Jameson Court.
In 2008, Penelope Tiffney of Spatial Designers was appointed by the University to design the interior scheme for the project. The challenge was to make best use of the twelve-foot square space of the standard student study bedrooms, offering them plenty of storage in comfortable, contemporary, well planned accommodation. There were also the important criteria of designing rooms that would appeal to the college conference delegates that frequent the university during the summer months.
Over the last two years, Penelope has worked with the university, the design team and the contractors to deliver a high specification package throughout the scheme.High quality casegoods, carpet and bespoke artwork compliment purpose-designed bathroom pods. Part of every standard room these are curved externally, to allow the bedroom to appear spacious. Internally they feature white gloss walls, with a large vanity mirror and contemporary sanitaryware, glazed shower cubicles and safety flooring.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has announced the signing of a Non-Exclusive Master Agreement with D.I.H (Cyprus) Limited (an affiliate of Duet India Hotels Ltd.) and JHM Interstate Hotels India Pvt. Ltd. The agreement was signed concurrently with the execution of the agreement for the Four Points by Sheraton Pune, Nagar Road Poona. The Non-Exclusive Master Agreement also covers the Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur City Square which opened in October 2009 and Four Points by Sheraton Visakhapatnam. Four Points by Sheraton Pune, Nagar Road and Four Points by Sheraton Visakhapatnam are both targeted to open in October 2010.In a significant vote of confidence for India’s burgeoning travel market, Starwood Hotels & Resorts – which already boasts the largest upper-upscale and luxury Indian footprint of any U.S.-based hotel company – is launching a major expansion of its mid-market brands, Four Points by Sheraton Hotels and Aloft Hotels, in India. Starwood is well on track with its plans to grow its existing portfolio of 26 hotels in India by 60 percent by 2013 with the opening of the first Four Points by Sheraton in Navi Mumbai, Vashi in partnership with the Rahejas Group.
Starwood’s legacy in India began in 1973, when its Sheraton brand debuted in Mumbai. The company has since grown the portfolio to 26 hotels under its Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, The Luxury Collection and Le Méridien brands. By 2013, Starwood expects to have an additional 15 new hotels in India across the Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton and Aloft brands.
Four Points by Sheraton with its timeless and stylish comfort offering, has proved a huge hit for Starwood worldwide, and debuted in India in 2009 with the openings of Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur City Square and Four Points by Sheraton, Navi Mumbai, Vashi. Because of the “halo” of the iconic Sheraton brand, Four Points by Sheraton is already a “developer darling” in India.
All Four Points properties in India, including the hotels in Navi Mumbai, Jaipur and the soon to open hotels in Puneand Visakhapatnam, are new builds, bringing a new generation of sleek, modern, and stylish mid-market hotels to the country.
Work will start on a £10m hotel and retail scheme on Dale Street, Liverpool, in the New Year after the scheme was approved by city planners.
Northern Ireland developer the Benmore Group is behind the proposals which incorporate a hotel, car park and retail unit and which they believe will help regenerate a key route in the city centre, attract new investors and service a demand for high quality hotel bedroom space in the city.The scheme has been designed by Liverpool architect Falconer Chester Hall taking due consideration of its location within a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The site itself is occupied by three unused buildings, which have fallen into disrepair, one of which is the Pioneer Buildings which will have its façade retained, at great expense to the developer, and married into a new build 123-bed hotel through the use of sympathetic materials, designed to respect surrounding buildings.
Benmore Chief Executive David Burrows said: “We’re delighted to have secured approval and look forward to bringing the scheme to completion. It has the potential to be a transformational scheme in its context, helping to kickstart the regeneration of a key city thoroughfare and preserving the facade of a historic building at the same time. We have pre-let the entire scheme to 3 international occupiers which is a credit to the design and location.”
Adam Hall, Managing Director of FCH, added: “It’s always a challenge working in such a historic setting. We have made use of brick and stone as used elsewhere on Dale Street so it is very respectful of its context, but equally it is striking and will bring some energy back to the Dale Street area of the city, hopefully bringing other empty buildings back into play in the future.
“We also have gone to great lengths to retain the façade and chimneys of one of the buildings which is acknowledged as being of architectural merit.”
The development also includes a multi-storey car park with 285 spaces and a 313 sq m retail unit on the ground floor fronting Dale Street.
“We needed to ensure that the development gives a good, active frontage to Dale Street and that the ground floor is lively and interesting,” added Adam Hall.
The Benmore Group’s activities encompass property investment, commercial and residential property development and land regeneration.
The company has property holdings across the UK including in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Scotland. The portfolio value of completed and proposed developments schemes is in excess of £1 billion and includes exciting schemes including a 5* hotel in the centre of Manchester.
CS Contract Furniture has provided the furniture for the newly refurbished areas of the Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre. The Centre has been developed to provide 12 food production units for start up and growing businesses with access to focused food business advice. The project encourages and sustains business opportunities for the local food economy.The Shropshire Food Enterprise kitchen has been designed to create a commercial and modern area. This has been achieved with stainless steel fittings, including a counter and bar style demonstration area.
Contemporary furniture has been used to complement the modern style of the building. The furniture has been upholstered with green fabrics to coordinate with the Heart of England Fine Foods branded colours.
CS Contract Furniture used their bespoke craft skills to develop truly individual products to meet the clearly defined colour and usage specifications. This included unique requirements such as laminate table tops in a branded green formica
Louise Pickford, HEFF Business Development Manager, said: “The building is very modern with a heavy influence on stainless steel and glass so we wanted to use bright and inviting furniture in the café and kitchen area using the green colours from our logo and branding. HEFF support local food and drink producers so we wanted to carry this ethos through and use as much locally sourced products as possible.”
CS Contract Furniture understands the importance of limiting the environmental impact that business has on the climate. CS endeavour to maintain an environmentally friendly approach by: using timber harvested from temperate forests that are properly managed to FSC or PEFC certificate standards; recycling timber waste as efficiently as possible; allowing the local community to use their offcut timber for heating their homes; the use of state of the art capacitors to reduce consumption of electricity.
The Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre TASTE Kitchen has been approved by BREEAM due to the use of solar powered heating and rain water recycling. BREEAM is the leading and most widely used environmental assessment method for buildings. It sets the standard for best practice in sustainable design and has become the measure used to describe a building’s environmental performance.
HEFF (Heart of England Fine Foods) has been appointed to manage the project on behalf of owners Shropshire Council with funding from Advantage West Midlands as they have the specialist skills to support local speciality food producers.
Kettal are redesigning their logo to be presented in the 2011 season.With the redesigning of the brand, Kettal wanted a logo in line with the changes and with the new Kettal, which is increasingly design-oriented.
The redesign of the Kettal logo is based on the company’s new philosophy and the design of its furniture. Clear, structured, clean lines. The result is a more contemporary logo that is more legible and has greater impact.
For more information on any of Kettal’s range, please contact their UK distributor (PS Interiors) through the Kettal page in the Directory.
The boy was nervous, shining his torch carefully into the shadows, walking slowly so we were treading on his heels. The man with the rifle was alert, holding his weapon across his body, finger on the trigger guard. Was this a piece of hotel theatre staged for effect? We were walking back to our room after dinner, and were not allowed to leave the restaurant until our escort was in place.
Ongava Lodge is constructed on a small hill in the 323km² (125mile²) Ongava Game Reserve, a private reserve just outside the main gate of the Etosha National Park in Namibia. The National Park’s original 100,000 km² (38,500mile²) made it the largest game reserve in the world when created. The aim was to stem the rapid depletion of wildlife in the area, and protect the land through which the seasonal migrations passed. Then, just as a nature conservation unit and several tourist camps were set up, the reserves were redefined and Etosha shrank to its present size covering an area of more than 22 750km² (8,750mile²).
The addition of the private parks, many of which abutt each other and Etosha, has extended the range of protected territory as well as that of the predators. A ribbon of such reserves now stretches down through Damaraland and the Skeleton Coast to the Sossusvlei, the Namibian Sand Sea. The Lodges are all connected by dirt tracks and the areas own bush airline Sefofane.
So is the escort a piece of theatre by the Lodge to see guest safely back to their rooms? The second night, after a long working day, I decided to go back to our room early, long before dusk, and sit quietly on the balcony with a bottle of chilled white wine and watch the vault of heaven light up with the myriad upside down constellations of the African sky.
As we settled into our wicker chairs, wrapping ourselves in the provided blankets against the chill night air, a black backed jackal walked past a hundred or so metres away – followed by two lionesses and a lion, all on their way to the Lodge water hole. ‘Red in tooth and claw’, such wildlife is why tourism is growing – and why operators take every precaution to ensure the safety of their guests. As our guide said “we haven’t had anyone eaten this year…yet.”
The embrace of nature is a part of the philosophy of Wilderness Group who use the out of season times to provide experience of the game parks to children from African cities through their Wilderness Trust. They have lit enthusiasms, then paid for development and education both for individuals and whole communities. Now many have done this but uniquely Wilderness funds their activities, on over 60 sites across Africa, with luxury hospitality developments (see Little Kulala and Damaraland for other examples).
The luxury wraps around the guests at Ongava sometimes striking a slightly discordant note, such as when one can watch rhinoceros or giraffe at the waterhole whilst sipping an iced gin-and-tonic at the bar. The comfort is five star with meals served on the restaurant terrace under the stars or under the thatch, with clear views down to the plain below. Dusk and dawn, evening and breakfast time provide the best game watching as the beasts move to water then, but all the rooms are aligned to watch the waterhole or game paths.
As evening draws on the terrace has a fire pit to sit around and there is always the escort waiting to see guests safely back to one of the 14 rooms. Game paths also run between the rooms, and it can be a little startling to find a buck some ten feet from your balcony in the morning — to the buck too, although they don’t always take fright (too stupid?). Balconies are large and have an outside shower as well as the interior shower, allowing sun worshippers a quick cooling drench when the heat becomes too much to bear.
The individual lodges vary in size, but all have their own air conditioners, although in late July it was still cool enough under the thatch that their use was not necessary. Rooms have ample space for clothing and a daily washing service is included as the guest luggage allowance on the Cessnas is necessarily very limited. Laundry taken away one day is returned the next, neatly ironed.
The large shower room is organised so that the twin wash hand basins have a window in front of them through which it is possible to watch the waterhole whilst washing. Materials throughout are carefully chosen to reflect the environment but the whole is sophisticated with electric shaving points and ample power points for charging cameras etc..
Walls and floors look like a concrete version of Venetian plasterwork,and this is practical, being cool in the heat and easy to maintain in the sandy environment. The rooms open up into the thatch providing a large air circulation area to aid cooling. Windows have timber bars for security, which also help provide shade from the heat of the sun. Large French windows open onto the balcony and the absence of TVs and radios allows the wilderness to speak.
There is a separate higher-level lodge called Little Ongava. There, three large apartments each with small infinity pools, lounges etc make up the ‘suites’ of the Lodge. The Lodge has its own pool with sun loungers, sometimes shared with the dassies, and offers the main dining experience but the suites have their own self-contained lounges. Approached by high-level timber walkways this exclusive area was apparently adopted briefly as a sleeping platform by some lions shortly after opening, slightly surprising guests when they opened their front door!
The suites, like the rooms in the main hotel take their design cues from the African vernacular we have seen in other hotels reviewed updating them with luxury described by one commentator as “mixing Robinson Crusoe with the Savoy”. The resulting mix is however far more sophisticated then Crusoe may have managed and energy conservation, water recycling and safeguarding the guest’s physical well being all are part of the designers approach.
Game Lodges are a specialised sector of the hotel market. They are set in remote locations where the guest is prepared to endure journeys of enormous distances. Guests live in comparative isolation away from the comfort and security of 21st century city living in order to experience the adrenalin rush of being close to big game.
Despite their isolation and having to rely on their own abilities to supply water and power, these Lodges have lessons for all hotels. Some are obvious such as energy conservation and water recycling. Others are less obvious such as using the local vernacular within guest accommodation to reinforce a sense of place or enhance the theatre of experience. Even the game trails and experiences of seeing wildlife have lessons for hoteliers elsewhere as I showed (slightly tongue in cheek admittedly) when I created a wildlife safari suggestion in my Review of the Premier Inn Woking. David Seymour of Seymours Hotels has done it successfully in Jersey with his very successful guided walks along the tidal beaches on the island.
In all the lodges I have Reviewed there has been a successful blend of comfort with closeness to the environment. Standards of comfort and facilities rival those of any London four stars and are competitive with many of the city’s five stars. As the Cube in Austria has taken a hard look at its market and changed the design parameters to meet the identified guest need, so Wilderness have taken a hard look at the cost benefits of their design and guest needs to create something special.
If travelling and staying in hotels is about creating memories, then Ongava must top the league.
Trou aux Biches, located in the north-west of Mauritius, reopens in November following an exciting re-build. Capitalising on its prime location, the original Trou aux Biches was completely demolished and rebuilt with a focus on tropical elegance, privacy and luxury. Blending harmoniously with the exceptional ocean-side setting, the hotel has created its buildings and facilities to conform to the most demanding environmental standards. From solar panels to supply hot water, a waste water treatment plant and high efficiency cold-water production units, every effort has been taken to ensure the new Trou aux Biches operates with the minimum impact on its environment. Behind the luxurious new-look, Trou aux Biches has a very ‘green’ heart. The whole hotel has been redesigned to embrace and protect the environment in which is sits. New measures now include 1,000 m² of solar-heating panels to supply hot water; a composting unit able to handle up to 5 tons of green waste every day; drinking water and cold-water pumps have been fitted with flow regulators that will produce a 40% drop in electricity use; a waste-water treatment plant recycles 450m³ every day, of which 300m³ is used for irrigation; and high tech swimming pools fitted with the latest computerised control systems. Additionally, to enhance sustainability, a salt-water desalinisation plant will provide a daily supply of 450m³ of drinking water. This will all ensure Trou aux Biches remains one of the leading Mauritian hotels for many years to come.
When it reopens on 1st November 2010, the contemporary five-star, village-style resort will provide a range of facilities unique in Mauritius and world-class environmental credentials will ensure its pristine natural environment remains just so.
The word “molori” means “to dream” in seTswana and truly captures the essence of the Molori Safari Lodge, arguably South Africa’s most luxurious game lodge. This five-suite retreat, originally built as the owners’ corporate and family escape, was constructed in 2002 in the heart of the 75,000-hectare malaria-free Madikwe Game Reserve. In 2007 the owners decided to open the property to the public, at which point the retreat received a complete makeover transforming it into the intimate, local-chic Lodge it is today. Situated 400kms northwest of Johannesburg in South Africa’s Northwest Province, the reserve borders Botswana. The lodge offers breathtaking views of an expansive valley and the Dwarsberg Mountains, as well as of an abundance of game.Catering to the well-heeled, discerning traveller in search of absolute privacy, relaxation and a genuine connection to their local surroundings, Molori Safari Lodge is anything but a typical safari camp. Guests who have experienced much and expect the very best will find in Molori a retreat without the pretence – one whose essence stems from extraordinary personalised service, style and comfort. The Molori experience is about every need being anticipated from beginning to end and is continuously evolving to provide repeat guests with a fresh perspective.
The lodge strives to maintain personal relationships with each guest – before, during and well after the experience – from arranging a personal VIP airport greeting and expedited customs services at O.R. Tambo International Airport – to providing highly-customised game drives and gourmet meals in unique settings.
Leading supplier of decorative electrical wiring accessories and lighting controls Hamilton Litestat has announced a restructure of its senior management positions. Founder Rod Hamilton has become company chairman and his son, Ian Hamilton, has taken on the role of managing director. Ian, 46, has worked for the family business founded over 40 years ago by his father Rod, since the early 1980s and before that held a position with British Aerospace. He began work on the factory floor, becoming an expert in how Hamilton’s products are designed and created, before managing his own UK territory as a salesperson. In 1984 he was instrumental in moving the business from its previous base in Surrey to its current Wiltshire location, relocating one line at a time to ensure that production disruption was minimised. In the 1990s Ian opened a second manufacturing base in Bristol, which remains a major part of Hamilton’s operation today.
“I’m extremely proud to be taking on the role of Hamilton’s managing director and I’m committed to building on my father’s successes and driving the company forward,” said Ian Hamilton. “It’s an exciting time for us with lots of innovative new products in development – we’re working hard to ensure our lines are at the cutting edge both in terms of design and technology, and I’m very much looking forward to launching some of the products we’ve got in the pipeline.”
Ian will continue to work closely with Rod who, with over 40 years’ experience running Hamilton, will continue to have an active role in the business as chairman.
Corinthia Hotels released further details of the five-star luxury hotel it is building in central London, which is due to open in early 2011. It will become the world’s ninth Corinthia hotel.
Corinthia Hotel London is being built within an imposing Victorian building, on a city block location between Whitehall Place, Northumberland Avenue and Great Scotland Yard, overlooking Trafalgar Square and the River Thames.The grand Victorian exterior houses fully-reconstructed elegant and contemporary interiors set around an inner foyer and garden, two restaurants, a luxury spa, a concept cocktail bar, boardroom meeting facilities and a beautifully refurbished grand ballroom. There will be 294 intricately designed guest accommodations, including 45 luxurious suites – some of which are located on duplex floors, inside historic turrets, and feature private lifts and terraces. The two-bedroom Royal Suite, at more than 470 m2, will be the largest in London, and can be connected to adjacent rooms to provide additional accommodation. From these suites and their private terraces, Corinthia guests will enjoy unmatched views across some of London’s most recognised landmarks, including the Thames, The London Eye, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. The Corinthia’s individual bedrooms, averaging 45m2 in size, are also amongst the largest in their category in London’s luxury hotel market.
Some of the world’s top designers and architects are behind the project. Interior design is led by GA Design International, which is also creating the hotel’s 2,140m2 ESPA spa (set to be the first of its kind – laid out over four levels, with pioneering design and treatment offerings), as well as the suites, public spaces and one of the two restaurants. David Collins (interior designer), is creating the hotel’s bar, Bassoon, and specialty restaurant. The interior design will aim to deliver a mix of sophisticated luxury and ‘residential’ style: a home-like approach that maintains an uncompromising standard for hospitality and service.
Chef Massimo Riccioli, celebrated owner of La Rosetta in Rome, in his native Italy, will introduce London to his fresh market style with a fish and seafood specialty restaurant at the Corinthia. The hotel will also provide for all-day dining with a new wave British restaurant.
With its central location near Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, a short walk to Buckingham Palace, the Southbank and the city’s leading theatres and museums, the Corinthia sits at the heart of London’s cultural scene, making it an ideal location for business, leisure travellers and Londoners, alike.
Alfred Pisani, Chairman and founder of the Corinthia Hotel Group said, “Once again, the eyes of worldwide travellers are turning towards the business and cultural attractions of London. Whether to regular visitors, or first time tourists from the newly emerging economies, London never loses its appeal. I am dedicating myself, personally and with great passion, to delivering to London a five-star, luxury hotel, which will be amongst the best-of-the-best in the world. The Corinthia Hotel London will be a true grand hotel for the 21st century.”
Stylematters are pleased to announce the arrival of a unique product to our portfolio, one that takes connecting with your brand and identity, to a whole new level.With the new Digital Print Collection of tables and chairs, you can extend your promotional reach by placing your logo, or imagery that supports your trading aims, onto the furniture. Choose from a wide library of digital images or utilise your own identity, to connect again and again with your customers.
And with front to back coupling on the chairs, your promotional message will always be seen, even if a customer is sat using the chairs. As a bonus, being stackable, durable and easy to clean are all part of the product range as standard.
At Stylematters we believe that the furniture in your venues are a visual representation of your brand’s personality, and with the arrival of the Digital Print Collection, we can now offer a new, involved approach to personalising furniture in a way that makes you far different from your competitors.
Inspired by the glamour of the Art Deco movement, Moderne, the new sculptured velvet collection launched by Skopos, celebrates the symmetry and geometric style of the period, combining strong lines with elegant fluid forms.The stylish colour palette encompasses classic black and white through to jewel like aquamarines, luxurious mulberries and sophisticated neutrals, lending drama and elegance to any interior scheme be it classic or contemporary.
Composed with over 50% bamboo, Deco and Morcenx have a wonderful soft handle and have the environmental benefit of being made from sustainable and renewable resources.
Appropriate for use as upholstery all four qualities are severe contract grade and meet all international contract upholstery FR standards.
Skopos is an ISO9001 accredited company and has over 30 year’s specialist experience in the design and manufacture of high performance FR contract fabrics for the hotel, leisure and cruise sectors.
Dorchester Collection is opening Coworth Park, a hotly anticipated new 70 room country house hotel and spa, on 27 September 2010. Located next to Ascot and bordering on Windsor Great Park, the hotel stands in 240 acres of Royal Berkshire parkland, offering three restaurants headed up by Michelin-starred Chef John Campbell, two polo fields and an equestrian centre, and an eco-luxury Spa with an indoor swimming pool. The restaurants include a fine-dining restaurant in the Mansion House, a more informal restaurant in the converted barn and own outdoor terrace, and The Spatisserie. Guests can also enjoy special access to neighbouring Wentworth Club’s champion golf courses. Just 45 minutes from Central London, Coworth Park is a valuable addition to Dorchester Collection’s UK portfolio. Dorchester Collection’s vision was to create the finest country house hotel in the UK with a design and décor that recognised Coworth Park’s Georgian origins yet avoided the predictable country house clichés. Overall, the design approach by Fox Linton Associates is one of informal comfort and simple beauty, designed to evoke the feeling of staying in a private English country estate. The Coworth Park buildings form an elegant and understated backdrop to the sunken gardens, lime grove, surrounding meadows and polo fields on the estate. The jewel in the crown of Coworth Park’s 16 suites is The Dower House. This picturesque private house built in 1775 has its own dining room, lounge, kitchen, snug and a secluded garden with its own stream running through it; home to Coworth Park’s family of swans.
The hotel breaks new ground by combining a wealth of eco-credentials in both its structure and its daily operating procedures. For example, to reduce energy consumption there is a bio mass boiler within an underground Energy Centre. This is fuelled by burning willow which is grown on the estate, a first for a UK hotel. Additionally, cooling for the hotel is provided by a ground source water circulation system of underground pipes known as ‘slinkys’ within the hotel grounds.
The eco-luxury Spa at Coworth Park will be the world’s first hotel spa to offer treatments by Dr. Alkaitis. Renowned for his 100% organic, paraben free ingredients and simple yet effective approach, Dr Alkaitis’s products are rich in anti-oxidants and healing enzymes. In addition, the three ranges currently offered to guests at The Dorchester Spa – Carol Joy London, glamorous skin and hair care specialising in anti-ageing treatments; Kerstin Florian, luxurious products infused with the earth’s rich, natural ingredients; and Aromatherapy Associates, the leading natural aromatherapy oils and treatment products – will also be available at The Spa at Coworth Park.
The Rezidor Hotel Group and the Regional Hotel Chain (RHC) have announced the Park Inn City Centre Sochi. The hotel featuring 160 rooms is scheduled to open in 2013, in time for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. RHC is one of Rezidor’s most important partners for future business development in Russia – in 2009 both companies have signed an agreement for up to 20 Park Inn hotels centrally located across major cities in the country.The Park Inn City Centre Sochi will be located in the heart of Sochi, adjacent to the main railway station. Besides 160 spacious and colourful guestrooms, the hotel will offer a restaurant, lounge bar, fitness room and business/meeting facilities.
Sochi, the pearl of the “Russian Riviera”, is emerging as a trendy destination for travellers, evidenced by its ever-rising number of visitors and its selection of American and European retail shops. Developers have ambitious plans for Sochi and, in coordination with government-funded Olympic development, numerous projects are underway to make Sochi a must-see international destination. In addition to its famous ski slopes, Sochi also attracts visitors in the summertime, when its long stretch of Black Sea beaches beckons travellers. In spring, when the weather favours, it is possible to challenge the slopes in the morning and lounge on the beach in the afternoon.
Kettal will be at the next edition of Feria Hábitat Valencia, a trade fair which will take place in Valencia from 28 September to 2 October. From their stand G177, level 2, pavilion 6, Kettal will be presenting their latest products, the Kettal Bitta collection, by Rodolfo Dordoni, and special pieces designed by Hella Jongerius.
Kettal will also be showing new models in the Kettal Landscape and Kettal Objects collections, along with the new collection Kettal Net, designed by Kettal Studio.
More information on any of the Kettal range can be found via their UK distributors, PS Interiors, through the Kettal page in the Directory.
Nothing stops DeskPoint from providing Wi-Fi for your guests…
Not even construction type.If your property is hard wired for high-speed internet, you can now provide your guests with wireless as well, regardless of construction type.
Maybe your hotel is a concrete structure designed to withstand extreme weather maybe it’s an historic building made of brick or stone. You don’t need expensive retrofitting o provide a wireless signal. Concrete or masonry walls can weaken a conventional wireless signal creating weak spots or no coverage at all. We have a better solution.
• DeskPoint™ works right out of the box • Just plug one per room into existing high-speed internet connection points • A unit in every room provides 100% wireless coverage • Eliminate Wi-Fi dead spots and customer complaints • Still provides a wired access point for guests without Wi-Fi • Hotel engineers will appreciate built-in management features
Even if construction type is not an issue for you DeskPoint is still the perfect, affordable solution for providing wireless Internet for your guests, all without new cable runs.
On Wednesday, August 18, GROHE CEO David J. Haines was a live guest on Asia Squawk Box, the early morning TV programme of CNBC Asia. In the approximately 5 minute interview he answered questions by presenters Martin Soong, Karen Tso and Sri Jegarajah on Grohe AG’s economic performance with a particular focus on the Asian market.CNBC is a world-leading television business news channel.
Their Asia Squawk Box programme focuses on current business and financial news as well as interviews with business leaders.
Link to the interview: CNBC Interview
GROHE will be exhibiting at 100% Design on stand B30
The marketing activities surrounding the Trevira CS topic are continuing as before. The main theme for this year is the slogan “30 years Trevira CS“. Trevira decided to participate again at MoOD and maintain its sponsorship programme as a trade fair partner. This again includes presentation of the Trevira CS Award for the finest new Trevira CS collection. The Trevira fair stand this year projects a workshop atmosphere. The stand walls have a brick-built look, with customer fabrics displayed on 5 wooden ladder systems. On view will be in total 30 fabrics by 21 Trevira CS suppliers, in colours ranging from white/beige to grey/dark brown. The presentation shows what Trevira has achieved after 30 years working together with its customers. Nowadays flame retardant Trevira fibres and yarns are able to serve every trend. The dominant theme this year in decorating the Trevira stand is the “natural look”.
Today’s decision-makers in the contract sector, and consumers as well, take a much closer look when choosing textiles – materials have to convey value both in appearance and handle. The question of “sustainability” has moved into textile design as a creative force. Patterns are becoming less important, as the material – determined by the character of the yarns – takes on greater significance. Trevira CS partners are increasingly using coarser, rustic yarns, flammé and with knots, and the embroidery yarns too are heavier. Effects and structures are largely determined by the use of fibre yarns. Lace and embroidery are also on show, either as heavy drapes or in the use of these coarser embroidery yarns. Patterns are restrained, as structure and material make their impact. One finds interpretations of the nature theme in Trevira CS quality, that range from fine drapes, to decorative fabrics and upholstery materials.
For thirty years now Trevira CS has moved with the sustainability trend. Economic consumption of water, detergent and energy in cleaning and maintenance of the products makes them kind to the environment during their working life.
Opening in November, the team from Whitbread regard Premier Inn Burgess Hill as a working prototype of the new iteration of a reduced carbon hotel. It was apparent as the conversations developed during the morning that this wasn’t just about the build, but marked part of a shift in the company culture. Not just the buildings are under scrutiny but the hotel’s total impact on the environment and community is also being changed. This is an ambitious and profitable company that shows how to achieve added profitability by environmentally friendly measures. We were briefed in the site hut on the gains the company is making through using the new tools available as part of a change in the systems for energy conservation that are coming into play now. An example of the use of these tools is in the new smart metering systems now being installed in their hotels.
I first saw these metering systems installed in the Burgess Furniture factory where the ability to get reading of energy consumption every half hour had saved the company hundreds of pounds by identifying billing errors from the power supplier. Here Premier have started to aggregate and analyse the data with surprising results. For example the water metering showed their peak use of water was not in the mornings or evening as guest showered or bathed, but rather in the middle of the day. Questioning established that the routine for housekeeping involved flushing the guestroom toilet three times in the process of cleaning. Changing the methods used to reduce this led to a decrease of water consumption representing a £1,000,000 annual saving across the estate. A further £600,000 will be saved by installing low flow shower heads in all guest rooms – an annual return of £1.6milllion ($2.5million)straight to the bottom line.
This was just one example of the savings that can be made, and the new building at Burgess Hill, the 600th Premier Inn extends the lessons learned from the first eco-installations at Tamworth. With 85% of the estate owned by the company a return of 17 or 18 years (which is the longest period for return) is acceptable in hotel operations planned for a minimum of 25 year life. Some of the remaining franchised units are being handed back to the owners because the company has found it cannot make the return it makes on owned units, opening up questions about the rush to the franchise model by operators like Rezidor and Intercontinental. Of course the value of the estate has to be taken into account when calculating the return on capital employed, but it also must help underpin the share value. It also seems that total control of the building can make an operating unit more profitable too.
Opening on 20th September 2010, after an 18 month closure, overhaul and now under new ownership, The New Ellington in Leeds is a luxury 35 bedroom boutique hotel and will become the latest addition to the Bespoke Hotels collection. Guest rooms The New Ellington, which pays tribute to Duke Ellington who played at Leeds’ 1958 music festival, is art deco and jazz-themed. Guests will enjoy enormous beds and Egyptian cotton linen alongside jazz-inspired fringed lampshades and glass-bead curtains, all of which are complemented by a range of technology, including pre-loaded iPods, flat screen TVs, Wii and other game consoles, rain showers and more.
Bar and Restaurant The hotel will house the atmospheric The Restaurant at The Ellington, serving contemporary dishes made almost entirely with Yorkshire-sourced ingredients. The Head Chef, James Cooper, is renowned in the area for bringing success to several local restaurants through his style of mixing the contemporary with classic British and Mediterranean dishes.
The New Ellington’s The Gin Bar, stocking 16 different varieties of gin alongside a menu of classic and champagne cocktails, martinis, fine wines, beers, lagers and spirits, is the only one of its kind in Leeds. Surrounded with funky black and white images of jazz legends and furnished with mismatched oversized arm chairs, The Gin Bar provides a stylish and discreet evening escape.
The hotel also welcomes guests and visitors for a morning coffee or afternoon tea in the light-filled open plan reception area – perfect also for an evening aperitif or light snack.
Location The New Ellingtonis nestled in a row of Georgian buildings in the heart of the financial district. Tucked away from the disturbance of the main roads, the hotel enjoys a peaceful but central location, which is also near a park.
Leeds has a fast-paced, lively city centre, while superb countryside is within easy reach. There are world-class sporting venues, opera, ballet, art galleries, music venues and outstanding architecture. Victorian arcades mingle with modern boutiques to provide a shopaholic’s dream.
High in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Vail invites year-round outdoor pursuits from skiing and snowboarding to hiking and golfing, plus offers lively nightlife, great food and boutique shopping. Life in Vail centres in Vail Village, and beginning this winter, Four Seasons Resort Vail will be at the heart of it all.Located in the European-style alpine community of Vail Village, the new Resort’s contemporary American West style is marked by a distinctive roofline and numerous balconies opening to the great outdoors. Guests are just steps from Vail Village’s many chic shops, chef-owned restaurants, bars, arts festivals, events, and most importantly, the slopes.
At Four Seasons Resort Vail, every detail is anticipated so that winter sports lovers can maximise their enjoyment of North America’s largest ski resort destination, which includes 5,000 acres (2,023 hectares) of skiable terrain. The experience begins in the Resort’s boot fitting area, located in the Lobby, where skilled professionals stand ready to serve the novice to the most accomplished, and continues at the slopeside Ski Concierge, more than the typical ski valet.
Back at the Resort, the spa provides restorative treatments for bodies stretched by physical activity and skin challenged by high altitude conditions, while natural, locally sourced ingredients pamper in massages, facials and more. Romantic couples’ suites with whirlpools and fireplaces offer private retreats.
Another way to relax while continuing to take in the great outdoors: the Resort’s outdoor pool. Heated year-round and free of harsh chemicals (it’s a saline pool), it’s a great place to soothe tired muscles, or cuddle up in deck chairs by the large stone fireplace while enjoying Four Seasons signature Haut Chocolate.
Inside the Resort, another massive fireplace commands attention in the lodge lobby and Fireside Bar and Lounge, the perfect place for après-ski drinks. Featuring a full selection of martinis and cocktails, the Bar will specialise in Latin American classics such as the caipirinha, pisco sour, mojito and Cuba libre. Hot and cold tapas and sushi accompany the evening.
Lodge accommodations are also inspired by the great outdoors. Every one of the 121 suites and rooms has its own easy-to-light gas fireplace for cosy evenings, and offers innovative options for connecting rooms and suites. This means that parties from two to sixteen can easily customise combinations of living and sleeping areas.
Four Seasons Resort Vail also includes property investment opportunities with 19 Residence Club fractional ownership condominiums and 16 Private Residence whole ownership residences for those who want to visit Vail more often. Residences range from beautifully appointed one- to five-bedroom homes between 1,638–5,673 square feet (152–527 square metres), and include access to all the signature services of the Resort.
The Swiss furniture manufacturer Girsberger will present SWAY, a new standing seat, at Orgatec in Cologne. Following the CORPO range of chairs, this is the second piece of furniture designed by Burkhard Vogtherr for Girsberger. And once again, the designer’s flair for minimalist and intelligent chair concepts is evident. The flexible connection between the chair’s base and support leg is what makes SWAY different from the usual standing seats. The base remains firmly on the floor, while a special buffer element makes it possible for the leg to adopt a leaning position. The further the leg leans, the stronger the counter pressure becomes. This new kind of system – for which a patent application has been made – allows the user to feel safe in spite of the seat’s mobility. In addition, a slightly inclined seat leg will make him use his own legs for support from the front. This is an additional inducement to adopt an ideal and back-friendly posture.
The uses SWAY can be put to are practically unlimited: at a standing desk at the office, in a laboratory, at a shop counter, in a doctor’s practice, at the hairdressers, for household work, in a studio…. Standing chairs are also suitable for use in conference rooms or in waiting areas in office buildings.
SWAY is available with a base and a seat which are both either round or square. The round version has a swivelling seat to promote dynamic sitting and movement. The priority of the square version with a fixed seat, on the other hand, is to convey a feeling of safe support. The height of the seat is easily adjusted by one simple movement of the hand.
Orgatec, the leading trade fair for office furnishings, takes place from October 26 to 30 at Cologne’s exhibition center. You will find Girsberger in Hall 10.2 at Stand No L002/P002.
Heathfield and Co will be showcasing new Ceiling pendants and Lamp shades at Decorex for hospitality and residential use (Stand J294). Customized production is an ever increasing part of their business as they work regularly with designers to realise their concepts.
CBS has announced Steve Joyce, president and chief executive officer for Choice Hotels International, Inc. as the first boss to be seen undercover on the second season of the hit reality series “Undercover Boss,” Sunday, Sept. 26 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT). Choice Hotels is the featured company in the second season premiere “Undercover Boss” episode, during which viewers will get an undercover look as Joyce takes on the roles of frontline employees at numerous hotel locations. “I am extremely excited for Choice and our franchisees, as Undercover Boss will generate significant attention for us and our family of brands,” said Joyce. “This is a remarkable opportunity for Choice, and I’m thrilled that our hotels, our franchisees and our organization are going to be featured in front of a national audience of millions of people.”
The Emmy Award nominated “Undercover Boss,” which was the Number One new series of the 2009-2010 season, follows chief executives as they slip anonymously into the rank and file of their companies. Each week documents a different executive’s undercover mission, where they are able to experience working with employees in the forefront of their company. The executives are given a new perspective on their corporation – being able to see what is running well, what may need adjustments, and working personally with the people who truly represent their company.
Other companies to participate in the new season of Undercover Boss include the Chicago Cubs, Chiquita Brands International, DIRECTV, Frontier Airlines, Great Wolf Resorts, Lucky Strike Lanes and NASCAR.
On September 9, 2010, the award-winning citizenM hotel group officially opens the doors to its first property outside Amsterdam in the very heart of Glasgow’s city centre, an area bustling with theatre, music, shopping, art and vibrant street life.
Since launching its first hotel at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport in summer 2008 and a second in Amsterdam city proper in the spring 2009, citizenM has established a unique brand of affordable luxury that gives global mobile travellers – the “M” in citizenM stands for “mobile” – what they most want and need. Now, with its newest, 198-room hotel in Glasgow, citizenM enters new geographic territory in one of the United Kingdom’s most fascinating yet often overlooked cities. “Glasgow is actually the number-one conference city outside London, and the UK’s second retail destination,” says Michael Levie, citizenM chief operating officer. “And it has plenty of music, art, shopping, everything. We really like its dynamics.”
The vibe is already going strong in the new citizenM location, on the buzzing corner of Hope and Renfrew streets. Traditionally a music and theatre hotspot, it’s also steps away from the city’s acclaimed art school. Eight storeys high with a façade made in robust natural granite, guests enter the hotel through an illuminated, double-height glazed red entrance leading to the first floor via a striking red spiral staircase.
Upstairs, the lobby immediately puts guests at ease: To the right is a long bar and relaxed lounge area that’s already attracting locals, as well as canteenM, the 24/7 kiosk-style cafeteria where guests can get their own high-quality snacks, like sushi, barista made coffee and now, even hot breakfasts. To the left are check-in kiosks that lead to an array of comfortable nooks – living rooms, so to speak – to suit different purposes. Guests can relax, meet, converse or work in areas with furnishings by Hella Jongerius, Verner Panton, Jasper Morrison and more designer classics from Vitra, citizenM’s exclusive interior design partner. Wall to wall windows allow a fabulous first-floor view of the bustling street scene outside, and the public space’s L-shape allows a more intimate, hang-out feel.
An additional 7 colours have been added to the successful Agua Libra Upholstery fabric from Agua Fabrics.Agua Libra is a competitively priced velour fabric that incorporates all the technical properties associated with the Agua Upholstery Collections. The Agua upholstery collections are:
• Fire retardant: BS 5852 Crib 5, IMO FTPC Part 8 • Resistant to sea water and chlorine water • Anti-microbial • Impervious • Stain resistant
Full details can be found via our website. Click here for our page in the Directory.
Please contact us for further details on our fabric collections.
The Best Western tartan dream is alive and well as the Buchanan Arms Hotel and Spa in Loch Lomond joined the group this week, making it the second Scottish hotel to do so this month.
The newly named Best Western Buchanan Arms Hotel and Spa, seamlessly balances its 17th century history with 21st century facilities. As a former coaching inn and later farm house with original features, 52 bedrooms, grand gardens and a stunning view of Loch Lomond this hotel is certainly packed with personality.In the heart of the picturesque conservation village of Drymen, this quality three star hotel is perfect for those wanting a relaxing break – or equally an action packed one too! For starters it offers a 14 metre pool, gym, dance studio and squash court, and if that’s not enough it’s also within perfect distance of the West Highland Way boasting plenty of outdoor activities to keep the athlete in you energised.
After all that excitement what better way to relax those weary legs than in the hotels own Moroccan themed Haven Spa complete with sauna, steam room and spa bath. And, if you want any beauty treatments all you have to do is ask!
Volker Steinnemann, operations director of the Best Western Buchanan Arms Hotel and Spa says, “We are very pleased to be joining such a proactive and modern marketing group of hotels. Best Western allows us to have the best of both worlds by maintaining ownership and management with the additional benefits a global brand brings.”
Best Western is the largest group of independently owned and managed hotels, with over 270 across Great Britain. Members are required to meet strict criteria and are regularly inspected to ensure consistent quality and service.
Keith Pope, Director of Best Western added: “The Buchanan Arms Hotel and Spa is a fantastic addition to our portfolio of hotels with personality. It is in a great location and will appeal to a wide range of guests so we expect this to be a very popular destination.”
The independently owned hotel has gained around 270 likeminded new peers by joining the group, including the Best Western Balgeddie House Hotel in Fife who joined this month.
Parisian ‘Haute Couture’ spa and beauty brand Anne Sémonin is delighted to announce details of three new spa openings, bringing its UK portfolio to 15 spas. From the quintessentially British Langdale Hotel & Spa in the Lake District to Serenity in the City, a glamorous boutique city spa in Newcastle and the chic and sophisticated Blythswood Square Hotel in Glasgow, this autumn Anne Sémonin is announcing openings in some the UK’s hottest five-star locations. THE LANGDALE HOTEL & SPA, LAKE DISRICT Situated overlooking some of England’s most striking scenery, this exclusive country retreat makes a wonderful spa weekend away.
Satisfied with only the best, the new Langdale Spa features an impressive range of facilities, including a 20m UV-treated swimming pool complete with massage seat and whirlpool spa bath, a steam room, Sanarium® (combines the heat of a sauna room with the moisture of a steam room), tropical shower, deluge shower and lounger chairs.
SERENITY IN THE CITY, NEWCASTLE Stylish and comfortable, this central city spa is a haven from the hustle and bustle outside. Offering a warm and soothing welcome, each of the therapists is fully trained and can offer advice on all aspects of skincare.
Serenity in the City features seven individual treatment rooms, including one for men and two for couples, a nail bar and a Zen relaxation lounge for the perfect pamper.
BLYTHSWOOD SQUARE HOTEL, GLASGOW Glasgow’s first luxury spa opened its doors on the 1st September 2010 at Blythswood Square Hotel. Created to reflect the glamorous sophisticated style of the hotel and the vibrant and sociable personality of its home city, the spa covers 10,000 square feet and houses a number of exclusive features. One of these is Scotland’s first Seaweed Bath complete with organic seaweed sourced direct from the Hebrides and a decadent Dark Pool where guests can relax in warm waters.
There are nine spacious and tranquil treatment rooms in the spa including a double suite where guests are able to enjoy a full range of face, body and holistic treatments. The Spa at Blythswood Square also houses a Rhassoul, a choice of wet and dry relaxation rooms and a spa lounge.
Be bold and create a statement in the bathroom with Villeroy & Boch’s new surface-mounted basins.The design is available in two exclusive colours, with options of a rich espresso tone or lavish lilac; perfect as a stand alone element in a neutral colour scheme or complimenting furniture of a similar hue.
STYLEMATTERS SALE NOW ON!As we say goodbye to Summer, thoughts turn to cosier hospitality environments and lazing indoors. Make your business be the place in which your customers linger longer this Autumn.
Provide them with stylish furniture that they can curl up and collapse into. And by staying longer, they will undoubtedly be spending more…
The May Fair Hotel (see Video), London, has cemented its pivotal role in the film industry with a series of announcements in the run-up to October’s 54th BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express.An agreement with the BFI sees the hotel playing host to the 16-day festival for the next two years after a successful inaugural event last year. One of the world’s leading independent film festivals – Raindance – is also to be based at the hotel in September. Finally the hotel has announced that it has created the post of Film Maker in Residence supporting independents to create a suite of films about life in London as well as a series of shorts based around celebrity guests at the iconic hotel.
“The May Fair Hotel has become increasingly synonymous with the film and entertainment industry, it was therefore an obvious choice to extend the partnership this year,” said Sandra Hebron, Artistic Director of the BFI Festivals. “Once again we will have excellent venues for our parties, first class suites and rooms for our VIPs and access to one of London’s largest and best-equipped private cinemas.”
The May Fair Hotel’s history has been based around the film industry for over half a century. In the 1950s it was owned by the American Danziger brothers, film impresarios who founded the New Elstree Studios and made a succession of smash hit films. Then as now the May Fair was the preferred haunt of celebrities, film and rock stars when they stayed in London.
The Raindance Film Festival was founded in 1993 and described by Spike Lee as “exactly what Independent Films need.” Notable launches include films such as Pulp Fiction, the Blair Witch Project and Ghost World. Raindance also founded the prestigious British Independent Film Awards and runs a major film training programme. It runs from September 29th until October 10th. The 54th BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express runs from October 13th – 28th.
Speaking of the new agreement with the hotel, owner and creator of the festival Elliot Grove said, “We are thrilled to be working with the May Fair, a natural home for the film industry. Our Filmaker in Residence will also be from the Raindance stable and we envisage some entertaining and stand out shorts from his tenure.”
Global Marketing Director Linda Plant who put the partnership together said: “Extending our relationship with the BFI to become a Gala Sponsor and hosting one of the 54th BFI London Film Festival’s prestigious film premieres, coupled with the new-found relationship with Raindance, is very exciting and paths a future for the hotel as THE film hotel in London. We want to be seen by the industry as a natural partner for new works, film launches, press junkets, screenings and general entertainment. We also have the technical abilities to screen including 3D and look forward to announcing some Premieres in the near future.”
JAB Anstoetz launches the new Four Seasons collection, taking inspiration from the coastal towns of Massachusetts. The New England collection features all-American inspired patterns from stripes and houndstooth to traditional florals for a subtly chic effect.
With over 65 colourways in ‘preppy’ tones from rich reds and nautical blues to fresh neutrals, this collection works well in any understated scheme.
For more information, please contact JAB Anstoetz through their page in the Directory.
James Baker of ‘Nest’ has been appointed to design bedroom case goods for the new Hotel chain La Tour. The first Hotel of the chain is a 174 bedroom, new build in Birmingham and is scheduled to open early 2012. The 3 room grades will offer 4 star accommodations and the overall look is to be sleek, modern and understated.
The Process “An interesting project; any wiring within the room has to come down from the ceiling. This does of course present problems for design, manufacture and fitting alike. Because I have direct experience in all three of these areas, I can ensure that a design brief is met, that furniture can be manufactured and also installed, all within the budget set by the client. A room price was set and the designs came well within it. ” James Baker.
A complete, pre tender, room Matrix was then drawn up with all furniture and room variations accounted for.
Post design the project matrix, with complete drawings, was issued to ‘Nest’s manufacturing portfolio, for tendering. Fifteen plus quotations were received, these quotes were filtered and a presentation made to La Tour, giving informed and impartial advice on who and where the contract could be manufactured.
Adrian Colman of La Tour: “We are very pleased with the designs that James produced, he was given the brief and without fuss or any prolonged process, managed to capture the brand and styling of the new group very well.
“Of course James also offers more than just a design service! Having a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding the functionality and operational aspect of the furniture, produced great benefits”
“It is important that design is right, but also those designs have to be manufactured, installed and function well in the hotel environment. Specialising in furniture, James is able to bing all these aspects together in one go. We would be more than happy to employ his services again”
Learning Experience Nest are currently putting out to tender interior manufacture and fit-out for a chain of national high street ‘education centres’.
“We are currently waiting on the first fit-out, but so far we have been able to reduce prices from previous suppliers and are looking forward to starting the first fit-out, of a national program. This is a great example of connecting client to manufacturer, with the obvious cost benefits coming in!”
‘Magical Water Falls’ A 5 star luxury destination, situated in 300 acres of magical woodlands and cascading waterfalls, a unique location on the edge of Kenmare Bay. With its luxury accommodation Sheen Falls Lodge is considered as one of the top Hotels Ireland has to offer.
When the hotel start to consider room designs, it is fairly crucial that the styling fits well into the period building and the exquisite location. “Bringing the outside in” was one way that General Manager, Alan Campbell, described the brief for a newly commissioned sample room for the Hotel. The room was manufactured by local furniture makers O’Donnell Furniture, designs by James Baker.
“For me bringing the outside in was the key. The styling had to be relatively classic, to keep in with the period interior of the hotel and buildings, but with a contemporary twist. Choosing the materials was crucial, the final decision being European walnut with highlighted details in Wenge. It is always too easy to go for the ‘American Walnut’ option, something different was needed and the more natural, subtle colours of the European Walnut fitted perfectly with the amazing views that you get from all the bedrooms”. James Baker.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is gearing up for the November opening of The St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico, the island’s first luxury project since 1997. Underscoring the recovery in luxury hospitality, the $172 million resort is nearly sold out for the December holidays. This month, Starwood President and CEO Frits van Paasschen met with Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño, as well as owners and developers, to discuss future Starwood development in this key Caribbean market.The highly anticipated St. Regis comes on the heels of two other key Starwood hotel openings in Puerto Rico: W Vieques, the first W Retreat & Spa in North America, and Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino – the first new full-service hotel and casino built in San Juan in more than a decade. The Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino is also scheduled to become the first LEED Certified hotel in the Caribbean. The addition of these three new hotels has doubled Starwood’s portfolio in Puerto Rico in just one year.
The St. Regis Bahia Beach features 139 luxurious guest rooms and suites, 26 estate home residences, an 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., RemèdeSM Spa, oceanfront swimming pools, and Fern, a new restaurant by renowned Chef Jean-Georges. Offering two miles of sandy beach and views of the El Yunque National Rainforest, the newly constructed hotel occupies a prime location within a community committed to environmental preservation and sustainable development. The St. Regis Bahia Beach is designated as a Certified Gold Audubon International Signature Sanctuary.
Eco-tourism is playing an increasingly important role in Puerto Rico, which attracts more U.S. tourists than any other Caribbean destination. Americans can visit without needing a passport, and many major U.S. airports offer frequent direct flights. Overall tourist traffic increased 10% to Puerto Rico in the first six months of 2010, according to industry sources.
Morgan Furniture, the design-led British manufacturer of contract furniture, will exhibit once again at the prestigious Sleep Event, 24-25th November, at the Business Design Centre in Islington on Stand M23C. Morgan will use the exhibition as a platform to unveil some exciting new designs for Autumn along with stylish additions to existing popular collections to inspire the hotel market. The contemporary Soho sofa, available as a two and three seater version, has a chic appearance with echoes of 50s and 60s design and lots of added personality. The distinctive shape is visually inviting with softened corners and absence of harsh lines, making this sofa perfect for modern receptions, lounge and office environments. Created by Katerina Zachariades, Morgan Design Director, the Soho sofa forms part of a fresh new collection with matching armchair and daybed, ideal for hotels, spas and other relaxed soft seating areas.
Morgan design and develop all their products in a low energy consuming factory, using materials from sustainable sources. The company is accredited by FISP (Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme) and was among the first in the industry to be awarded ISO14001. Morgan also forms part of a lean and environmental improvement ‘think tank’ with other British manufacturers.
First Ritz-Carlton Reserve and Third JW Marriott to Open in Vietnam
At signing ceremonies in Quy Nhon, Marriott International announced it will open two award-winning luxury hotel brands here in 2014 under a management agreement signed with Vietnamese-American Hotel and Resort Limited Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American company, ITC Spectrum, LLC. The 100-villa Vinh Hoi Bay-A Ritz-Carlton Reserve will be the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve and the 320-room JW Marriott Vinh Hoi Bay Resort & Spa will be the third JW Marriott property announced for Vietnam. Construction on both properties is expected to begin in early 2012. Both resorts will be located on Vinh Hoi Bay, approximately 25 kilometres north of the city of Quy Nhon, on the central coast of Vietnam. They will be part of a 325-hectare oceanfront, fully-integrated, mixed-use development which will initially include three resorts, including the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott properties, a championship 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II, residential villas, a retail village, an arboretum and other recreational amenities. Later phase of the development will feature three additional resorts, more residential properties, an equestrian centre, a marina and other amenities.
Quy Nhon is located in Binh Dinh province between Danang and Nha Trang. Its origins date back to the 11th century and the Champa kingdom for which its legacy—the Cham culture’s temple complexes—can be seen throughout Quy Nhon. The topography of Binh Dinh province is diverse and attractive, offering visitors lush highlands, forests, alluvial plains, lakes and beaches—all in one destination. The airport, which is located 20 minutes from Vinh Hoi Bay, is slated to offer direct international flights in the coming years.
Decor:Fusion has now launched their brand new website which can be found at www.decorfusion.com.The new website is aimed at various commercial markets including hoteliers looking for a wider variety of services including:
• Interior Design & Fit-Out – The complete solution to commercial interior space, from concept to completion. • Manufacturing Solutions – UK operation focusing on bespoke and low volume furniture that require a short lead-in production time, whilst the Asia operation focuses on volume-led production such as case goods & loose furniture. • Global Sourcing – Procurement & logistics solutions from across the globe with speciality in commercial interior furnishings. • Furniture Maintenance – Furniture repair solutions for the budget-conscious client with services such as French polishing & reupholstery.
Please visit our website or page in the Directory for further details of our services.
GROHE achieved respectable growth in the last half of 2010. Consolidated sales increased by 24% to €490 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose by 51% to €97 million. GROHE is planning to invest roughly €1.3 million in the expansion of the new Research and Development Centre in Hemer, which will be equipped with state-of-the-art future technology. The R&D Division, which is partly still based in Menden, will move to Hemer and be concentrated there.
Having invested more than €25 million in the German plants over the past years, GROHE will further strengthen its German base through this new Research and Development Centre. Moreover, GROHE will hire another 300 people for its global sales organisation.
Housed in famed Chicago architect Daniel Burnham’s Continental & Commercial National Bank Building, Marriott’s first JW Marriott hotel in Chicago will open this fall, after a $396 million restoration, with 44,000 feet of meeting space and state-of-the-art conference and recreation facilities. Located in the heart of Chicago’s financial district at 151 West Adams Street, the 610 –room JW Marriott is within walking distance to some Chicago’s most famous sites, including the Art Institute, Millennium Park and the theater district.
The hotel will be home to one of the most comprehensive meetings facilities in the city, including: • 8,453 square-foot grand ballroom • 6,096, square-foot junior ballroom featuring the building’s original arched glass ceiling • 35 breakout rooms • GoThere Virtual Meetings studio with AT&T & Cisco Telepresence • Wireless and high speed Internet and video conferencing
The guest rooms combine Burnham’s style with modern luxury, including high ceilings surrounded by beautiful molding, flat-screen high-definition television and five-fixture marble bathrooms. Attention has been paid to the smallest details from the wall mounted glass lights by the bed to the sleek ergonomic desk chairs. Rooms on the concierge floor even feature televisions in the bathroom mirrors.
Guests will also have access to the hotel’s 20,000 square-foot full-service spa, which has 14 treatment rooms. The fitness center, which features an indoor pool and top-of-the-line equipment, will be free to all hotel guests. The JW Marriott Chicago will offer a signature restaurant serving three meals a day as well as the two lounges for small meals and cocktails.
The newly-opened Sankara Nairobi will house the first Angsana Spa in Eastern Africa. The first of a new generation of contemporary urban hotels on the African continent and bringing a new standard in contemporary luxury and personalised service, the 156-room Sankara Nairobi balances modern style with local influences. Sankara Nairobi is proud to house Nairobi’s largest and most authoritative collection of contemporary African art and this is exhibited throughout the Spa. The Angsana Spa Sankara Nairobi features seven treatment rooms in addition to two rainmist rooms. The Spa’s signature rainmist experience is an Angsana Spa innovation combining steam and shower at the massage bed.
Founded by the renowned Banyan Tree Spa, the award-winning Angsana Spa brand places special emphasis on the use of natural ingredients such as native flowers, fruits and plants. Angsana Spa uses aromatherapy, the therapeutic sense of touch, and a fusion of techniques from the East and West to refresh and rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit.
The Spa is contemporary in design; walls and treatment rooms are curved to give a softer and more organic feel in keeping with the spa philosophy. Materials used include dark wood, Indian sandstone, Italian mosaic and granite. While bamboo, glass and pebbles provide contemporary design features. Sankara Nairobi also has a roof-top pool and gym.
20km from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Sankara Nairobi is situated in the heart of Westlands, Nairobi’s commercial, retail and entertainment quarter, and within easy reach of the city centre and diplomatic districts.
Travelodge has today taken a big step forward in developing the skills of a generation of workers in the hospitality industry.
The budget hotel company has opened a ground-breaking Skills Academy, located inside the Coventry Travelodge. The Academy, the first of its kind in this country, is a training centre specifically designed for hospitality. It was set up by the National Skills Academy for Hospitality, providing a stimulating training environment with interactive technology and seminar spaces.Due to the rapid growth of the hospitality sector in general and, in particular, budget hotels, the Skills Academy at Coventry Travelodge will help to develop the customer service and management skills in the hospitality industry to create a world-class workforce, delivering the skills that employers need. Travelodge believes such training centres are key to developing standards of excellence that are needed across the industry.
In order to provide a home for the Academy, the hotels previously vacant meeting rooms have been refurbished with state of the art training equipment, new furniture and the all of the rooms have been re-decorated. This Academy will be open seven days a week for companies to hire and the training centre also hosts a Customer Service course each week.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, opening December 15, 2010, announced recently that they have entered into a distribution agreement with the Autograph Collection, Marriott International, Inc.’s portfolio of upper-upscale and luxury independent hotels and resorts. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a design-focused independent luxury brand, will be the Autograph Collection’s first member resort in Las Vegas. The partnership will provide The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas access to one of the largest databases in the hospitality industry, while offering strong and established relationships in the group and convention markets. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will introduce a new category in the Autograph Collection and will be the brand’s largest property as well as the first casino resort. With an innovative perspective on luxury in the Las Vegas market, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will be in good company with other Marriott brands including The Ritz-Carlton, known for service and luxury, as well as EDITION, Marriott’s new lifestyle brand developed with Ian Schrager.
Situated at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is located at 3708 Las Vegas Blvd. South directly between CityCenter and Bellagio. The resort’s uniquely vertical multi-tower design offers spectacular views of the vibrant city. The new 2,995-room resort features oversized residential-style living spaces with expansive, one-of-a-kind private terraces The Cosmopolitan’s luxurious resort amenities include a 100,000 square foot casino; unique and eclectic boutiques; Sahra Spa & Hammam; three unique pool experiences; multi-level integrated nightclubs and 150,000 square feet of state-of-the-art convention and meeting space.
Signature restaurants include: Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill by restaurateurs Bruce and Eric Bromberg; Comme Ça by Los Angeles Chef David Myers; Estiatorio Milos, by international restaurateur Costas Spiliadis; Holstein’s from Block 16 Hospitality; Jaleo and China Poblano restaurants by acclaimed Chef José Andrés; Scarpetta and D.O.C.G. by award-winning Chef Scott Conant; and popular steakhouse STK from The One Group and Chef Todd Miller.
Altatensione, in conjunction with FW Lighting, launch the latest in a range of High Power LED light fixtures aimed squarely at UK architects and lighting designers.
A design for interior illumination, FLAT is discrete and reserved in its overall appearance lending itself perfectly to countless hotel and commercial lighting applications.Aesthetics, performance, technology and reliability are the primary design criteria for the Flat range, which is one of ten new creations from Altatensione.
Manufactured from die cast aluminium, FLAT comes in four and eight high-power LED options, heat managed using the latest heat-sink profiles and incorporating the latest generation of electronic components ensuring colour stabilization and longevity.
FLAT meets the new 2010 Part L regulations and is available in 8watt and 16watt designs and three colour temperatures, warm white 3250k, neutral white 4350k, and 6500k daylight
Secondary lenses provide three principal beam widths 6° narrow, 24° medium and 37° wide, providing optimum design flexibility.
Using only the latest LED wafer and technologies, FLAT guarantees stable colour rendering up to CRI 93.
The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the fastest growing hotel companies worldwide, has opened the Park Inn Oslo Airport, Gardermoen in Norway. Featuring 300 bright and spacious guest rooms, the brand new property is directly linked to the terminal – and only 20 minutes by express train away from the city centre. With 46 meeting rooms and a 236 m² ballroom, the hotel also offers some of the best conference facilities close to the airport. Rooms at the Park Inn Oslo Airport show a modern and comfortable design – including king-sized, queen-sized or twin beds and extra amenities such as individual climate control, flat-screen TV and high-speed wireless Internet access. The rooms are all well sound-proofed, and most offer stunning views of the airport.
The vibrant all-day-dining restaurant RBG (“Red Bar & Grill”) serves a versatile menu, including signature dishes from the grill and organic options, and can accommodate up to 220 guests. The hotel bar is an elegant spot to meet friends and colleagues while enjoying some freshly brewed coffee, pre-dinner drinks or a late nightcap.
The hotel’s meeting rooms and the ballroom feature top-of-the-range audiovisual equipment and wireless Internet access. The combination of outstanding meeting facilities and the assistance of an experienced professional team will guarantee a successful event in a prime location just a two minutes’ walk from the airport terminal.
The cultural, scientific, economic and governmental centre of Norway, Oslo is also a hub of trade, banking, industry and shipping, as well as an important centre for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, some of them among the world’s largest shipping companies, shipbrokers and maritime insurance brokers.
Norway’s capital is an easy-going city with an architectural mix of old and new. The perfect size for exploring on foot, the city boasts world-class museums, a lively nightlife and plenty of activities for the energetic. Surrounded by green hills and mountains and situated at the head of the Oslofjord, Oslo is a magnet for those who love the great outdoors, with plenty of opportunities for cycling, hiking, ice-skating, kayaking, sailing and skiing – all within the city limits.
W Hotels Worldwide has announced that W Retreat – Koh Samui, the first W Retreat in Southeast Asia, will open in Autumn 2010. An all-villa beachfront resort that will be a sublime architectural tribute to Maenam Beach on Samui Island’s pristine northern coastline, W Koh Samui will offer an ‘escape within an escape.’ Located adjacent to W Koh Samui will be The Residences at W Retreat – Koh Samui, featuring 17 secluded beachfront villas ranging from three to five bedrooms and from 1,000 to 2,752 square metres. Each residence will offer a modern, cool style with local touches and full access to the benefits, services and amenities of W Retreat- Koh Samui. W Koh Samui’s W Lounge (W’s reinterpretation of the traditional hotel lobby), a spectacular indoor/outdoor lounge, is a tribute to its location, perched on the hillside yet visually connected to the sea below. Round banquette seating areas are submerged in a glistening, infinity-edge reflecting pool, perfect for sipping cocktails with friends or soaking in the sun. Guests of the Retreat will be able to enjoy preferred dining reservations and seating at The Kitchen Table, the Retreat’s signature restaurant; Namu, a modern Japanese restaurant; or SIP Lounge, creating a memorable dining experience for both guests and locals alike.
AWAY Spa, the signature spa at W Koh Samui, will offer guests and in-the-know locals a place to detox from the long, playful night out and refuel for whatever comes next. To round out the unique wellness offer, guests of W Koh Samui will enjoy the WET pool, SWEAT, state-of-the-art fitness facility, water sports center, tennis courts, and Style Lab.
W Retreat – Koh Samui will feature 75 private villas, offering a range of options from panoramic views high atop the Samui hillside to direct beach access on the shoreline below, equipped with modern elements, including private plunge pools, daybeds, an outdoor shower, Yamaha sound system, 46-inch plasma screen TV, wine refrigerator, and signature W bed.
The Great Room function area at W Koh Samui will serve as an ideal island venue for social gatherings, weddings or business meetings. Contemporary yet flexible in design, The Great Room will serve 60 people with the latest in meetings technology.
W Retreat – Koh Samui and The Residences at W Retreat – Koh Samui is a joint venture of Amburaya Hotels & Resorts and Istithmar World. Amburaya Properties is a vibrant Thai-based developer bringing new and innovative lifestyle-oriented accommodations and residential developments to new and well-established destinations. The company currently has properties in Bangkok, Pattaya, Koh Samui, and India and continues to look for opportunities to grow its portfolio within Thailand and the region. Istithmar World is one of the world’s largest privately held real estate developers, with a portfolio of developments that includes The Palm trilogy, among others.
Design Hotels™ is delighted to announce its first member hotel in Hong Kong, The Mira Hong Kong. The partnership comes at an exciting time as the hotel is also celebrating its first birthday.
Overlooking the banyan trees and hedge mazes of Kowloon Park in Tsimshatsui, one of Hong Kong’s boutique-lined shopping districts, The Mira is an award-winning urban retreat. Its 492 rooms, including 56 suites, are classified as green, red and silver, and are furnished with handpicked fabrics and design features, including the Egg chair by Arne Jacobsen. The hotel has six distinct dining and bar establishments, including COCO, a coffee and chocolate lounge, and Yamm, a Japanese-infused international buffet. As part of the birthday celebrations, The Mira is opening Vibes, its new al fresco terrace lounge, and welcomes a new chef to its modern European restaurant, WHISK. William Girard, former chef at Al Mahara, the Burj Al Arab Dubai’s fine dining restaurant, will be unveiling his new menu this week. It showcases Girard’s signature French cuisine, including fresh produce from his home region in the French Pyrenees.
Located on the fifth floor of The Mira, WHISK offers many different dining environments, making it a unique setting for a business lunch, a chic Sunday brunch with a twist, or even a post-party nightcap. Its features include a wine bar, dining lounge with casual seating and mezzanine area overlooking the hotel’s Chinese restaurant with lush views of Kowloon Park. Opening out from the restaurant is Vibes, an al fresco garden concept lounge with lotus-shaped open fires, running waterways, bamboo groves and private cabanas.
Following the announcement from the GSM Group – whose members include Nokia, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Motorola – that from January 2012 new mobile phones will be issued with a USB charger only, built in USB plates are in hot demand. Leading supplier of decorative electrical wiring accessories and lighting controls, Hamilton Litestat, has unveiled its first ever USB socket to be launched in autumn 2010. The new socket gives hoteliers, businesses, public sector organisations and homeowners plenty of time to gear up for 2012 when USB chargers will be issued as standard.
Hamilton’s innovative new product is a wall-mounted USB socket combined with a standard 13A socket – perfect for hospitality, residential and commercial settings where USB devices need charging. From iPods to digital cameras, PDAs to mobile phones, the USB socket eliminates the need for a computer from which to charge the devices. Available in a smooth white finish, the power is only activated when a device is plugged in and a handy LED indicates when the device has finished charging, providing a safe, secure solution.
The GSM Group says that 51,000 tonnes of redundant chargers are generated every year and not only will the standardised USB charger help cut down on waste, it will also last longer and be more energy efficient, reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 13.6 million tonnes. The standardised charger has been approved by the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations body, and several phone manufacturers have already started introducing it with new handsets.
“We’re launching our new USB socket now to give people plenty of time to prepare for 2012,” said Ian Hamilton, managing director of Hamilton Litestat. “With the London Olympics also happening in that year, we’re anticipating the product being in high demand in the hotel industry as both tourists and participants of the games will need somewhere convenient to charge not only their phones but their cameras, MP3 players and the like. We also see a large market in residential developments, hospitals, universities and offices – anywhere where users will need a quick, hassle-free way of charging their devices.
“Being energy efficient and environmentally friendly is increasingly important in our industry and we welcome moves such as this charger standardisation which will not only help conserve energy, but reduce the wastage from old electronic chargers.”
The Hoxton Hotel, whose tagline states “Luxury where it matters, Budget where it counts”, today launched two incredible offers for guests looking to bag a bargain.
The 205 room hotel offered 1,000 rooms at two prices (£1 and £29) and they attracted over 95,000 potential guests trying to book.General Manager, David Taylor comments via the website:
“All 1,000 rooms sold out in 8 minutes with over 95,000 people trying to book in the first 5 minutes alone. All of our £1 rooms sold within 3 minutes and the £29 rooms were sold in 8 minutes.
My apologies for those who struggled with the speed of the site but we have received an unprecedented number of site visits during this sale. We are really sorry if you were not successful. Not everyone could be a winner.
Congratulations to those of you who were successful. We look forward to seeing you over the next 3 months. For those who did not manage to book, there will be another £1 Sale in January 2011. Please register as a member of our fan club to learn more about it.”
Opening its doors in February 2010, the interiors of the JBR Movenpick reflect clean lines and open spaces, as seen in the interior architecture of the Pacific Coast. The finishes are light and translucent, with overall intimations of coolness and clarity within the open plan spaces. The style selected complements the Mövenpick brand, which is positioned as a modern lifestyle hotel catering for guests in the leisure and business sectors. The guest profile is one of well-travelled individuals looking for a fresh yet comfortable environment to stay, work and relax – perhaps all within the same trip. For this reason, the lobby is designed to welcome the weary traveller into a haven of cool and calm. The reception desks appear to float above a marble floor interspersed with ‘pebbles’ of mosaic. Soft seating in rattan and natural cottons encourage the guest to relax and enjoy refreshments in the Lounge under the palms, making this space ideal to convene a business meeting within a peaceful ambience, with an imaginable breeze passing through palm trees along a beach front.
The Pacific Coast theme continues into the West Beach Bay Bistro and to the second floor, where guests can enjoy ‘Talk’ – designed as a dining destination by day, it embraces an evening mood for sunset drinks followed by a transformation into an exclusive sushi bar lounge at night. All facets of the design of ‘Talk’ centre around a glowing onyx buffet and bar counter that slices through space continuing out onto the pool deck for open-air dining.
Meeting facilities, located on the first level of the JBR Movenpick, offer a variety of different room upgrades to suit the needs of the most discerning business traveller and a well equipped Executive Lounge on Level 23 offers ‘big sky’ views.
The well appointed rooms and suites feature five fixture bathrooms which are in keeping with the central concept of light and space, while the finishes and furnishings are soft and light using oak wood where tones of the sea meet polished tiles and sandy textures.
With spectacular views, each Royal suite covers five bays and enjoys a floor to ceiling ‘wow’ factor. Featuring a dedicated bar and extensive double terrace, and providing the ambience and luxury of a cliff top residence on the west coast, light floods over exotic wood flooring, sea grass wall finishes and deep pile carpets whilst oversized American furniture allows guests to ‘chill out’ while watching the sunset over the Arabian Gulf.
Nestled in the cultural and entertainment center of Shanghai, Courtyard by Marriott Shanghai Puxi is ideal for both business and leisure guests, offering travelers spacious rooms, excellent value and a great location with easy access to both the local railway and metro. The 456-room hotel is owned by Gain Year Development Real Estate Shanghai Co., Ltd. and operates under a long-term management agreement with Marriott International headed by Robert Chiang as general manager and Alex Wu as director of marketing. The new hotel delivers on Courtyard’s promise, providing flexible space and amenities that allow guests to maximize their stay. Bright colors, open layout and contemporary furniture throughout the hotel reflect its innovative design that aims at creating a welcoming and sociable atmosphere for travelers. Guests can check their e-mail in the lobby business center, gather informally with colleagues or simply take it easy in the stylish, open-space lobby and lounge areas.
Large guestrooms feature amenities that provide both comfort and efficiency, allowing the space to be multi-functional. Deluxe bedding, 37-inch LCD panel TVs, iHome docking stations and satellite channels ensure that guests are able to enjoy down time and unwind while well-lit work areas, high speed internet, laptop size safes and the latest in-room technology tools help to increase productivity.
Courtyard Shanghai Puxi offers a culinary treat with its MoMo Café, presenting a menu that blends western dishes with local favorites, from hamburgers to dim sum, pizza to kung pao. Highlighting the freshness of its ingredients, MoMo Café offers diners quality food and an assortment of flavors. Its open kitchen and wood-fire oven produce delightful aromas and create a warm home-like ambiance that makes the restaurant inviting to both guests and locals. For guests “on the run,” the hotel offers a “grab and go” kiosk called MoMo 2 Go which provides quick and tasty beverage and snack selections.
An executive lounge on the top floor boasts a spectacular panoramic view of the city and offers complimentary breakfast, evening drinks and snacks. The Courtyard Shanghai Puxi offers a 24-hour fitness center and an indoor swimming pool that help guests stay on their work out schedule during their travels. A state-of-the-art ballroom and four function rooms with natural light provide provide a 5,382 square feet of meeting space.
This new hotel is the third Courtyard branded property in Shanghai and joins a local portfolio that includes the 318-room Courtyard by Marriott Hotel Shanghai Pudong and the 364-room Courtyard by Marriott Shanghai Xujiahui.
The Best Western Edinburgh Capital Hotel has evolved over time from a 20th century mansion house to a contemporary hotel that evokes a sentiment of glamour from a by-gone era. The original core of the mansion house is still at the heart of the hotel but has been concealed by a series of extensions to the building. Note that in 2013 the hotel became an independant, no longer part of the Best Western chainAn ongoing refurbishment programme, carried out by Hotel Renov8, of the hotel includes the majority of bedrooms, the reception area, the main bar and Westview restaurant. The interiors of the building have been brightened and refreshed with contemporary finishes, whilst remaining sympathetic to the history of the building with quality materials and furnishing used throughout the refurbishment.
Ashbank Design Studios were asked to create a greater connection between the entrance hall and the reception area to encourage guests to flow through the space to the bar and restaurant beyond. The designers used a controlled palette of materials and finishes, including black glass, mirror, walnut, metallic gold and bright turquoise off-set with a white interior which has delivered a spacious, crisp and welcoming interior.
The new dining chairs, supplied by CS Contract Furniture, were chosen for their classic style, generous size and solid construction and the tub chairs in the bar area were specified due to their comfort and art-deco quality.
For more information on these ranges, please contact CS Contract Furniture through their page in the Directory.
Altitude Lodge in Les Gets has been three years in the making. Drawing upon 23 years of ski industry experience, VIP SKI has designed and built what it believes is the ultimate piste-side retreat, an ultra stylish ski-in ski-out chalet with all the trappings of a luxurious boutique hotel. Altitude Lodge houses nine bedrooms, including five spacious family rooms, all with flatscreen TVs and BOSE SoundDocks. Every comfort and convenience has been carefully considered to ensure that the needs of all ages are met. The Lodge’s superb facilities include an outdoor hot tub with mountain views, children’s playroom, sauna and massage suite and a piste-side bar and restaurant. Altitude is located at 1530 metres, on the piste, in the main Les Gets ski area of Les Chavannes beside all the lifts.Altitude Lodge boasts a funky urban interior with lift access to nine stylish bedrooms, including five family rooms, some with balconies or terraces and three with private outdoor hot tubs. All rooms have flatscreen TVs and BOSE SoundDocks. For the ultimate privacy the penthouse level offers three bedrooms with a private lounge and small office. Downstairs there is a piste-side bar, sun terrace and restaurant that are open to the public during the day. Residents also have exclusive use of two private lounges with an open fire and flat screen entertainment. On the ground floor there is a wet suite with sauna and massage room and access to the outdoor hot tub which enjoys lovely mountain views. A ski room with boot warmers ensures boots are dry and snug at the start of each day.
Altitude Lodge is located at 1530 metres and offers a unique position overlooking the pistes, lifts and nursery slopes of Les Chavannes, 300m vertically above the village of Les Gets. Green, red and blue pistes weave back to the terrace through the woods.
From Altitude Lodge guests can take the bubble lift down to the resort until late in the day or select from a number of gentle pistes down to the lower nursery slopes. The lifts outside the door lead you to the challenging Point de Nyon, the untracked Chamoissiere off-piste or the gentle intermediate Les Gets bowl. Just over the ridge is Morzine from where the variety of the Portes du Soleil is outstanding; the largest linked ski area in the world, a claim made by many certainly, but only here will you find 2 countries, 14 resorts, 209 lifts, 288 marked slopes, and over 650 kilometres of piste!
Renowned for their uncompromising service and ultra stylish chalets, VIP SKI believe that after 23 years in the business they might have at last conceived and delivered the ultimate skiing venue in Altitude Lodge.
Destination, from Panaz, is sophistication with a twist as classic colours, such as burgundy and chocolate, meet bright orange and lime to provide draperies and bedding that are both timeless and contemporary! Destination consists of 6 colour stories, to create the perfect mood for any project. Wide horizontal stripes, narrow vertical stripes and stylised organic themes blend to create a range that works with Panaz Highland and Moorland upholsteries and Splendour wide width jacquard to complete the perfect look.
All designs can be printed on a variety of base cloths qualities including satin filament, faux silk Trevira CS, linen effect, supersoft blackout and bedding weight.
A great new addition, Destination is the perfect partner to Richmond, Vita and Enhance – offering our clients a great new look to compliment our classic collections. Please do not hesitate to contact us to view.
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