The new collection from Burlington Bathrooms is perfectly designed to add personality in the boutique hotel bathroom…
Inspired by the eras of great British design, Burlington combines timeless, traditional style with modern functionality across the range of fitted and freestanding furniture options. With a firm belief that the bathroom should provide the perfect place to relax from the demands of the day, every piece in the Burlington furniture collection is designed to transform everyday routines with ease. Available in a range of design styles, from square or curved silhouettes to wall-hung units, cloakroom solutions and fully fitted furniture; storage options are available to meet the individual requirements of any space.
Image credit: Burlington Bathrooms
Presented in four trend-conscious colours including classic Matt White, soft Sand, rich Dark Olive and the new Classic Grey finish, each piece of furniture is treated with five layers of paint to protect against colour fading and ensure a glorious depth of colour. Designed to complement the furniture, Minerva basins and coordinating worktops provide the perfect finish to the collection and ensure a statement in sophisticated, traditional style. Made from the finest materials, the Burlington furniture range is provided with a 10-year quality guarantee that ensures each piece will stand the test of time in your home.
Crosswater is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
In the same week that the Surface Design Show opened in London and Dubai welcomes a new stylish neighbour (W Dubai – The Palm), Hotel Designs asked the former presenter of The Gadget Show, Jason Bradbury, to review a hotel 30 years in the future. Here are the top five stories of the week, as selected by editor Hamish Kilburn…
This week, we published a story announcing yet another Hotel Designs’ traffic record. With January 2019’s readership peaking at more than 67,000 readers, the website has never been more popular internationally among designers, architects, hoteliers and industry suppliers. For that reason, this week has felt like a mini milestone on the editorial desk. Adding to that warm and fuzzy feeling, is our exclusive hotel review with Jason Bradbury, the former presenter of The Gadget Show. Equipped with a camera and the latest technology products, Bradbury spent the night in Eccleston Square Hotel in London future-gazing, as he reviewed the hotel in a unique format – 30 years in the future. Following on from MAISON&OBJET last month, the Surface Design Show, of which we are a media partner for, opened its doors at the Business Design Centre to a flood of new and exciting surface companies exhibiting its latest products. Ahead of that review going live, here are what I consider to be the top five stories of the week.
Healing heating, holographic entertainment and a toilet that tells you your food printer what snacks to make, technology expert and futurist Jason Bradbury spent a night future gazing in the technologically enhanced 19th Century luxury of Eccleston Square Hotel, London.
The streets of Paris at any time of the year ooze chic style, sophistication and a certain ‘je-ne sais quoi’. During January, though, it is a bustling haven for designers seeking inspiration on emerging trends, new pieces and exhaustive conversations. Between both Deco Off, which in my eyes is Paris’ answer to Clerkenwell Design Week, and MAISON&OBJET, an ocean of exciting products displayed from a plethora of exhibitors, Paris in January is quite simply unlike anywhere else on the design globe.
“The desert just got hotter,” is how W Hotels Worldwide, part of Marriott International Inc., announced the opening of W Dubai – The Palm, located on the Palm Jumeirah, the largest man-made island in the world and one of Dubai’s most iconic attractions.
With less than two weeks before the deadline, time is running out for interior designers, architects and hoteliers to submit their entries for the 30 Under 30 list that will be unveiled at Meet Up London: 30 Under 30.
To kickstart our month shining the spotlight on architecture and construction, Hotel Designs highlights five groundbreaking projects that are currently in planning.
The 244-key hotel’s renovation in Valencia California has been designed for the modern traveller in mind…
Hyatt Regency Valencia and Dimension Development has announced the completion of an expansive renovation of Hyatt Regency Valencia, and the introduction of Greater Pacific, a destination dining experience. Focusing on providing guests with a modern and effortless travel experience, the project enhanced all 244 guest rooms and suites, the lobby, public spaces, and all indoor and outdoor meeting spaces.
The new welcoming lobby opens to the sights and scents of Greater Pacific’s bar. Guestrooms feature modern design elements with a focus on premium style and comfort. Guests will enjoy large work desks, ergonomic chairs, and spacious bathrooms with upscale amenities and glass enclosed showers. Select rooms feature balconies, or views overlooking the pool, golf course or mountains.
The hotel’s 16,000 square feet of meeting space has been updated with energy-efficient lighting and each indoor ballroom features 20 foot ceilings adorned with grand chandeliers. Newly redesigned outdoor meeting space includes lush flower gardens, vine-covered terraces and manicured greens.
The hotel’s new signature restaurant, Greater Pacific, features contemporary décor with Asian and Californian influences and brings fresh fare to the community well beyond the traditional restaurants in the area. Greater Pacific’s menu illuminates a rich variety of approachable flavors and boldly crafted recipes of this country’s most fruitful state.
Meliá Hotels International, Spain’s largest hotel brand, unveils INNSiDE Prague Old Town, its latest property and first hotel in the Czech capital…
Designed by Spanish architect Meritxell Cuartero, INNSiDE Prague Old Town will open in March as the first Meliá Hotels International’s hotel in the Czech capital.
The hotel marks a new era for the INNSiDE by Meliá portfolio, fitting perfectly into the brand’s evolution of design-led lifestyle and resort hotels, to give guests more freedom to relax and explore, whether they are travelling for work or leisure.
Image credit: INNSiDE by Meliá
With a key focus on sustainability, INNSIDE Prague Old Town Hotel will provide 90 modern guestrooms, all featuring the attributes of the INNSiDE by Meliá brand. This includes in-room amenities, such as bathrobes, slippers and flip flops, a luxurious coffee machine, complimentary minibar, with fresh juices and local beer and Smeg fridges packed full of healthy treats, drinks and snacks. Superior+ rooms will also have high-end sound systems, complimentary streaming services and complimentary bike rental to encourage guests to explore the local area.
“INNSiDE Prague Old Town will be one of the first hotels to offer all of the new attributes and sustainable features of this stunning and fast-growing brand, which adds up to the attractiveness of this amazing city,” said Gabriel Escarrer, Executive Vice President and CEO of Meliá Hotels International.” As the leading leisure hotel Group worldwide, our brands are also extremely successful in an increasingly leisure-inspired urban market, where the city of Prague stands out.”
With health and wellness a key focus point for the brand, INNSiDE Prague Old Town will offer a gym with state-of-the-art fitness suites and the latest digital fitness software. The hotel will have an open lobby space for meetings, whether social or business, as well as boasting creative meeting room spaces including a cinema, wellness studio and recording studio, which can be hired for events and functions.
The INNSiDE by Meliá brand portfolio already has 38 hotels in 20 countries, 20 in operation and 18 in the pipeline.
13 awards were presented to the winners of Surface Design Awards 2019…
The winners of the 2019 Surface Design Awards have been announced, hailing the best and most impressive use of materials in, and on, architectural projects from around the globe.
The beautiful new Maggie’s Centre Barts, London has been declared the Supreme Winner, capturing the judge’s hearts and minds. A beacon of design in the charity sector, the building by Steven Holl Architects’ was shortlisted in the Public Building Exterior category, gaining acclaim from the judges, including Christophe Egret, who stated “You really feel that a person dealing with cancer might feel elevated in this space.”
Across 13 categories entrants to the Awards comprised a who’s-who in architecture and design from around the world. Zaha Hadid Architects, Steven Holl Architects, Studio Egret West and Chris Dyson Architects from the UK, Rockwell Group from the USA, and Kengo Kuma & Associates from Japan were among the shortlist.
Image credit: Zaha Hadid Architects
The Surface Design Awards, announced at the annual Surface Design Show, recognise and celebrate the best use of innovative surface materials in architecture and design internationally.
Launched five years ago, the Awards have grown year-on-year to become one of the most respected accolades in the design awards realm. The 2019 shortlist consisted of an impressive 43 projects from 9 countries, each entry an exemplary example of creative and innovative use of materials and lighting in both interior and exterior schemes. Some projects won nominations across several categories, resulting in 48 finalists.
The 2019 judging panel was co-chaired by Christophe Egret, Founding Partner at Studio Egret West, and Paul Priestman, Chairman at PriestmanGoode. The full panel comprised Cany Ash, Partner at Ash Sakula Architects; James Soane, Director at Project Orange architecture & interior design; Jeremy Offer, Chief Creative Officer at future-focused vehicle designers Arrival; Katie Greenyer, Creative Talent & Network Director at Pentland Group; Paul Edwards, Head of Creative Design at Airbus and Roz Barr, Director of Roz Barr Architects.
The Surface Design Awards 2019 winners in full:
Award: Retail Interior Project: Aesop flagship store Designer: Snohetta
Award: Retail Exterior Project: Lava Stone Shopfront Designer: STAC Architecture
Award: Public Building Interior Project: Writ in Water Studio Octopi with Mark Wallinger
Award: Public Building Exterior Project: Maggie’s Centre St Barts Studio: Steven Holl Architects
Award: Commercial Interior Project: The Veil Studio: Giles Miller Studio & Orms
There is still time to purchase early bird tickets to Hotel Designs’ networking event, Meet Up London: 30 Under 30…
The deadline for purchasing early bird tickets to Meet Up London: 30 Under 30 ends today. Designers, architects, hoteliers and suppliers are still able to purchase early bird tickets for Hotel Designs‘ highly anticipated Q1 networking evening, which recognise and commend 30 young rising stars in the industry.
The event, which is being exclusively styled by Minotti London and will take place in the showroom in Fitzrovia, will help to further bridge the gap between designers, architects, hoteliers and key-industry suppliers. “We hope that by launching the ’30 Under 30′ element to the evening that the event will become more than just a networking event for industry leaders,” said editor of Hotel DesignsHamish Kilburn. “We are excited to shine the spotlight on the rising stars of industry, to the individuals who are fast climbing the ranks to push international hotel design into a new and exciting chapter. This is therefore the perfect event for individuals from across the industry to gather to help further bridge the gap between designers, architects, hoteliers and key-industry suppliers of all ages.”
Early bird ticket prices (promotion ends today!)
Suppliers: £99 + VAT (£150 + VAT after early bird offer expires after today) Designers, hoteliers and architects: £10 + VAT (£20 + VAT after early bird offer expires after today)
Venue: Minotti Showroom, 77 Margaret St, Fitzrovia, London, W1W 8SY Date: March 28, 2019
How to apply for the 30 Under 30 list (deadline for entries closes on February 15)
If you are/or know of a deserving designer, architect or hotelier who is 30 years old or younger, please send in your application/nomination to: h.kilburn@forumevents.co.uk with the following:
200-400 word bio, which acknowledges achievements to date and why you/he/she deserves to be recognised
Name of company you/he/she currently works for
Profile image
The final 30 will be confirmed to attend the event with Hotel Designs‘ compliments and the winners will be notified in due course ahead of the networking evening.
How to attend Meet Up London: 30 Under 30
If you are a supplier to the hospitality industry looking to attend the event, contact Zoe Guerrier on 01992 374059 or on z.guerrier@forumevents.co.uk – or click here to book your place.
If you are an interior designer or architect and would like to attend the Hotel Designs Meet Up London: 30 Under 30, click here to confirm your attendance.
The 350-key W Dubai – The Palm opens, complete with disruptive interiors, to design its own narrative and lead the ever-changing hospitality scene in the Middle East forward…
“The desert just got hotter,” is how W Hotels Worldwide, part of Marriott International Inc., announced the opening of W Dubai – The Palm, located on the Palm Jumeirah, the largest man-made island in the world and one of Dubai’s most iconic attractions.
With its electrifying style, evocative design and eclectic destination restaurants, W Dubai – The Palm is the newest W Escape, the W brand’s playful spin on the traditional resort experience, is set to add a new beat to the already dynamic and pulsating city.
Image credit: W Hotels Worldwide
“Much like W has redefined modern luxury, Dubai is a city that is firmly in charge of writing its own narrative, fearlessly embracing the future through design, technology and global culture,” said Anthony Ingham, Global Brand Leader, W Hotels Worldwide. “The energy and marvel of this incredible city make it the perfect destination for a W Escape – our unique take on a resort holiday – where the bold style, iconic service and signature scene of W come to play.”
“It begins with the hotel’s iconic “W” sign patterned to resemble an evaporated desert river bed.”
The dynamic design of W Dubai – The Palm celebrates the evolution of one of the most dynamic cities in the world, seamlessly juxtaposing the organic, natural curves of sand dunes and coastline with the marvel of the geometric lines of the city’s skyscrapers. It begins with the hotel’s iconic “W” sign patterned to resemble an evaporated desert river bed and the WHEELS (valet) area reminiscent of a falage, a cavernous riverbed covered by palm fronds. Leading guests into the hotel is a stunning display of Orsoni glass tiles in colors inspired by overgrown foliage which reflect the golden sun on the horizon. A head-raising, five-story atrium envelopes the Welcome Desk, a nod to desert fortresses and citadels of long ago. Golden trusses comprised of framed boxes sparkle throughout the space, representing different stages of modern construction in Dubai, a common sight of the ever-changing cityscape, and sit upon carpets that depict the island’s surrounding waters reflecting both construction and clouds. Completing the dramatic entrance is “The Soundwave” – a 6.5 ton, 30m long visual vector that represents a W sound wave. With 640 glass pieces, the towering fixture puts on a show of its own, illuminating in alternating intensities and colors to reflect the beats of the DJ in the neighboring W Lounge.
W Hotels Worldwide
The W Lounge (lobby) is a stage to see and be seen and celebrates the city’s well-known love of opulence with several geometric fixtures that mimic the raw, natural form of gold. An artistic interpretation of a traditional fire pit sits in the center of the W Lounge, signifying the bonfires that Bedouin tribes would gather around during their desert travels years ago. Connecting the W Lounge to the nearby VIP Lounge is a 13.5-meter sofa in muted earth tones, representing a desert mountain range – the skyscrapers of the past.
Image caption: Vibrant bathrooms at W Dubai – The Palm
All 350 guestrooms and suites offer uninterrupted views and dreamy amenities. Curved walls are intricately tiled to glisten like the lights and colors of the sea at various times of the day, bringing the shoreline into each room. Modern graffiti adorns the walls of every room, featuring lyrics in Arabic from an iconic song by Lebanese singer, Fairouz.
Image cation: Aerial perspective of a render of the W Dubai – The Palm site
The hotel features a multiple of pools that sit in a wave-like pattern in the center of the Escape to form the W brand’s iconic WET® Deck experience, beach-facing, with views of the Dubai skyline. The W brand’s signature AWAY® Spa invites guests to ‘Stroll in and Strut out’ offering ten treatment rooms, a steam room, sauna, experiential showers, a hammam and a couples’ suite. Guests are treated to a design inspired by the underwater perspective of a pearl diver, where iridescent shells reflect the sunlight that peeks through the ocean above. Lastly, guests can sweat it out at FIT (gym) which boasts state-of-the-art equipment overlooking the WET Deck, beach and skyline views, featuring abstract art inspired by the graceful forms of both jellyfish and the parachutes of adventure-seeking skydivers.
“As our first W Escape in the region, W Dubai – The Palm combines the city’s unique allure with the brand’s bold design and dynamic lifestyle and gives it a locally relevant twist.”
W Dubai – The Palm is set to infuse even more decadence into Dubai’s booming, multicultural culinary landscape with six beverage and food destinations. Translated as “I will be right back,” Torno Sobito is the first restaurant outside of Italy by global culinary genius, Chef Massimo Bottura – whose Osteria Francescana has been feted as the “World’s Best Restaurant.” The dishes and design of Torno Subito lean in to Dubai’s reputation for all things playful. Guests dig into Massimo’s favorite bites inside converted rescue boats and pedalos (paddle boats) and can choose a flavor from the roving gelato cart. Massimo, like W, has an eye for irreverence, which is evident in the options for decadent pasta bowls ordered by size: medium and large. Guests dine in a 60’s-esque wonderland, decked with woven green chairs, life sized beachfront imagery, bold metallic accents adorning the ceilings and walls, and lighting reminiscent of dressing rooms and marquees from the golden age of Hollywood.
Image caption: Torno Subito at W Dubai – The Palm
“We are excited to bring the W brand to Palm Jumeirah with the highly anticipated opening of W Dubai – The Palm,” said Alex Kyriakidis, President and Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International. “As our first W Escape in the region, W Dubai – The Palm combines the city’s unique allure with the brand’s bold design and dynamic lifestyle and gives it a locally relevant twist. With game-changing style, amplified entertainment and innovative culinary offerings, this W Escape will inject a fresh vibe into the local hospitality scene and offer the most sought-after luxury getaway for locals as well as global jet-setters.”
SoBe (short for South Beach) is an adults-only playground inspired by the eclectic and vibrant spirit of Miami. This is the only rooftop bar in Dubai where guests can watch the sun sink into the Arabian Sea with 360-degree views to watch as the Dubai skyline lights up each night. Serving up eclectic live DJ performances, imaginative cocktails, and even tattoo artists, there will be nothing else like it in the city.
LIV offers guests greener, lighter, fresher and brighter options for breakfast, lunch and dinner and was designed using only upcycled materials, meaning no new materials were created to build the venue. The restaurant is sprinkled with artwork inspired by the patterns left on beaches by sand bubbler crabs, the official mascot of W Dubai – The Palm.
W Dubai – The Palm adopts a bold approach to take events from ordinary to extraordinary. Featuring more than 2,000 square meters of event space, W Dubai sets the stage for any elaborate occasion. The sprawling 1,215-square-meter Great Room boasts an extraordinary oval shape, sensually designed with rotating walls letting in (or blocking out) the dazzling Arabian sun. Custom lighting features allows W Dubai to personalize each event, lighting up the scene with a myriad of colors. The Green Room serves as a holding area for events and weddings and features light pendants reminiscent of wedding bands and carpeting adorned in henna-like patterns.
With the aim to unearth new talent among the sea of exhibitors, as well as identifying emerging trends in all markets, editor Hamish Kilburn reviews MAISON&OBJET Paris 2019…
The streets of Paris at any time of the year ooze chic style, sophistication and a certain ‘je-ne sais quoi’. During January, though, it is a bustling haven for designers seeking inspiration on emerging trends, new pieces and exhaustive conversations. Between both Deco Off, which in my eyes is Paris’ answer to Clerkenwell Design Week, and MAISON&OBJET, an ocean of exciting products displayed from a plethora of exhibitors, Paris in January is quite simply unlike anywhere else on the design globe.
Despite the social unrest in France recently, more than 84,000 visitors from 160 countries dodged yellow vests when descending on to the City of Light for the 21st edition of MAISON&OBJET Paris.
“2,910 exhibitors in total where represented at the show, 603 of which were new exhibiting brands.”
With each MAISON&OBJET fair traditionally exploring a key trend, this year’s exhibition pinned the Excuse My French! concept to the walls in order to challenge designers to highlight the Parisian influence, which is once again being felt across the world. The immersive experience offered in the Trend Forum set the scene for the unmistakably French art of cultivating paradoxes and twisting classics. It confirmed the creative excitement generated by French-made brands and a whole new generation of creators.
Image credit: MAISON&OBJET
2,910 exhibitors in total where represented at the show, 603 of which were new exhibiting brands. Although it was impossible to have visited every stand, it was clear that on the surface there were common themes on what was expected to be popular in 2019. Nonetheless, each supplier pushed its limits to unveil to the world what was new in 2019. Above anything, it’s inspiring how ‘trend forecasts’ have been read but not necessarily adhered to. Here are a snippet of our highlights.
Let there be light
Combining functionality with decorative excellent, there were a number of lighting brands at the show that exhibited a range of innovative designs. Design By Us was among the leading exhibitors with its New Ocean Wave Optic Wall Lamp that provided a spectacular lighting installation, which glowed unapologetically outside its perimeters.
Image credit: Design By Us
Elsewhere in the show, attendees were drawn the elegant stand of Glammfire. Its Thales pieces where centre stage of the stand, creating a dramatic ambiance. Whatsmore, the company also displayed the result of an interesting and colourful collaboration with artist Luio Onassis. With a sculptural design and simply charismatic, Thales is the world’s first suspended fireplace with a bioethanol automatic burner, designed from the drawing of a circle, is a versatile and adjustable piece that reveals the beauty of the integral view of the flame.
Husband and wife duo Verglass Luminaires exhibited bespoke lighting products such as Azur, Pop, Lotus and Cal. Established is 2007 by Scottish-born Julie Johnson and Eric Lemarie, there was a sense of personality on the stand.
Meanwhile, Voltra Lighting, which was among the stand-out lighting companies that emerged in many of the London fairs in 2018, displayed its new generations of table-level lamps, which created a warm, intimate environment with the subtlety of candlelight – a welcome break from the harsh exhibition lighting.
Retro-fitting the future of lighting
Image caption: Delightfull’s Botti
There seems to be a influx in lighting specialists designing products that blend into their surroundings; perhaps this is the result of consumers becoming more savy around lighting and becoming more reactive when experiencing bad lighting (design suicide to many). Delightfull’s Botti sent sound waves of excitement through the hall as it was displayed on the company’s ever-colourful stand. The embodiment of the most famous wind instrument of them all, Botti mid-century table lamp was inspired by a classic trumpet. Its unique shades are handmade in brass with a gold-plated finish to resemble the instrument. The base can be produced in Nero Marquina or white marble, as well as black nickel or any other finish of your choosing. It is a tall table lamp, very hard to miss, with almost 55 pounds, making it the ideal choice for a classic living room design.
Celebrating imperfections in design
Attendees at the show questioned the definition of perfection at many areas of the show. What was concluded was that there’s a clean line between precision and perfection. While Tom Dixon’s precise craftsmanship never ceases to amaze new audiences, it was the imperfection that impressed visitors at the stand as the London-based studio unleashed a range of new collections. Swirl, one of the accessories launched at the show, is a mysterious new material that resembles 3D-marbeled paper yet has the weight of a stone. Perhaps the most interesting quality of this product is that no two pieces will ever be the same, giving each product its own personality. Displaying its qualities on apt newspaper was a touch that brought with it class, sophistication and a sense of headline-grabbing drama.
Storytelling on the walls, in the furniture and in the carpets
2018 closed with opinions being divided around which colours will dominate over the coming 12 months. While many companies amplify their answer to ‘the colours of the year’, wallcovering expert Arte decided to narrate the story of extinct animals. Partnering with Moooi, the company launched Extinct Animals, which brings the walls to life. Launched at its showroom in Saint-Germain-des-Prés during Deco Off, the showroom was a jungle of designers getting up close to animals that time had forgotten.
Image credit: Arte/Moooi
Just down the road at Holland & Sherry’s showroom, the focus was on fabrics, colour and layers. Its signature weaving tradition has come to life in nine elegant handwoven designs. In addition, the showroom presented an array of unique trims that have been purposefully designed to compliment the company’s core fabric collection.
Back over at MAISON&OBJET, storytelling took many shapes and forms. From experimental lighting company Lumneo presenting neon mirror lamps to rug company Slinke displaying, as the name suggests, slinky-inspired patterns in pastel colours, each stand had its own narrative to tell. Wallpeper on the other hand took art outside the frame to be able to sustainably display in unique wallpaper.
Image credit: Wallpepper
Meanwhile, using denim in a contemporary format, Japanese company Shin-Denim emerged to display a series of hard-wearing products. From a residential-styled reclined sofa to a striking wall partition, the material used in this way gave each product an usual, yet fresh, style.
Contract furniture company SCP exhibited a variety of design collaborations from the likes of Piet Hein Eek, Faudet-Harrison, Matthew Hilton, Reiko Kaneko, Phillipe Malouin, Donna Wilson and Jasper Morrison. Meanwhile, Pedrali opted for simple luxury displaying a glimpse of its SS19 collection with its latest modern colour twist on the classic Nolita range.
Image credit: Pedrali, Nolita
Bringing the indoors outdoors
Following on from last year’s dominant trend to blur the lines between areas, many outdoor furniture companies were further muddying the waters by exhibiting indoor-looking outdoor furniture. The designs of which were determined on consumer behaviours, as Hugo de melo Lourenco from Sachi explained: “I don’t look at trends too much, because I prefer to understand behaviour and ergonomics of our products. Research has shown us that the luxury market is currently looking for outdoor furniture that is slim and minimalist.” Other companies that displayed new lines of outdoor furniture collections included Skyline Design, 10Deka, Tucci, SUNSO and Mobika Garden.
Image credit: Manta
While many exhibitors displayed sun loungers and shade options, handmade stone specialist Manta exhibited something out of the ordinary, an oversized outdoor (or indoor) marble seat as part of the company’s melting collection. The one-of-the-kind product oozed character and a high level of personality. Also adopting the same theme, Domani displayed a large selection of robust outdoor pots which stacked together to demonstrate the scale of different designs suited for a variety of spaces.
Once again, MAISON&OBJET has set the industry up for an exciting year of developing trends and themes. My time at the show would not be complete without a sneaky exclusive interview with the fair’s Designer of the Year, which this year was awarded the multi-talented Sebastian Herkner. All that is left to say is Bon Voyage, Paris, for another year – the journey into the world of 2019 interiors continues.
Kaldewei’s forum delivers an interactive brand experience, demonstrating its role as a digital pioneer. The leading bathroom manufacturer is exhibiting at ISH on stand D79 – Hall 3.1…
Kaldewei will be exhibiting on stand D79 – Hall 3.1 at ISH from March 11 – 15 with a completely new stand concept, demonstrating its unrivalled position as a leading bathroom manufacturer.
At its stand, divided into five themed zones, Kaldewei will be demonstrating its expertise in the area of design and functionality. The stand will be displaying its international references, flexible solutions as well as the latest trends. These will include; bathroom solutions in exclusive colours, revolutionary shower concepts and new installation and drainage solutions. Visitors will also be able to see for themselves the diverse digital services that Kaldewei has to offer. At the heart of the interactive stand, Kaldewei will be presenting a new app which will network and support trade partners better than before.
“Trade visitors will have the chance to see first-hand how Kaldewei sets industry trends.”
Kaldewei Forum: The exceptional deserves a special stage
Trade visitors will have the chance to see first-hand how Kaldewei sets industry trends with its bathroom solutions, raises standards and creates unique solutions for bathrooms of every size. The stand design – reminiscent of the iconic architecture of the Elbphilharmonie building, Hamburg – is divided into five themed zones and will deliver an interactive brand experience. At its heart, the Forum features a huge sphere which will provide visitors with a multi-sensory show. Lecterns and tiered seating in an open circle invite visitors to interact. Visitors can test the diverse digital options available, including the new app, using digital columns and tablets. Arndt Papenfuß, Director Marketing at Kaldewei, says: “The new Kaldewei Forum not only reflects our core competence of providing the highest-quality bathroom furnishings with individual, customised solutions made of superior steel enamel, but also the structure and design elements of the new Forum highlighting our company’s strategic position, and – just like our product development does – actively placing our customers’ ideas and needs centre-stage.”
“At ISH, Kaldewei will be presenting a new app that brings all of these services together.”
Digital features for trade partners
As a digital pioneer in the bathroom industry, Kaldewei has been supporting its partners for years with a wide range of online services such as its Product Configurator, an interactive planning tool. It is also one of the very first bathroom manufacturers to provide BIM data – the new standard with regard to projection, coordination and cost control in construction. At ISH, Kaldewei will be presenting a new app that brings all of these services together. With this app, bathroom planners and on-site professional installers will be able to connect even faster with Kaldewei, giving them easier access to the premium bathroom manufacturer’s tools for planning, installing and assembling Kaldewei bathroom solutions.
Image credit: Kaldewei
Global partner: Kaldewei iconic bathroom solutions
At ISH 2019, Kaldewei will be presenting its international references and flexible solutions for different markets worldwide, highlighting its expertise as a global partner for Iconic Bathroom Solutions. In addition, other walk-through areas of the Forum will present corporate themes such as sustainability – as a key element of Kaldewei’s identity – and will demonstrate the superiority of Kaldewei steel enamel.
System Expertise: Groundbreaking shower solutions
As an expert for floor-level shower surfaces, Kaldewei will also be presenting new options for customising its unique NexSys shower concept which skilfully combines the advantages of a seamless enamelled shower surface with the design of a tiled shower area with shower channel. Working closely with bathroom professionals, Kaldewei has continued to expand its trusty assembly system with new installation and drainage solutions – making the installation of floor-level showers even simpler, flatter and more flexible.
Exclusive Shades in the Bathroom: the most beautiful combination of form and colour
Kaldewei opens up a new dimension of bathroom design with the sophisticated matt shades of the Coordinated Colours Collection. Any move away from classic white is a positive step in the bathroom and a distinctive hallmark of individuality. Kaldewei recently extended its exclusive colour world to its washbasin segment – allowing for an even more harmonious and personalised room design. Trade visitors can see for themselves how the coloured bathroom solutions – from the revolutionary NexSys shower system to the washbasin bowls from the Miena range – can be integrated elegantly into the overall design concept of modern bathrooms or, equally, be skilfully placed as visual highlights.
Kaldewei is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
Hotel Designs is broadening its search to find 30 young inspirational designers, hoteliers and architects. The deadline for applications for its 30 under 30 list has been announced for February 15…
With less than two weeks before the deadline, time is running out for interior designers, architects and hoteliers to submit their entries for the 30 Under 30 list that will be unveiled at Meet Up London: 30 Under 30.
Styled by Minotti London and hosted at the luxury furniture company’s luxury showroom, the event has launched the list with the aim is to bridge the age gap between interior designers, architects, hoteliers and key-industry suppliers.
How to apply for the 30 Under 30 list
If you are/or know of a deserving designer, architect or hotelier who is 30 years old or younger, please send in your application/nomination to: h.kilburn@forumevents.co.uk with the following:
200-400 word bio, which acknowledges achievements to date and why you/he/she deserves to be recognised
Name of company you/he/she currently works for
Profile image
Deadline: February 15, 2019
The final 30 will be confirmed to attend the event on March 28 with Hotel Designs‘ compliments and the winners will be notified in due course ahead of the networking evening.
How to attend Meet Up London: 30 Under 30
If you are a supplier to the hospitality industry looking to attend the event, contact Zoe Guerrier on 01992 374059 or on z.guerrier@forumevents.co.uk – or click here to book your place.
If you are an interior designer or architect and would like to attend the Hotel Designs Meet Up London: 30 Under 30, click here to confirm your attendance.
The fifth boutique property in the Nadler Hotels Group’s luxury portfolio opens in London’s bustling Covent Garden…
Overlooking The Strand in a restored Edwardian building, the 57-key The Nadler Covent Garden has opened as the hotel group’s fourth luxury boutique hotel in London.
Architecture firm PJMA designed the hotel over six floors. It’s stylish and thoughtfully designed guestrooms (ranging from Standard Double through to Deluxe) were, meanwhile, imagined by Brit List 2019 winner WISH London. Each guestroom and suite offers chic accommodation that, as per the company’s ethos, delivers on comfort, convenience and aesthetic.
“Each room features bespoke furniture, designed and handmade locally in west London.”
An elegant colourway of deep blues, clay greys and accents of cherry red sit alongside metallic touches of brass and copper. Each room features bespoke furniture, designed and handmade locally in west London, along with luxurious fabrics made from natural fibres woven on the Isle of Bute, Scotland. Upscale touches in accessories, including special edition Paul Smith Anglepoise lamps, echo the focus on quality British design and craftsmanship. Many of the rooms also extend onto balconies, with some boasting private terraces.
Image credit: Nadler Hotels
In addition to high quality pocket-sprung beds, complimentary ultrafast Wi-Fi, HD TVs (able to stream content direct from your mobile device), and versatile dining / work tables with handy USB and power points, each room features the brand’s signature Mini Kitchen, complete with a microwave, fridge, sink with BRITA filter water tap, kettle, crockery and cutlery, and Nespresso coffee machine with complimentary capsules. Spacious bathrooms include powerful showers (walk-in or over bath) and come with luxury Gilchrist and Soames toiletries.
Designed with a refined residential style, The Nadler Covent Garden aims to make every guest feel and live like a local.
Nadler Hotels currently operates three London properties in Kensington, Soho and Victoria, as well as extending the portfolio in the north with The Nadler Liverpool, which suggests a clear focus to pin its attention on the UK market.
Technology expert Jason Bradbury reviews Eccleston Square Hotel in the future
Healing heating, holographic entertainment and a toilet that tells you your food printer what snacks to make, technology expert and futurist Jason Bradbury spent a night future gazing in the technologically enhanced 19th Century luxury of Eccleston Square Hotel, London…
We’re living back to front. As technology marches inexorably forward, gaining speed at an exponential rate, it seems that the simple and the authentic have more value than ever before.
The resurgence of vinyl is a great example of this, independent coffee shops and organic grocers too – and so is a certain type of boutique hotel. In order to understand what a night in the hotel room of the future might be like, it’s necessary to appreciate why many of the standout disruptors in the current market are looking backwards, hiding their high-tech flaunts and instead focussing on experiences and simply good service.
Eccleston Square Hotel in London was the setting for my experiment in hotel room time travel. It’s a fine example of how well integrated smart technology can enhance a stay. Notable in-room features include LED clear-to-opaque glass in the bathroom, gestural lighting controls, a massaging bed and an improbably positioned outside/inside courtyard. All of these elements are design decisions that will have echoes in the rooms we will choose to book in the year 2049 (although few will have the Eccleston’s claim of being mere steps away from Winston Churchill’s front door).
Image credit: Ecclestone Hotel London
“The hotel room of the future will still rely heavily on technology, but it will be engineered for invisibility.”
30 years from now, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is currently the subject of deep moral conjecture will be commonplace. All retail, education, medicine, travel and data-centric areas of our lives will be handled by our personal Block-Chain driven A.Is. Much of our entertainment will be virtual visualisations; what we now call Augmented and Virtual Reality, immersive movies and games so convincing they’ll be indistinguishable from reality. It’s logical, therefore, to assume that when the mundane in life is handled by our personal A.I assistant and our persistent screen experience digital, we’ll seek out authenticity as an escape.
The hotel room of the future will still rely heavily on technology, but it will be engineered for invisibility. The down-lighters and wall switches that are currently in hotels will be replaced by neuro and mood interpreting imaging, ambient and natural light emulation, aimed at inducing calm and/or focus. Glass wall room dividers won’t just switch to opaque, they’ll transform into shimmering living jungle walls or expansive movie screens or personalised news feeds created by holographic projection. Think Minority Report, but without the need for gloves.
Image credit: Eccleston Square Hotel, London
In order to get a handle on all this future gazing, it’s sometimes helpful to have tangible examples to hand. The recently launched Magic Leap mixed reality headset offers insight into how a futuristic hotel room could be brought or augmented with ultra-high definition virtual assets. By 2049, several exponential leaps up the curve, the headset might be unnecessary, imaging handled by a projector and a glass room divider infused with highly refractive silver particles.
That’s entertainment, but what about the health and wellness opportunities offered by the hotel room of the next decade?
“Beyond just heating, far infrared light offers all manner of health benefits including immune system support, helping to alleviate stress, psoriasis and relieving joint and muscle pain.”
Astectherm is an example of an advanced technology that predicts the kind of hybrid between practical and health orientated benefits that might find itself in the guestroom in 10 years from now. I was able to install a working sample of this thin, flexible infrared thermal heating fabric between the electrically operated curtains during my Eccleston Square Hotel stay. More usually, lengths of Astectherm would be installed in walls or under floor and ceilings. Beyond just heating, far infrared light offers all manner of health benefits including immune system support, helping to alleviate stress, psoriasis and relieving joint and muscle pain. This system is an excellent example of an invisible technology that could offer in-room, spa-like health and wellness advantages for the future hotel room user checking in.
Hyper-personalisation will drive much high-end retail and leisure experiences in the future. The 3D printers that are still mainly the preserve of industry today will perhaps print bespoke, nutritionally focused meals in the kitchens of tomorrow. In order to compete, a morning in an Eccelston Square Hotel room circa 2049 will, for example, have to offer a high-end personalised breakfast and coffee experience. To give a sense of where our future caffeine fixes might come from, I tested the Ikawa Personal Coffee roaster in my room. As well as infusing the suite with a gorgeous aroma of freshly roasted green coffee beans, the tiny app-controlled machine offers concrete insight into the quick, delicious and bespoke snacks and meals we will come to expect in the near-future. In future in-room coffee machines, the ingredients will be determined by a stool and urine analysing toilet and other health monitoring wearables. If your morning bathroom routine flags a rise in your inflammatory markers, you might find turmeric in your freshly-roasted, non-dairy latte.
While we currently have the Apple Watch, in the future we’ll see far more discrete wearables, which will offer a much deeper insight into our general wellness. Take sleep for example, a critical part of any hotel room experience. At the moment, Some hotels offer a vague ‘good night guarantee’ based on little more than firm pillows. Eccleston Square Hotel already takes its bedtime more seriously than most, but as well as a mood lighting and an electronically adjustable bed, in 10 years time its beds might map guests’ REM and movement signatures. They high-tech beds might compare them to a block-chain powered pattern from thousands of my previous nights’ sleep, cross-referenced with a range of biological and psychological markers, blood sugar readings from bathroom analysis and wearables and even neurological data. And if this is all sounding a little too Sci-Fi, I took the liberty of installing a Nokia Smart Sleep sensor in my Eccleston Square hotel bed.
“The app data showed a high ‘Sleep Quality’ score of 90 per cent, only twenty seconds of snoring and a longer period of ‘deep sleep’ than on previous nights at home testing it.”
Perhaps it was exhaustion from setting up all the gadgets- or the massage – but the app data showed a high ‘Sleep Quality’ score of 90 per cent, only twenty seconds of snoring and a longer period of ‘deep sleep’ than on previous nights at home testing it. This level of detail, while insightful today will seem laughably trivial in ten years, but again, Nokia’s gadget is a fine example of where we’re heading.
Image Caption: Nokia Sleep Sensor. 2. Bed’s Massage Remote Control
The Eccleston Square Hotel has several rooms with distinctive private outdoor spaces. It achieves this by cleverly slicing up what would be larger areas and then giving each outdoor triangle the perception of space with large mirrored walls. This is another precursor to a future trend; the use of spacial sensory imaging, both auditory and visual, to create outdoor experiences, but on a considerably smaller scale. Looking beyond 2049 and it’s not implausible to imagine something like a Star Trek holodeck that transforms a tiny 24m² courtyard into an infinite forest in which you can jog by virtue of a 360° treadmill.
Image caption: Courtyard in Eccleston Square Hotel Room showing outside mirrored wall
It’s a contradiction for sure, but technology will deliver what the hotel guest of the future will desire most, authenticity. The design ethos, eco and energy awareness, food and customer service expectations of the discerning hotel guest a decade hence will still be central to their choice. What will change is the availability of bespoke, luxury personalised services, many of which will have echoes of a bygone age, a time when the gadgets that distract us today hadn’t been invented. Of course there will be no obvious gadgets in the hotel room of the future, just ‘real’ services and experiences. And when reality can’t be delivered, we’ll be happy to accept the perception of it.
Jason Bradbury can booked for futurology talks at jla.co.uk and found on YouTube & Instagram. Thanks also to the lovely staff at Eccleston Square Hotel.
Main image credit: Twitter @JasonBradbury/Eccleston Square Hotel London
Following the success of last year’s event, leading bathroom manufacturer Crosswater has become the headline partner for The Brit List 2019…
The Brit List, which is Hotel Designs‘ nationwide search to find the top interior designers, hoteliers and architects, has confirmed that Crosswater, part of Bathroom Brands‘ portfolio, will be the headline partner for the 2019 event.
“Operating in the UK, with its vibrant design community is an honour,” said Mike Bone, Director of Group Projects at Bathroom Brands. “So much of our success, as a business, is generated together with the creative visions developed by this community. Furthering our brand and products in the hearts and minds of designers and architects is critical to our future success.
“Our decision to participate as headline partner at this year’s Brit List is a demonstration of our commitment to support, celebrate and recognise the very best of interior designers, architects and hoteliers today.”
Attended by more than 200 interior designers, hoteliers, architects and key-industry suppliers, The Brit List 2018 was hailed a success among the industry’s finest practitioners:
“The Brit List recognises the UK’s best Hotel Design talent and we at IHG are proud to be recognised for the hard work we have done to the interior design of our brands in recent years. We are humbled by the huge amount of design talent amongst the other winners. Congratulations to all involved.” – Emma King, Head of Interior Design Europe, IHG
“We are truly honoured to be included in the Brit List”– Bee Osborn, Creative Director, Osborn Interiors
“Some moments in your life are special. Some are more special than others, so it was a very very special moment for me to receive the Brit List 2018 Outstanding Contribution to the Hospitality Award. I propose to enjoy the moment as Britain remains the very heartbeat of stylist design of the globe.” – Robin Sheppard, CEO, Bespoke Hotels. Winner of Outstanding Contribution to the Hospitality Industry
“I am delighted to have been recognised as one of Britain’s top 25 hoteliers in The Brit List 2018. My team and I are proud of our continued hard work and extraordinary attentiveness to our customers’ satisfaction here at The Gainsborough Bath Spa. It is important to me to go the extra mile for both my guests and staff to ensure everyone has an enjoyable and memorable stay with us in beautiful, historic Bath” – Brian Benson, General Manager, The Gainsborough Hotel and Spa
With further details around The Brit List 2019 to be unveiled soon, including how to nominate and how to apply for this year’s list, the concept will return to London this November. Venue and date TBC, for now.
The hotel and spa in Beijing’s unique architecture form has been designed by acclaimed German architect Ole Scheeren…
Located a stones throw away from Beijing’s Forbidden City, The PuXuan Hotel and Spa has opened with the aim to become a new urban haven in the Chinese capital. The latest Urban Resort Concepts (URC) luxury hotel has been designed by internationally acclaimed German architect Ole Scheeren (formerly with OMA).
In collaboration with Shanghai-based design firm MQ studio, the hotel’s interiors will exemplify URC’s hallmark design principles, integrating luxurious and understated metaphorical design throughout a modern space, uniquely crafted with local, cultural references. The hotel’s artwork, curated by the Guardian Art Centre, will feature some of the finest contemporary Chinese art in the region today.
A collection of immersive half and full day programmes curated by The PuXuan that provides guests exclusive access to local, hidden gems and landmarks alike, ensures travellers to Beijing experience the breadth of the city’s history, culture and gastronomy.
Image credit: PuXuan Hotel and Spa
Comprising 92 guestrooms and 24 suites, each feature handcrafted and artisanal furniture by Hermès-owned Chinese lifestyle brand SHANG XIA and boast awe-inspiring views over either the Forbidden City or one of Beijing’s oldest neighbourhoods, DongCheng District.
A true oasis in the heart of the city, The PuXuan also features URC’s proprietary UR SPA that will offer bespoke treatments by CHA LING – “L’Espirit du Thé”, an LVMH brand that combines traditional Chinese medicine with French beauty, along with organic formulations by one of the industry-leading creators of wellness products COMFORT ZONE.
Set to become Beijing’s definitive dining destinations, Rive Gauche serves up unpretentious French classics with extraordinary savoir-faire whilst Fu Chun Ju serves some of the capital’s finest Cantonese preparations. With direct access on levels two and three of the hotel respectively, the openings of Rive Gauche and Fu Chun Ju are welcome and overdue additions to the culinary scene in Beijing, where guests will discover a new appreciation for local provenance as they enjoy seasonal menus that highlight the unique flavours of the finest, local and heirloom ingredients.
Other spaces include The PuXuan Club, offering a new level of privilege along with round-the-clock exclusive access to a handsome and fully serviced lounge, Tea Room, The Lobby Lounge, a state-of-the-art fitness centre, and a variety of indoor and outdoor venues for both corporate and social gatherings.
The leading international hotel design website closes January with a record-breaking 67, 792 readers….
By exploring hotel openings and spas as its Spotlight On features during January, Hotel Designs has smashed its online monthly traffic record, which was previously hit in November, by amassing more than 67,000 readers to the website.
Hotel Designs, which last year attracted more than half a million readers, engaged readers with the following most-read stories during January:
“This is a fantastic start to 2019,” said publisher Katy Phillips. “I am absolutely thrilled that, yet again, I am being asked to comment on Hotel Designs smashing another online traffic record. As well as showing that our editorial team have their finger on the pulse when it comes to covering hot topics in our industry, this is a clear indication that this market is engaging positively with the content we publish.
“One area that Hotel Designs has always been strong in is having a face-to-face relationship with our audience. We are therefore looking forward to our next networking evening, Meet Up London: 30 Under 30 on March 28, which are aim will be to bridge the age gap in international hotel design.”
The news comes as the website steers its Spotlight On features to cover Surfaces and Architecture and Construction, two widely debated topics within international hotel design.
The luxury hotel brand, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts continues with a steady portfolio expansion with openings in new markets and much-anticipated debut of first-ever standalone Private Residences in London…
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has announced that 2019 will mark significant hotel openings, with the debut of nine new hotels and resorts around the world, plus the continued expansion of its residential portfolio.
“Four Seasons is well positioned for continued success in 2019 with the steady and strategic growth of our global portfolio,” says Christian Clerc, President, Worldwide Hotel Operations, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “Our portfolio continues to grow at a healthy pace, as we focus on projects of the highest quality, in the destinations where our guests want to be. We remain committed to offering the very highest standards of hospitality as we expand with a diverse collection of properties, including our entry in Greece and Spain, our first resort set within a world class vineyard in Napa Valley, and the opening of our first standalone residences in London.”
Clerc continues: “With a continued focus on our residential portfolio, we are solidifying our market position as the world leader in luxury branded residential offerings. Eight of the nine new anticipated openings this year include a residential component, affirming the growing importance of branded residences to Four Seasons growth strategy as well as luxury consumers who want to live with our brand and make Four Seasons their home.”
Extensive Global Growth: 2019 Portfolio Openings
Now numbering 111 hotels and resorts in 47 countries – including recent openings in Desroches Island, Seychelles; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and São Paulo, Brazil – Four Seasons is planning to open the following new hotels, resorts and private residences in 2019:
This project marks the long-awaited entry of Four Seasons in Greece with the transformation of the famed Astir Palace on the Athenian Riviera. The hotel will offer 303 rooms and bungalows along three private beaches with three pools, a spa and seven restaurants and lounges.
The return of Four Seasons to Thailand’s capital is scheduled to open this year as the fourth property in the company’s Four Seasons Thailand collection. The all-new complex spans 9 acres and 200 metres of prime river frontage with open courtyards, water features and works of art. Ballrooms offer stunning river views and outdoor spaces that are ideal for grand weddings and impressive events while three restaurants and a Latin American inspired social club bring glamour to the riverside lifestyle. With 366 Private Residences and 299 rooms and suites, many with generous outdoor terraces, the property brings the sophistication of a resort to the heart of Bangkok.
Set in the heart of India’s technology hub as part of the prestigious new Embassy ONE development, the property will feature 230 rooms, 105 Private Residences and prime commercial retail space. Within the hotel, guests will find warm and inviting restaurants featuring interactive live counters and artisanal offerings. The outdoor pool in the lush landscaped private gardens lends a resort-like ambiance and the spa is an uplifting hideaway for modern and holistic wellness solutions. Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru joins its sister property in Mumbai as the second Four Seasons in India.
The oceanfront resort in the Baja Peninsula will soon be home to the third Four Seasons in Mexico. Located on the East Cape on a stunning, swimmable stretch of the Sea of Cortez, the resort will include 141 rooms as well as a selection of Private Residences with private yacht slips and a Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course, within the exclusive Costa Palmas development.
A meticulous restoration and conversion of several historic buildings in the heart of the city’s famed Canalejas district is entering its final stages, with the 200 room Four Seasons as the company’s first location in Spain. The property will also incorporate 22 beautifully appointed Private Residences.
The company’s fourth property in Canada will open in the heart of Montreal’s best shopping neighbourhood, within a development that will mark the city’s very best lifestyle offerings. Guests can look forward to an all-new 169 room hotel and 18 Private Residences connected to the new Holt Renfrew Ogilvy in the Golden Square Mile neighbourhood, as well as the first Canadian restaurant by famed chef Marcus Samuelsson.
Glasses are already being raised in anticipation of Four Seasons first resort immersed within an estate winery, in partnership with acclaimed winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, that will be part of the all-new resort set among the mountains and vineyards of one of the world’s top wine-producing regions. Its 85 rooms and 20 residences will extend the diverse Four Seasons California Collection as its eighth location in the state.
Four Seasons will open its second property in Boston’s prestigious Back Bay neighbourhood, steps from the city’s best cultural, sporting, and entertainment outlets. This sleek, 61-storey skyscraper will be home to 215 hotel rooms and 160 Private Residences and will also include a Zuma restaurant, the renowned Japanese Izakaya with outposts in London, Miami, New York and Las Vegas.
The company’s return to the city will showcase the future of hospitality in Philadelphia’s tallest building. At 60 storeys and with 219 rooms, the property will showcase advanced technologies from Comcast as well as world-class dining experiences by top chefs Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Greg Vernick, and florals by celebrated creative director Jeff Leatham.
Additional future projects recently announced include hotels, resorts and residences in Dalian, China; Makkah, Saudi Arabia; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Caye Chapel, Belize.
Main image credit: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
5 awe-inspiring hotel architecture projects currently on the boards
To kickstart our month shining the spotlight on architecture and construction, Hotel Designs highlights five groundbreaking projects that are currently in planning…
Long before the Burj Al Arab made its magnificent entrance onto the shores of Dubai in 1999, architects have competed with one another to break into the clouds of possibilities within international design.
Although there have always been groundbreaking architectural projects to rise from the earth, the advancement of technology over the last 20 years in particular has enabled practitioners to take architecture into a new era. The result is game-changing. No longer are guests’ first impressions made in comfort the hotel lobby. Instead, mass opinions are divided when the architects, who strive to constantly push the boundaries of what is possible, unveil their masterplans. To celebrate the architects are the top of their game, here are five projects that are currently in construction, which will shelter luxury hotels.
The award-winning building, designed by KPF Architects, was inspired by the graceful Thai hand gesture of the wei. The distinct slant of the building has opened up the opportunity for terraces, shrinking floorplates, and unique, occupiable spaces. With interior design by Ceilia Chu Design, the 30-storey high-rise tower will feature two restaurants, two bars, a luxurious spa, an outdoor swimming pool and a fitness centre. In addition, the hotel will shelter residential-style meeting and function space and the top-floor Sky Villa event venue will boast panoramic views of the capital’s iconic skyline.
Phase three of a major part of the regeneration of the Battersea Power Station site has been designed by Gehry Partners and Foster + Partners. In addition to 1,300 new homes, the new development will include the 160-key art’otel London. The Skyline, which is the building designed by Foster + Partners that will shelter the hotel, will feature an outdoor rooftop pool and bar overlooking the chimneys of the iconic Battersea power station. > Read more about the project here
Architecture and design firm WATG were appointed to create the exterior of the 125-key hotel in order to include design details that celebrates the history of Goa through Colonial Portugese structure and contemporary form. The hotel has been designed to attract erudite travellers from around the world to experience beauty, relaxation and Indian hospitality. Using the rugged coast as an architectural reference, the firm’s renders tell a quintessential local design story that, when completed, will anchor the architectural theme throughout.
The most recent update on this project is that the mixed-use development building’s form will be determined in consultation with the community. The Koolkiel complex, which is being designed by MVRDV, will include two buildings that will be wrapped by customisable concrete panels. With the aim to amplify the city’s creative edge, each of these silhouette-like panels can be cast in different shapes. Although the brand and name is yet to be announced, a 250-key hotel will be sheltered in the complex. > Read more about the project here
The renovation and redevelopment of Mercury House, led by Zaha Hadid Architects, integrates residential apartments and boutique hotel within Malta’s most dynamic urban environment. Creating new public spaces and amenities for the island’s residents and visitors, the design responds to Paceville’s key urban challenges by investing in its civic realm and increasing its limited housing supply.
Derelict for more than twenty years, the 9,405 sq.m. site includes the remaining façades of the old Mercury House that date from 1903. Two underground vaults created during the Cold War are also within the site’s boundary.
The 31-storey tower of residential apartments and hotel is aligned at street level to integrate with Paceville’s existing urban fabric and to reduce its footprint, maximizing civic space within the new piazza.
Conceived as two volumes stacked vertically, the tower incorporates a realignment that expresses the different functional programmes within.
Concluding January and looking ahead to the future of lighting, surfaces and hotel development, Hamish Kilburn writes the top five stories of the week…
As January turns to February, there is much anticipation in the air around developing trends. The must-watch lists of hues, textures and materials that landed in my inbox on January 1 have filtered subtly into the designs of new hotel spaces. Designers working outside the box establish how they can create a timeless statement scan the floors of the trade shows. The next in the calendar is the Surface Design Show in London (February 5 – 7). Ahead of the show, this week we took a closer look at the trends on the walls, floors and ceilings. Closer to home, Hotel Designs had some developments of its own to announce. Here are the top five stories of the week.
Taking place next week in London’s Business Design Centre, Surface Design Show will showcase the latest products and technology in surface design. Ahead of the event, as Hotel Designs is a media partner of #SDS19, here are top surface trends to be mindful of.
Until February 7, designers, architects, hoteliers and suppliers will be able to purchase early bird tickets for Hotel Designs‘ highly anticipated Q1 networking evening, Meet Up London: 30 Under 30.
A study has revealed that one in three people believe that lighting is important to creating a relaxed and calm atmosphere before bed.
As the January blues well and truly set in for some, new research has revealed how lighting can have direct impact on mood and wellbeing in the hotel environment.
SUSD, the developer behind two of London’s most successful hybrid destinations, The Curtain Hotel & Members Club and Devonshire Club, has just won planning consent, subject to finalising the S106 Agreement, for a third development, this time on the banks of the Thames near Pangbourne, Berkshire.
To round up January – and to help understand the crossroads many designers are at – it felt appropriate to use the metaphor of two worlds colliding. I am, of course, referring to the opportunities that result from authentic collaborations.
Excitement and optimism are both thick in the January air. My train carriage on the Eurostar is full to the brim of creative people. Half the passengers on board are interior designers on their way, like me, to Maison&Objet. The other half are fashionistas, bloggers and journalists preparing to arrive at Men’s Paris Fashion Week. Two worlds collide to converge in conversations around this season’s must-see designers and emerging trends to keep an eye on. It reminds me of yesterday when I published my exclusive interview with lighting designer to the stars, Moritz Waldemeyer. In 2007, the young, enthusiastic Waldemeyer found himself in the same unfamiliar setting when fashion legend Hussein Chayalan asked him to create a lighting installation unlike any other for one of the shows.
11 years on from Waldemeyer’s first dip into high fashion and, while trends have shifted, the core of our creative business remains concrete; we are never afraid to knock on doors to chase inspirational ideas.
Ever since 1995, when the show first launched, Maison&Objet has powerfully set the industry up for the year. Yes, recently have witnessed somewhat more of an upsurge in attendees compared to early years, but the show has always given apt context to many of the discussions that ripple through the rest of the 11 months as things undoubtedly develop from the ‘trends’ that ping through to our inboxes on January 1.
“Investigating three separate luxury travel markets over three weeks (aviation, rail and cruise ships), we launched the series Hotels At New Heights.”
Altering course for a moment in order to explore which other worlds are in fact colliding, the cruise industry in recent years has been reaching out to more and more hotel designers to imagine the interiors of future fleets. Investigating three separate luxury travel markets over three weeks (aviation, rail and cruise ships), we launched the series Hotels At New Heights with the aim to understand how our industry can benefit from coming together with other markets.
At the core of all of these topics, bringing the loose strands of ideas together through conversation, is networking. Following the success of Meet Up North and The Brit List 2018, I am proud to announce that our Meet Up London: 30 Under 30 event will take place in Fitzrovia’s trendy neighbourhood on March 28 at Minotti London’s stylish showroom. The deadline for suppliers, designers, hoteliers and architects to claim their early bird tickets is fast approaching (February 7), so click here to purchase your tickets.
I look forward to continuing this adventurous journey with you as Hotel Designs itself prepares to enter a new chapter.
Hotel Designs has confirmed that Hamilton Litestat will be the exclusive headline partner at Meet Up London: 30 Under 30, which takes place at the showroom of Minotti London on March 28…
The event, which takes place on March 28 at Minotti London’s showroom, is expected to bridge the age gap between designers, architects, hoteliers and key-industry suppliers by putting the spotlight on supporting young, emerging talent. 30 of the industry’s most inspirational practitioners will be invited with complements of Hotel Designs to attend the networking event.
“Hamilton Litestat is a keen supporter of young, up-and-coming talent and we’re delighted to be working with Hotel Designs to support talent rising through the ranks in interior design, architecture and the hotel industry,” said Gavin Williams, Head of Marketing, Hamilton Litestat. “As an Industry Partner of the British Institute of Interior Design, we’re keen to develop lasting relationships with those that understand the importance of getting the finishing touches of an interiors project just right.
“We hope to build awareness through our partnership with the 30 under 30 Meet Up events and foster long-term collaborations with the next generation of talented industry leaders.” – Gavin Williams, Head of Marketing, Hamilton Litestat
“Through both functionality and aesthetics, quality decorative wiring accessories and lighting control can achieve this. We hope to build awareness through our partnership with the 30 under 30 Meet Up events and foster long-term collaborations with the next generation of talented industry leaders.”
Suitable for all hotels, Hamilton Litestat produces smart lighting controls and multi-room audio systems designed to enhance the hotel guest experience.
Early bird ticket prices for Meet Up London: 30 Under 30
Suppliers: £99 + VAT (£150 + VAT after early bird offer expires after February 7) Designers, hoteliers and architects: £10 + VAT (£20 + VAT after early bird offer expires after February 7)
Venue: Minotti Showroom, 77 Margaret St, Fitzrovia, London, W1W 8SY Date: March 28, 2019
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How to apply for the 30 Under 30 list
If you are/or know of a deserving designer, architect or hotelier who is 30 years old or younger, please send in your application/nomination to: h.kilburn@forumevents.co.uk with the following:
200-400 word bio, which acknowledges achievements to date and why you/he/she deserves to be recognised
Name of company you/he/she currently works for
Profile image
The final 30 will be confirmed to attend the event with Hotel Designs‘ compliments and the winners will be notified in due course ahead of the networking evening.
How to attend Meet Up London: 30 Under 30
If you are a supplier to the hospitality industry looking to attend the event, contact Zoe Guerrier on 01992 374059 or on z.guerrier@forumevents.co.uk – or click here to book your place.
If you are an interior designer or architect and would like to attend the Hotel Designs Meet Up London: 30 Under 30, click here to confirm your attendance.
A study has revealed that one in three people believe that lighting is important to creating a relaxed and calm atmosphere before bed…
As the January blues well and truly set in for some, new research has revealed how lighting can have direct impact on mood and wellbeing in the hotel environment.
A survey of 1,000 UK adults carried out by lighting supplier LED Hut, as part of the Brighter Britain report, found that one in three people believe that lighting – both natural and artificial – plays a crucial role in how they feel, encouraging feelings of comfort, security, and happiness.
More than one-third (31 per cent) believe that lighting is important when creating a relaxed and calm atmosphere before going to bed in the evening, which assists with their sleep.
Furthermore, 38 per cent feel that lighting in the bedroom during the morning can also allow them to feel alert, energises and ready for the day ahead.
“Considering how important natural light is to generating vitamin D, and even assisting the circadian rhythms which govern our natural sleeping patterns, the potential lighting has to improve our wellbeing in a number of ways is clear,” said Paul Garner, ecommerce and marketing director at LED Hut. “While it might be obvious that natural light helps to boost our mood, not everyone knows that artificial light also plays an important role when natural light isn’t an option.”
“There are new concepts emerging everyday around LED experimental lighting.”
The possibilities around lighting design in the hotel guestroom are almost endless. There are new concepts emerging everyday around LED experimental lighting, such as the Mortiz Waldemeyer Studio’s personalised lighting installation at Focus 18, which was named the Journey Of Colour. Sensational launches like these suggest that there is some movement on how we light the hotel guestroom of the future to balance functionality, wellness and excitement in all the right places.
If you would like to have your say on this topic ahead of Hotel Designs covering it as a Spotlight On feature in March, please tweet us @HotelDesigns.
The inaugural Interior Design & Architecture Summit, which will take place on April 29 at Hilton Tower Bridge London, has confirmed its current partners for the event…
Following the announcement of the ‘Rising Ceiling of Creativity’ panel discussion at the event, the Interior Design & Architecture Summit (IDAS) has just announced the first confirmed partners for the meet-the-buyers event.
The event, which will take place on April 29 at Hilton Tower Bridge London, is aimed to bridge the gap between designers, architects, hoteliers and key-industry suppliers.
About IDAS
The one-day event is designed to connect senior executives working within the sector with product and service suppliers for face-to-face meetings and business networking.
The Summit aims to support the design and architecture sector with a unique platform to help create long-lasting and mutually beneficial business connections.
How to register your interest in attending
If you are a supplier to the hospitality industry looking to meet the top architects and interior designers, contact Victoria Petch on v.petch@forumevents.co.uk – or click here to book your place.
If you are an architect or interior designer and would like to attend the Summit, please contact Kerry Naumburger on k.naumburger@forumevents.co.uk – or click here to book your place.
The hotel developer, SUSD, has just won planing consent to convert the estate into luxury retreat, complete with a 53-key hotel…
SUSD, the developer behind two of London’s most successful hybrid destinations, The Curtain Hotel & Members Club and Devonshire Club, has just won planning consent, subject to finalising the S106 Agreement, for a third development, this time on the banks of the Thames near Pangbourne, Berkshire.
The historic 3.4 hectare Grotto Estate includes a Grade ll listed house constructed as a riverside retreat for Lady Fane in the early 18th Century, extensive lawns, and rolling wooded parklands with direct access to the river. Capability Brown is thought to have advised on the original design of the landscape. Consent is for the restoration, reconstruction and enhancement of the main house, converting it into a 53-guestroom hotel with a restaurant and bars, six new two-bedroom detached lodges associated with the hotel and the replacement of several dilapidated outbuildings to create new leisure facilities. The consent, granted under the planning terms of Enabling Development, also includes two detached family houses, which will be for private purchase, in the original grounds of the Grotto.
“A 20th Century studio building will be replaced by a two-storey spa and gym with outdoor pool.”
The Grotto, view from the Thames Path SUSD worked in close collaboration with Historic England and West Berkshire Council in developing the scheme to ensure that it would provide an amenity for the local community, that the site ecology would be protected and enhanced and that all works to the existing main house would be completely respectful of the heritage asset. This will involve the reinstatement of a number of original elements, including a first-floor conservatory, which will combine historical reference with contemporary detailing, and the return of the grand ‘Oval Room’ on the ground floor as well as sensitive remedial works to the white painted brick façade to replicate the former appearance of the building.
Image credit: SUSD
In the grounds, the tennis courts will be refurbished, the boathouse will be reinstated, a 20th Century studio building will be replaced by a two-storey spa and gym with outdoor pool and a ‘coach house’ extension will be built, linked to the original building by a glazed walkway, to accommodate 19 of the guestrooms. “The reinstatement of the Grotto Estate as a luxurious country retreat will demand close attention to detail, careful selection of materials and an observance of traditional detailing and construction methods,” says Harry Harris, founder of SUSD who was recognised last year in The Brit List 2018. “Emphasis will be placed on achieving the correct balance between traditional and contemporary design and detailing, and on ensuring that an underlying consistency of quality and feel is established across the entire site. Both the hotel experience and the residences will sit within the high end of their respective markets.”
Grotto from the centre of the site looking North West The new lodges will be single storey with a mezzanine sleeping area within the roof space. Located within existing woodland, the lodges will have a simple and restrained design aesthetic with clean, crisp contemporary form and detailing. They will be constructed of timber-clad, factory-built modules installed on a discreet plinth to make them a floating ‘light touch’ on the landscape that recedes behind the tree screening. The two family homes will reference existing residential buildings that neighbour the site and will be orientated and internally planned in response to Passivhaus standards as well as to maximise views towards the Thames. Across the development, sustainability and environmental performance have been a key consideration, with the hotel targeting a
BREAAM rating of ‘Very Good’ SUSD’s vision for the Grotto is to create a destination that celebrates its legacy while offering levels of comfort and a range of experiences to chime with the expectations of modern-day guests. These will include a kitchen garden and individually customised spa treatments as well as such advanced technology as room control apps for guests’ smart phones, biometric security and 3D hologram conference calling.
Harris concludes: “Just as we did with both Devonshire Club and The Curtain, we are curating spaces and services at The Grotto that will foster an experience relevant to the location and provide members with everything they need – from rooms, restaurant, bar, gym and spa, to cultural programmes, garden walks and riverside retreats. We create destinations to match how people like to live their lives today, in the process revitalising buildings and sites that might not stack up as a standalone hotel or leisure venue.”
Taking place next week in London’s Business Design Centre, Surface Design Show will showcase the latest products and technology in surface design. Ahead of the event, as Hotel Designs is a media partner of #SDS19, here are top surface trends to be mindful of…
The Surface Design Show, taking place on February 5 – 7, will again provide architects and designers with an exciting and inspirational range of surface designs and materials.
Speaking before the show opens trend forecaster and curator of the Show’s Surface Spotlight Live feature, Sally Angharad enthused: “There are a number of distinct trends coming out of Surface Design Show that visitors will pick up. Once again the Show will set the scene for the next year in terms of design ideas.”
Here are some of the 2019 trends to look out for are:
Scallop Shapes Scallop shape tiles create decorative patterns in a combination of solid colours and patterned finishes. Blueprint Ceramics, Finsa and Viuva Lamego will both be exhibiting scallop shapes
Sumptuous Neutrals Warm neutrals replace grey with shades of brown adding depth to tactile surfaces. Look out for Saint- Gobain, Off the Wall Coverings and ITC Natural Luxury Flooring.
Image credit: ITC Natural Luxury Flooring
Dynamic Patterns A combination of tile formats creates complex designs for statement features. Exhibitors include Blueprint Ceramics and Viuva Lamego
Patina Effects Weathered metals inspire luxurious patina effects on a variety of surfaces from flooring to finishes. PowderTech (Corby), MUUNA and Finsa will be stands to visit.
Indulgent Darks Dark colours are key for glazed and tonal finishes to create dramatic yet welcoming effects. SIBU Designs, Grestec Tiles and Sterling Studios will be exhibitors to seek out.
Image credit: SIBU
Nature/Nurture Organic materials translate into surfaces for walls and lighting that bring comforting textures indoors. Exhibitors include Freund, Innerspace Cheshire and PHEE. A range of new materials, prototypes and innovations can be seen on Surface Spotlight Live curated in collaboration by trend expert Sally Angharad and trend, colour & material forecast agency; Colour Hive.
Surface Design Show opens on February 5 from 6.00pm – 9.00pm; February 6 from 11.00 -9.00pm and February 7 from 11.00 – 5.00pm.
The Pittorica collection by Domus is suitable porcelain tile for interior walls and floors…
Launching in the UK in February exclusively at Domus, Pittorica is a new colourful glazed porcelain stoneware collection suitable for interior walls and floors, designed by Studiopepe creative directors Arianna Lelli Mami and Chiara di Pinto. Research by the two designers led to the creation of a collection comprised of 14 plain solid colours in three palettes – neutral, background and bold colours, and available in three different shapes, a triangle, a square and a brick shape.
In a silky matt finish, the tiles are mutually compatible and can be used singularly or coordinated to create complex and highly creative decorative layouts, bringing out the full, modern spirit in expressive colour. With a retro feel, the colours span from dark shades to soft greys and neutrals along with pink, blues, green and terracotta shades, expressing the universe of colour though an extremely current palette, offering elegance and modernity to any interior space.
Suitable for both walls and floors, the decorative ability of Pittorica is enhanced by the rectified formats which guarantee layouts and installation with minimum grout lines where the colour stands out. The statement triangular shape formats are a key feature statement in the collection and guarantee a decorative capacity to characterise interior surfaces. The solid matt colours give the collection a silky consistency, which is further enriched with a textured canvas weave print which is stamped into each tile. Each tile has a unique, subtle, almost imperceptible variation.
Studiopepe proudly describe their collection, saying: “The mystery of colour in the game of perception and illusion. Pittorica is the poetry of the imagination, rhymes of graphic patterns and hues of colour put together in freedom and fun.”
With more and more hotels opening in heritage shells, Nine Hotel Group announces the opening of DoubleTree by Hilton hotel Reading M4 J10 in a 19th century mill house…
Vivek Chadha – of Nine Hotel Group – purchased the Best Western Grade II listed mill house in 2017 and has spent £4 million on the redevelopment, rebranding the hotel to a DoubleTree by Hilton and expanding its facilities.
Now open to the public, the 129-key hotel is conveniently situated on the edge of Reading Town Centre, Providing the ideal base for both business and leisure travellers, the hotel is predicted to bring an influx of people to the area as well as providing luxurious amenities for the local community.
Included in the development is the construction of a 300-person capacity ballroom complete with a large banqueting facility for weddings, giving the hotel a total of five function rooms for groups looking to host events or business meetings.
Inside the historic mill, the bedrooms boast traditional characteristics such as classic wooden beams, and the Godfather & Co Restaurant – part of the original mill – has the River Loddon flowing beneath.
The renovation of this hotel has kept the traditional and distinctive character all of which is set on 10.5 acres of natural landscape, while boasting modern amenities such as a 24-hour fitness centre.
Those looking for a local country pub can visit the onsite Poachers Pub to sample real ales in a cosy atmosphere, complete with real log fires. The Godfather & Co Restaurant proudly sources local produce, and you can also pay a visit to the Whisky Charlie Lounge where you can enjoy the hotel’s very own local cocktail, The Lion of Sindlesham.
Speaking about the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading M4 J10 refurbishment, Vivek Chadha, Managing Director and founder of Nine Hotel Group, said: “I’m proud to bring the unique Nine Group ethos to the area and I look forward to seeing the hotel prosper. The property was selected for redevelopment as it is part of local history, rich in character and period features. It now boasts premium facilities for the discerning guest whether they are visiting for business or pleasure.”
The latest addition to DoubleTree by Hilton, one of Hilton’s 15 market-leading brands, marks the first DoubleTree property in Reading and joins an existing 50 DoubleTree by Hilton hotels in the United Kingdom.
Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences Okinawa, which will shelter 120 guestrooms and suites, is expected to complete in 2023…
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Berjaya Okinawa Development Co. Ltd. (“Berjaya Okinawa”) have announced its new development on the island of Okinawa. The project will debut as part of the development’s master plan as Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences Okinawa.
Comprising a total of 100 acres (more than 40 hectares) of beachfront, the project site is located along the western coast of the island, approximately 31 miles (50 kilometres) northeast of Naha International Airport, with easy access by highway from the airport and close to tourist attractions. The Resort will comprise 30 acres (12 hectares) of the project development land area, with 120 hotel rooms, 120 residences and 40 villas. The project is expected to take approximately four years to complete with a total development cost of USD 400 million and estimated gross development value of USD 1 billion.
“Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences Okinawa is another iconic project in Japan for the Berjaya Group, emulating the success of Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Kyoto, which officially opened in December 2016,” said Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan (“TSVT”), Founder and Executive Chairman of BCorp. “I am sure that with the prestigious Four Seasons branding and management, along with its strategic location in central Okinawa, the hotel will be one of the best on the island of Okinawa.”
“We are proud to continue our successful partnership with Berjaya Group with another exceptional project in Japan, extending our presence in the region and offering both guests and residents more chances to experience Four Seasons,” says Bart Carnahan, Executive Vice President, Global Business Development, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. “Together with Berjaya, we will not only create the very finest resort and residences of the highest quality, but will also offer a level of unparalleled service, one that is synonymous with the name Four Seasons around the globe.”
The master plan for Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences Okinawa, including planning and landscape architecture, is developed by internationally renowned landscape architecture and urban design firm EDSA Inc, and world-renowned Japanese architects Kengo Kuma and Kuniken will serve as joint architects of the project. Kengo Kuma’s work has been internationally acknowledged and he was chosen to design Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium for the 2020 Olympic Games recently; and Kuniken is the largest architecture firm in Okinawa.
The vision is to create a destination that portrays the cultural heritage of Okinawa island along with its natural landscape and resources. The Resort will be anchored by a resident beach club nestled on the east side, where guests as well as the homeowners will be able to access the natural beach. Additionally, the low-density layout of the resort will also allow guests and homeowners to access every amenity by foot, bicycles or golf carts. The resort facilities will include an all-day dining restaurant, specialty dining and lounge, retail shops and recreation facilities, as well as public grounds and gardens.
In response to the final article in the series, Hotels at New Heights, Chelsom Lighting shares its expertise on how it has helped to light the cruise vessels of the future…
Sailing the world’s oceans on one of today’s state of the art cruise ships is just as luxurious and flamboyant as it was on one of the great liners from a hundred years ago. The boundaries of marine interior design, like international hotel design, are constantly being expanded by the world’s top design practices and the scope of things to do on board. The result is that many ships are beginning to surpasses many land based hotels and resorts. It’s no wonder the whole cruise industry is booming with millions of satisfied passengers returning year after year. However, in terms of decorative products which contribute to such amazing interiors, there could hardly be a harsher environment with its pitching seas, salt air and constant motion. It takes a certain kind of design, a certain range of skills, an amount of specialist technical knowledge and a lot of commitment to successfully service such a demanding industry.
Image credit: Crystal Cruise
Product design
The interior designers who create the spectacular interiors of today’s ships are real specialists in their field. They have an overall brief to be extravagant, breath taking, original and awe inspiring and in the case of public areas they can work on a massive scale within the huge spaces which can sometimes transcend three or four decks. Subtle and understated are rarely the design watchwords so there is often the need for sparkle, drama and statement. The product designer must embrace these interior concepts and interpret them so that they function perfectly within the marine environment. Nothing must be allowed to sway about in rough seas, components must not vibrate, everything must be bolted down so it never falls over, weight restrictions must be considered and installation or maintenance must be as simple as possible. For cabins, space is often a driving feature so scaling down individual components whilst still maintaining perfect ambient light levels is important. Switching and dimming options are also usually essential.
Team work
As a specialist marine lighting supplier, we respect our role as just one of the huge teams of contractors ensuring that a cruise ship has stunning interiors with product that functions perfectly over a long period in a challenging environment. Our team work extends to collaborating with interior designers, lighting designers, shipyards, outfitters and cruise operators all around the world. Whereas a hotel stays where it is, there is a date on which a ship sails away and everybody in the team focusses 100 per cent on that date which is final!
Image credit: Regent Seven Seas
Technical
Some of the manufacturing and structural technicalities of marine lighting are testing to say the least but lighting technology itself plays an ever increasing role in cruise interiors. Energy saving light sources are of course mandatory but colour rendering, colour changing, easily controlled dimming and remote switching are all increasingly important and indeed successful. Mostly it’s about creating the most luxurious and inviting ambience but it’s also about ease of lighting control and ease of maintenance. We work as part of the team of marine experts to bring all the lighting requirements to fruition.
Installation
There can be literally thousands of contractors on a ship at any one time when it is in build. Every one of them is working diligently to complete their own task whilst cooperating with all those around them so nothing gets in the way or delays some other part of the process. We have our own specialist and qualified marine installation team who will be on board at the right time to take delivery of our lighting products, assemble on site, install and commission. This on board presence not only allows successful installation but also allows any last minute adjustment or changes which can occur due to the sheer scale and complexity of the working environment.
Chelsom is a 70 year old company with vast experience in the cruise ship sector. Its knowledge of and close relationship with the industry’s specialist interior design practices, shipyards and operators gives us the closest possible understanding of what the industry needs. The company’s own in-house marine specialists in product design, manufacture and installation ensure that it meets those needs. Chelsom is proud to be one of the world’s leading manufacturers of marine lighting today.
Chelsom are one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. If you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
Following a bustling Maison&Objet and Deco Off, interior trends have been trending throughout this week’s headlines. Hamish Kilburn breaks down the top stories of the week…
Whoever thought that January was a soft landing was seriously mistaken – or didn’t work in the hotel design arena. My inbox over the last 25 days has been inundated with press releases from hotel groups announcing their vast expansion plans. This week alone, Melia Hotels International, Nobu Hospitality and Kimpton Hotels all announced dramatic plans to open new luxury properties in new destinations. Suggesting a serious change in travellers’ behaviour, the hotel industry is not the other luxury market that is adapting its strategy to cater towards the modern traveller. Concluding our series, Hotels at New Heights, I spoke to the hotel designers that have turned their heads towards the cruise industry.
Nobu Hospitality, a global luxury lifestyle brand founded by Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro and Meir Teper, has announced its continued global expansion into Warsaw, Poland…
On track to have 20 hotels within its portfolio globally by 2020, Nobu Hotels has announced plans to open Nobu Hotel Warsaw.
That’s right, a hotel in Gothenburg, Sweden, has launched a new policy where the room rate is determined by how much time guests spend surfing on social media…
With the number of social media users worldwide in 2018 reaching a staggering 3.196 billion, up 13 per cent year-on-year according to Smart Insights, it was only a matter of time before hotels would launch schemes in order to help guests reconnect with the world around their screens. With the aim to take this initiative further, a hotel in Gothenburg, Sweden, has actually launched a hotel room where its rates will be determined by how much the guest spends on social media platforms.
With so many interior design trends, it can be difficult to choose a style that fits a particular space best. While most of these trends intertwine, some are undoubtedly more popular than others.
Image caption: Render from Richmond International of Balcony Cabin
To conclude our series, Hotels at New Heights, I investigate why more and more hotel designers are taking to the seas to design the luxury cruise vessels’ suites of the future.
Until February 7, designers, architects, hoteliers and suppliers will be able to purchase early bird tickets for Hotel Designs‘ highly anticipated Q1 networking evening, Meet Up London: 30 Under 30.
Main image credit: Image credit: Seabourn Ovation/Adam Tihany Studio
79 per cent of architects and designers avoid using flame installations in their projects, a study has revealed…
Architects and designers have growing concerns about including flame in their designs, a study has suggested.
The research, which was carried out by Glen Dimplex Heating and Ventilation, revealed that the majority of respondents (79 per cent) said they had concerns when it came to incorporating fire and flame in their projects, despite the fact that they often form centrepieces of design work.
Health and safety was cited as the main concern (46 per cent), followed by energy efficiency (39 per cent) and cost (32 per cent). However, respondents also said if health and safety concerns could be addressed and the right technology was available, 53 per cent would be more inclined to use include fire or flame in projects.
“The research demonstrates that there is a definite appetite in the market for alternative ways of incorporating fire into the design of commercial spaces, especially methods that are safer and more cost-effective,” says Jonathan Smith, product marketing manager – Flame Technology, Glen Dimplex Heating and Ventilation.
“This is something that we are seeing more of in our own business, where the demand for our flame technology and flame effects products is increasing rapidly, giving architects and designers realistic flame options that add to the visual appeal of a space with none of the disadvantages.”
The study surveyed 250 architects and designers across the UK to gauge their opinions on the state of the industry, technology in the design process, and the use of flame in their projects.
The concerns around using fire are consistent with the industry’s overall challenges; architects and designers identified cost reduction (64 per cent), keeping on top of innovation (48 per cent) and health and safety (41 per cent) as their top issues.
The research also highlighted the use of other technologies in the design process with 62 per cent of architects and designs saying that smart technology was already having an impact or would be in the next six months. Almost one-quarter of respondents (24 per cent) said augmented reality would influence the industry within the next 18 months, while 23 per cent said virtual reality would affect it in the next six months. Robotics, 3D modelling and 3D printing, and the use of drones, were also cited as making an impact in the longer term.
Hotel Designs’ would like to know your opinion on whether you would avoid using flame installations in your design because of health and safety factors. Please tweet us @HotelDesigns to have your say.
The state-of-the-art mirrored building, ÖÖD house, offers the chance to instantly create or enhance a hotel or Airbnb business…
The ÖÖD house – a stunning, 18 sq/m mini home clad in mirrored glass which blends to its natural surroundings – has been added to Round Wood of Mayfield’s collection of high end outdoor structures.
Originally envisaged as a “pop up” hotel guest room or Airbnb pad by Estonian company ÖÖD, it is now exclusively distributed and assembled by the timber and landscape specialists across the UK.
The stand-alone living space for both commercial and domestic clients, which also make ideal office spaces, guest accommodation or even yoga studios, blends beautifully into any setting courtesy of the striking insulated glazing that covers the front and sides.
Image credit: Round Wood of Mayfield
Other highlights include eco-friendly thermo treated ash cladding to the rear of the structure, which cleverly conceals a service void, and a beautifully finished interior which offers a studio layout with kitchenette and bathroom as well as air conditioning and LED lighting.
A smaller structure – the ÖÖD room is also available exclusively from Round Wood of Mayfield and offers stand-alone recreational spaces without the cost of shower, kitchen and sleeping facilities.
Round Wood of Mayfield officially launched the ÖÖD house at The Landscape Show last September at London’s Battersea Park, with an example now in situ at Lime Cross Nursery in East Sussex which potential customers can view, or even stay in, before purchasing.
Image credit: Round Wood of Mayfield
The ÖÖD company explains that“ÖÖD allows anyone to jump-start their hospitality business. It quickly enables people to create a living space or start an accommodation business. The outstanding design of our house supports the productivity of your investment.”
“We are really excited to add ÖÖD Houses to our collection as their only UK distributor,” Zac Soudain, director of Round Wood. “It was clear at the launch that these glass-fronted houses really have the wow factor and could be used for many purposes including guest accommodation to garden rooms to offices… they have been generating a lot of excitement.
“Where they really come into their own is in a rural or natural landscape such as where our example ÖÖD house can be viewed at Lime Cross Nursery – it has been kept there since the launch so potential customers can try before they buy.
“For anyone in the hotel and hospitality industry, these ÖÖD houses can provide some very luxurious and novel guest rooms with a fantastic view of the landscape.”
The ÖÖD house, which is available to purchase from £55,000, is easy to install and can be delivered on a lorry before being craned into place, or built on site if access is an issue.
The ÖÖD room is available from £45,000 and comes with air conditioning and standard LED lighting.
For more information please contact Round Wood of Mayfield on 01435 860260 or visit our website www.roundwood.com
Round Wood of Mayfield is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
Outlook for the luxury boutique brand, Kimpton Hotels, is at its strongest in its 38-year history with more than 25 hotels under development…
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced plans to open more than 25 Kimpton Hotels properties across 20 new global destinations including Mexico City, Paris, Barcelona, Bali and Shanghai, in the next three to five years.
Founded in 1981 in San Francisco by Bill Kimpton, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants’ heartfelt approach to hospitality has translated to unique, design-led hotels across city centers, beachside resorts, mountain getaways, and more. Since acquiring the brand in 2015, IHG has driven Kimpton’s global growth beyond the U.S. IHG has opened the first Kimpton® hotel in the Caribbean, Kimpton® Seafire Resort + Spa in Grand Cayman; the first hotel outside of the Americas, Kimpton® De Witt in Amsterdam and debuted in the UK with a flagship property for the brand, Kimpton® Fitzroy London. The brand continues to grow and is set to make its debut in a suite of new markets around the world from Germany to Grenada, Indonesia, Spain and China.
“With IHG’s scale and network of owner relationships, we’ve unlocked the global growth of Kimpton Hotels & Resorts,” said Elie Maalouf, Chief Executive Officer, Americas, IHG. “We’ve seen incredible interest from hotel owners around the world, as well as from guests who can now experience the heartfelt service Kimpton is so famous for in new and exciting destinations. We have flagship hotels now open in London and Amsterdam, a series of fantastic hotels slated to open this year including our first in Asia, and a growing pipeline of projects in key markets around the world.”
Poised for a Spring 2019 unveiling, Kimpton Da An is an urban sanctuary in the heart of Taipei, bridging the historic ZhongShan and DaTong districts with the modern, upscale Xinyl district. The hotel’s interior design will celebrate the area’s heritage with artistic modernity and traditional craftsmanship. Expect lush botanicals, light-filled spaces and a restaurant – The Tavernist, offers playful modern cuisine led by former Noma Chef, James Sharman.
Opening in Spring 2019, Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel will consist of seven interconnected Georgian-style townhouses that blend traditional glamour with modern-day Scotland. Overlooking a beautiful private garden square, located in the heart of the city center, everything from the glass-topped central courtyard to the locally-loved Middle Eastern restaurant provides an ideal haven in the Scottish capital.
Marking Kimpton’s second Caribbean resort and slated to open in early 2020, Kimpton Kawana Bay will be a 220-room luxury hillside retreat located between tropical rainforest cliffs and the world-renowned Grand Anse Beach. All rooms feature spectacular ocean views and a number of suites will have private pools. The name of the resort itself, Kawana Bay, pays homage to the area’s native leatherback turtles, named “Kawana” – a fixture on the Spice Island.
The natural beauty of the Nusa Dua coastline and lush volcanic hillsides make for a perfect backdrop to Kimpton Bali, opening in 2020. Here, 50 luxury villas serve as a lifestyle sanctuary that will embrace local Balinese culture while delivering a genuine experience on the Island of the Gods.
These openings reflect the opportunity across the boutique hotel sector, which is among the fastest growing in the industry. Together with Hotel Indigo®, IHG’s boutique portfolio totals almost 170 hotels globally, with nearly 120 more hotels in the development pipeline.
Main image credit: Kimpton Hotels. Photography: Laure Joliet
Early bird tickets are now available for Meet Up London: 30 Under 30, which this year will run with the theme 30 Under 30…
Until February 7, designers, architects, hoteliers and suppliers will be able to purchase early bird tickets for Hotel Designs‘ highly anticipated Q1 networking evening, Meet Up London: 30 Under 30.
The event, which is being exclusively styled by Minotti London and will take place in the showroom in Fitzrovia, will help to further bridge the gap between designers, architects, hoteliers and key-industry suppliers. “We hope that by launching the ’30 Under 30′ element to the evening that the event will become more than just a networking event for industry leaders,” said editor of Hotel DesignsHamish Kilburn. “We are excited to shine the spotlight on the rising stars of industry, to the individuals who are fast climbing the ranks to push international hotel design into a new and exciting chapter. This is therefore the perfect event for individuals from across the industry to gather to help further bridge the gap between designers, architects, hoteliers and key-industry suppliers of all ages.”
Early bird ticket prices
Suppliers: £99 + VAT (£150 + VAT after early bird offer expires after February 7) Designers, hoteliers and architects: £10 + VAT (£20 + VAT after early bird offer expires after February 7)
Venue: Minotti Showroom, 77 Margaret St, Fitzrovia, London, W1W 8SY Date: March 28, 2019
How to apply for the 30 Under 30 list
If you are/or know of a deserving designer, architect or hotelier who is 30 years old or younger, please send in your application/nomination to: h.kilburn@forumevents.co.uk with the following:
200-400 word bio, which acknowledges achievements to date and why you/he/she deserves to be recognised
Name of company you/he/she currently works for
Profile image
The final 30 will be confirmed to attend the event with Hotel Designs‘ compliments and the winners will be notified in due course ahead of the networking evening.
How to attend Meet Up London: 30 Under 30
If you are a supplier to the hospitality industry looking to attend the event, contact Zoe Guerrier on 01992 374059 or on z.guerrier@forumevents.co.uk – or click here to book your place.
If you are an interior designer or architect and would like to attend the Hotel Designs Meet Up London: 30 Under 30, click here to confirm your attendance.
Taking place on March 28 at Minotti Showroom London, 30 Under 30 Meet Up will bridge the age gap between interior designers, hoteliers, architects and industry suppliers…
With the aim to recognise and celebrate the rising stars within the industry who are fast climbing the ranks, Hotel Designs has announced that its London Meet Up event on March 28 will run with a 30 Under 30 theme.
Image credit: Minotti London
Following the success of The Brit List 2018, the exclusive networking event will be styled by premium furniture brand Minotti, which will host the evening at its luxurious London Showroom. “We are delighted that, by becoming the exclusive style partner for Meet Up London: 30 Under 30, we are able to support and celebrate young talent within this creative industry,” said Anke Summerhill, Managing Director and Creative Director, Minotti London. “Hosting the networking evening at our London showroom further allows us to connect with designers, architects and industry suppliers of all ages – and we thoroughly look forward to welcoming both leading practitioners as well as the next rising stars in hotel design to our London hub.”
Designed to bridge the gap between designers, hoteliers and architects of all ages, the event will officially unveil the 30 Under 30 and will – from start to finish – have a clear focus on giving young designers, architects and hoteliers a platform to amplify their work.
Venue: Minotti Showroom, 77 Margaret St, Fitzrovia, London, W1W 8SY Date: March 28, 2019
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How to apply for the 30 Under 30 list
If you are/or know of a deserving designer, architect or hotelier who is 30 years old or younger, please send in your application/nomination to: h.kilburn@forumevents.co.uk with the following:
200-400 word bio, which acknowledges achievements to date and why you/he/she deserves to be recognised
Name of company you/he/she currently works for
Profile image
The final 30 will be confirmed to attend the event with Hotel Designs’ compliments and the winners will be notified in due course ahead of the networking evening.
How to attend Meet Up London: 30 Under 30
If you are a supplier to the hospitality industry looking to attend the event, contact Zoe Guerrier on 01992 374059 or on z.guerrier@forumevents.co.uk – or click here to book your place.
If you are an interior designer or architect and would like to attend the Hotel Designs Meet Up London: 30 Under 30, click here to confirm your attendance.
To conclude our series, Hotels at New Heights, Hamish Kilburn investigates why more and more hotel designers are taking to the seas to design the luxury cruise vessels’ suites of the future…
Somewhere between Myanmar and Phuket, in the Andaman Sea, my perception of luxury cruises shifted from that of a cliché to feeling very much part of an exclusive club. In what felt like a blink of an eye on board Seabourn Sojourn, while watching an unpolluted starry sky meet the horizon, I realised that I was in my own little ‘one-off experience’ moment, which was totally unmatched by any hotel on the planet – no matter how luxurious.
In just a handful of days, our short voyage took us to four countries until we eventually arrived in the bright lights of Singapore. We docked just in time to attend the naming ceremony of Seabourn’s latest ship, the Encore. With interiors imagined by award-winning designer Adam Tihany, who is best known for working on hotel projects such as The Beverly hills Hotel, Mandarin Oriental London and Four Seasons Dubai Financial Centre, it was clear that the luxury cruise liner was daring to be different in order to cater to the growing demand for luxury travel.
Seabourn Encore/Ovation
From impeccable finishes and bespoke fittings to the hand-picked art, the Encore was the beginning of a new design direction for the Seabourn brand with a few elements remaining the same, such as the iconic hot tub positioned on the bow. Tihany’s sharp vision provided comfort and familiarity of an on-board living room. The atrium included an elliptical double-helix staircase that connects seven floors and was complete with a six-storey art installation that, again, reiterated the design inspiration of Seabourn’s effortless luxury style.
Image credit: Seabourn Ovation/Adam Tihany Studio
Ever since then, the industry has evolved and expanded as a result of travellers being prepared to go further to explore beyond just one beach, city or a destination. In 2017, a total of 25.8 million passengers boarded cruise ships to travel, which is 4.9 million more passengers than in 2012. With this great demand comes great responsibility. The leading luxury cruise liners as we knew it had to, with a splash of irony, charter themselves into new waters in order to seek inspirational interior designers to work on creating their up-market future fleet of ships.
“‘Experience’ has become the buzzword for the hospitality industry. Guests are no longer focused on traditional expectations but are looking for interior spaces that have been tailored to their own unique interests and aspirations,” explained Tihany when discussing how the latest design-led cruises are changing the hospitality arena. “Whether it be within the comfort of a suite or through a transformative dining experience, the changes within the cruise world bring to light a current momentum I call the Age of Design, which continues to move the dial in all areas of hospitality.”
Image credit: Seabourn Ovation/Adam Tihany Studio
While Tihany continued to wave his interior designer wand on Seabourn’s luxurious fleet, with the launch of Ovation last year, other celebrated hotel designers were also receiving ambitious briefs in order to take luxury cruise ship design to new heights.
P&O Britannia / P&O Iona
Richmond International became the first interior design firm to be selected to help reimagine the interiors for P&O Cruises directly because of its impressive luxury hotel portfolio. Director Terry McGillicuddy was given the somewhat unusual task to design the entire interiors for the P&O Britannia vessel, which took its maiden voyage in 2015. “This opened up opportunities for a whole-ship holistic integrated design approach,” he explained. “And allowed us to integrate a consistent design thread whilst maintaining the individuality and integrity of each space.”
“Richmond loved this challenge after decades in land based hospitality design; this has become a huge part of our business.” – Terry McGillicuddy, Director, Richmond International.
Despite the firm having led interior design projects such as The Beaumont, Langham London and Sandy Lane in Barbados, the team were required to adapt their design processes in order to comply with certain marine regulations, as McGillicuddy explains: “We needed to learn the specifics to Marine Works Regulations and certifications, respecting International Safety of Life at Seas (SOLAS) rules, and a whole new ‘ship’ language.
Image caption/credit: Render from Richmond International of Balcony Cabin on board P&O Iona
“It was also crucial to understand the differences between the interior fit out process of the ship, which is a metal construction ‘panel’ based system throughout. We had to appreciate the limitations in terms of space constrictions and minimal ceiling heights, and design the interior around these issues.
“Due to restrictions on weight and different fire regulations, material specification was also a challenge. We looked at new suppliers and manufacturing processes, which have the approved IMO certification for marine use.
“All of these new parameters were exciting to learn whilst respecting the very tight turnaround times in the build program. Richmond loved this challenge after decades in land based hospitality design; this has become a huge part of our business.”
Following the success of P&O Britannia, Richmond International, together with interior design and architecture firm Jestico + Whiles, were awarded the opportunity to design the interiors for the new ship, Iona. Expected to launch in 2020, with the distinct aim to “bring the outside in,” Iona is expected to feel more like a large resort than a conventional cruise ship. With a glass dome roof and spacious layout throughout, the vessel will be flooded with natural light. “Guests are now expecting more state-of-the-art vessels, exclusive destinations and authentic ‘memorable’ experiences; interior design must respond to and support these demands,” said McGillicuddy. “This can result in cruise ships evolving to a more ‘resort’ like experience and the design more focused on the deployment markets or passenger origins. This can bring in local and cultural design requirements which we can leverage from our hotel heritage.”
Straddling both interior design and architecture, Jestico + Whiles, unveiled its design for a new atrium concept on board P&O Cruises’ next generation of ship, Iona. The design of the soaring triple-height Grand Atrium is described as the heart of the vessel, complete with panoramic views across ever-changing waters. “The sea becomes the focus of the triple-height space; the sinuous curves are shaped around it, framing and complementing the views to the outside, said James Dilley, Director of Jestico + Whiles. “Despite the challenge of such a large space, we have worked closely with P&O Cruises to make the Grand Atrium harmonious with the separate venues, making the space both open and intimate.”
Image caption: Render courtesy of Jestico + Whiles showing the large atrium inside P&O Cruises’ Iona
An elegant, arcing staircase of Italian marble with a polished, filigree silver balustrade serves as the centrepiece to the space, evoking the glamour of the iconic cruise ships of the 20th century. Designed as a piece of sculptural architecture, its curving form guides guests on a journey through the decks offering changing views and perspectives of the sea and activity within, encouraging everyone to explore the variety of destinations on board.
Celebrity Edge
Following its maiden voyage on December 9 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, all eyes seem to be focused on the Celebrity Edge cruise ship. The 1,467 staterooms, including 176 suites, on board have been designed by the award-winning luxury interior designer Kelly Hoppen. In addition to the laid-back luxurious accommodation, Hoppen also designed the Retreat Sundeck and The Retreat Lounge and Luminae, which is the suite-class restaurant.
“Celebrity Edge is definitely a ship of the future – nothing like this has ever been done in this industry before. I was so honoured to be part of something this groundbreaking and it was a challenge for me to do something that no one had ever done before,” explained Hoppen. “The craftsmanship and quality that Celebrity Cruises follows is second to none and their reputation for innovations in the industry is already renowned so it was an incredibly exciting project to work on.”
Hoppen’s stylish interiors proved so popular that they are now being rolled out across the fleet as part of a $500 million investment called the Celebrity Revolution.
The architect on the project, Tom Wright, whose impressive portfolio includes projects as grand as the Burj Al Arab, pushed design boundaries by unveiling the world’s first cantilevered deck on the vessel. The elevating deck, or Magic Carpet as it is being called, can move up and down the ship’s exterior with the ability to dock at four separate levels. The concept of its interiors, designed by Hoppen, transforms into many settings. When it is positioned at Deck two, for example, it becomes a luxury entrance foyer. However, when it moves to Deck 16, it becomes a high-dining experience.
Image credit: Designed by architect Tom Wright, the Magic Carpet is the world’s first cantilevered deck
Design studio Jouin Manku also worked on the interior spaces inside Celebrity Edge. On board, the studio imagined The Grand Plaza, which is the Main Dining Atrium as well as the connecting circulation spaces. Designers Sanjit Manku and Patrick Jouin came to the Celebrity Edge project with a sense of excitement and wonder, and the desire to capture the magic of travelling by sea. Inspired by the glamour and adventure of the pre-war era of travel, they sought to transform this experience for the 21st century.
Meanwhile, the three-storey Eden bar and restaurant stretches across the stern of the vessel and is complete with striking spaces of dark greens, brass and palms.
Aside from the water slides, zip-wires and other sensational headline-grabbing features on board the giants of the seas, there is a larger picture. With the cruise industry now leaning on leading hotel designers to imagine their future fleets, the lanes between luxury hotel design and luxury cruise ship design are coming together. In August of last year, the cruise industry hit new records, reporting a total of 113 ships on the orderbook to be introduced between now and 2027, with Seabourn, Princess, TUI and Lindblad among them. With the demand for cruise ships at an all time high, more and more award-winning hotel designers are seeing this market as one of ample opportunity, taking international hotel design on its maiden voyage for an unforgettable journey.
Throughout this series, Hotels at New Heights, we have investigated how other luxury markets are working to design their future territories. The aim of this series has been to understand how hotel designers and architects can continue to challenge conventional design in order to help lead the hospitality market with clear innovation and thinking outside the box.
To read article one, Hotels at New Heights: Suites in the Sky, click here. To read article two, Hotels at New Heights: Rooms on rails, click here.
If you would like to collaborate on future series’ and articles that are similar to these, please tweet us @HotelDesigns
To cater to millenials’ evolving lifestyle, Spain’s largest hotel brand, Meliá Hotels International, has announced a brand launch for INNSiDE in 2019…
At the Spanish International Tourism Fair, FITFUR, Melia Hotels Internaitonal announced that it will rebrand INNSiDE to bring a stronger leisure and wellness offering to its portfolio.
With the reinvention of INNSiDE, the Spanish hotel brand is preparing to adapt its business strategy to captivate the younger generation of business and leisure travellers, taking the brand from urban into resort destinations.
Meliá Hotels International is the only group out of the 20 leading global hotel companies that was initially founded in leisure, and 50 per cent of its business remains in the resort sector. The group has recognised an opportunity to target millennials in the mid-scale lifestyle category by expanding into resort-led destinations, where the lines between work and leisure are becoming more fluid. Consumers are looking for flexibility and freedom when they travel, and ultimately hotel brands that fit seamlessly with their lifestyle.
“Relaunching in 2019, INNSiDE by Meliá will offer a range of design-led lifestyle and resort hotels.”
INNSiDE will boast 22 hotels, with plans to expand into resort locations in Europe and Indonesia, including Fuerteventura, Mallorca and Bali, as well as urban locations in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Relaunching in 2019, INNSiDE by Meliá will offer a range of design-led lifestyle and resort hotels, to give guests more freedom to relax and explore, whether they are travelling for work or leisure. The brand will focus its strategy on sustainability, holistic bleisure, music and local culture, to introduce initiatives that target millennials. The properties will provide a space and place that embraces the local culture and creates environments where guests can work, workout, rest and play. To encourage them to discover new neighbourhoods, guests will have access to INNSiDE city guides, with local sights and wellness tips.
INNSiDE by Meliá is set to be a flagship for sustainability for Meliá Hotels International. The new brand will use recyclable materials throughout properties, work with hyper-local suppliers and guarantee no single-use plastic. The launch of the refreshed INNSiDE at FITUR features #TheArtofECO, an art installation by sustainable Spanish artist Jorge Penadés. The installation has been created entirely from plastics collected from guests at INNSiDE Palma Bosque, supplemented by additional plastics contributed by attendees of FITUR.
The lifestyle hotels will provide spaces to disconnect and rest body and mind, with state-of-the-art fitness suites, the latest digital fitness software and on-site swimming pools. Daily Yoga classes will be available at beach locations and weekly at urban locations. DJs will play throughout the lobby and poolside, from noon to night.
Rooms will be renovated to provide cosy in-room amenities, including bathrobes, slippers and flip flops, a luxurious coffee machine, complimentary minibar, with fresh juices and local beer. Smeg fridges will be available to Superior+ guests, packed full of healthy treats, drinks and snacks. Superior+ rooms will also have high-end sound systems, complimentary streaming services and complimentary bike rental to encourage guests to explore the local area. Guests will be able to relax in a hammock in resort locations or a hanging chair in urban destinations.
To read Hotel Designs’ exclusive interview with the Executive Vice-Chairman & CEO of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, click here.
Main image credit: Meliá Hotels International/INNSiDE
Selected by colour trend experts at the Pantone Color Institute, Living Coral is described as an ‘animating and life-affirming coral hue’. As with such announcements and the subjective nature of colour choice, it has received mixed reviews. Amongst the debate and deliberation, the name ‘living coral’ and its wider social commentary on global warming and the state of our diminishing coral reefs has divided opinion. It’s certainly struck a nerve, with some in full support and others slating it as ‘another marketing ploy’.
Whatever your thoughts on the new Pantone Colour of the Year, there’s no getting away from its warm tones bringing energy yet calmness to a space. It’s buoyant, positive and light-hearted. When used in interior design, PANTONE Living Coral rugs, blankets and upholsteries can create a warm and nurturing feeling, while wall colourings and decorative accessories add a dramatic pop of colour.
The vivid sunset hue works well in monochrome schemes and finds a dynamic partnership with blue, reflecting coral’s harmonious relationship with the sea. In the home, it is complemented by Hamilton’s decorative wiring accessories in Satin Chrome and Satin Stainless finishes, whose metallic and reflective tones link to water and bring extra life and sparkle to the on-trend colour.
In addition to the satin chrome and stainless-steel finishes, Satin Brass and Hamilton’s cost-effective white plastic finish in the Hartland CFX design, create crisp, contemporary interiors. For a more coordinated alternative, Hamilton’s Paintables range allows you to exactly match the Pantone as a plate finish, with this option available in Hartland CFX or Sheer CFX.
With a wide range of designs and finishes, along with functionality to suit the modern, connected household or high-end hotel – including dual 2.4A USB double switched socket plates – Hamilton’s electrical wiring accessories provide the perfect finishing touch for any interior scheme, whatever the shade or design.
Hamilton litestat, which celebrated a major milestone in 2018 when the business reached its 50th anniversary, is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
Duravit launches new furniture range specifically designed with small hotel bathrooms in mind…
A comfortable bathroom doesn’t need to be spacious. Creativity and the right products can ensure additional storage space and create a hotel for everyday bathroom items.
Vanity units are true classics and can be found in almost every bathroom. These handy pieces of furniture mean that bathroom utensils of all shapes and sizes can be stored in drawers or practical compartments. Organiser systems inside drawers not only keep things tidy, they look great.
Image credit: Duravit
Mirror cabinets are a real eye-catcher. Even shelves can work miracles when it comes to storage. Not only do they have the effect of creating space, they enable apparently unusable areas to become useful. Wall areas are frequently overlooked or unused. Yet, wall-mounted shelves can create practical space for bottles, tubes or towels and also be used for decorative purposes.
Mirror cabinets offer an additional light source and give the visual impression of a larger, more open room. They are also the perfect place for storing all manner of essential beauty accessories without dominating the room and as such are the ultimate all-rounder in the bathroom.
Duravit is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
With Instagram becoming the most popular social media channel for sharing and absorbing inspiration, here are the most tagged interior trends on Insta…
With so many interior design trends, it can be difficult to choose a style that fits a particular space best. While most of these trends intertwine, some are undoubtedly more popular than others.
Since its launch in 2010, Instagram has become one the largest photo sharing social media networks. Along with Pinterest, this is where interior designers and architects tend to share colour schemes, ideas and projects.
Following our exclusive series, Designing Instagrammable, here are the top interior design trends that are trending ‘The Gram’.
That’s right, a hotel in Gothenburg, Sweden, has launched a new policy where the room rate is determined by how much time guests spend surfing on social media…
With the number of social media users worldwide in 2018 reaching a staggering 3.196 billion, up 13 per cent year-on-year according to Smart Insights, it was only a matter of time before hotels would launch schemes in order to help guests reconnect with the world around their screens. With the aim to take this initiative further, a hotel in Gothenburg, Sweden, has actually launched a hotel room where its rates will be determined by how much the guest spends on social media platforms.
The Check Out Suite in Hotel Bellora is a unique hotel room that rewards visitors for staying away from their screens, allowing families to spend time with each other instead. The room is equipped with The Skärmfri™ (Screen-free) smart lamp, which calculates how much you pay for the room based on how much time you spend on social media.
“The price starts at 0:- (sek), so if guests don’t use your screens at all, their stay will be free of charge.”
When guests connect their screen to the room’s WiFi, the lamp keeps track of how much time they spend on Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, Twitter and YouTube. The light start glowing white and when the recommended time for recreational screen time of 30 minutes (according to studies) the lamp turns red.
Image credit: The Check Out Suite, Hotel Bellora
“We’re now taking our ‘Screen Help’ concept further in different ways. The Skärmfri™ lamp was one way to help, but now we have taken it even further and converted screen time into a currency that rewards a healthy digital life,” said Lisa Höglund, Head of Communications at Länsförsäkringar, a leading Swedish insurance company that works to improve digital health and social sustainability for individuals and families – in collaboration with Hotel Bellora.
The price starts at 0:- (sek), so if guests don’t use your screens at all, their stay will be free of charge. When using the social platforms and the lamp starts switching from white to red, the price begins to increase. When guests have reached the maximum amount of recreational screentime, they will have reached the full price rate for the room.
Have your say (ironically) on social media. Are hotels within their rights to alter the charge of a room based on how much the guest is playing on their phone, or this one step too far in order to change guests’ behavior with social media? Tweet us your thoughts on @HotelDesigns
Nobu Hospitality, a global luxury lifestyle brand founded by Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro and Meir Teper, has announced its continued global expansion into Warsaw, Poland…
On track to have 20 hotels within its portfolio globally by 2020, Nobu Hotels has announced plans to open Nobu Hotel Warsaw.
The hotel, which is expected to merge tradition with contemporary design, will be situated in the heart of the historic city. With 120 guestrooms, expansive meeting and event spaces, fitness center and signature Nobu Restaurant, Nobu Hotel Warsaw will be an integrated mix of luxurious hotel and energised living spaces.
“As we enter 2019, this is our newest hotel in Europe and the start of an exciting future partnership,” said Trevor Horwell, Chief Executive Officer of Nobu Hotels. “We are truly proud to announce Nobu Hotel Warsaw to our growing Nobu Hotel and Restaurant family. This takes our hotel portfolio to 17 hotels underpinning our strategy to carve out our own niche whilst staying true to our brand and loyal Nobu customer.”
“The city of Warsaw has been ranked as the seventh greatest emerging market in the world and continues to evolve as a vibrant leisure destination.”
Nobu Hotel’s first Polish property is slated to open in Q1 2020 and will occupy a new building located at Wilcza Street, designed by the Polish architectural firm, Medusa Group, and will also encompass the existing Hotel Rialto. The design refurbishment will be a collaborative effort between Medusa Group and Californian-based, Studio PCH. The new building will see a transformative architectural design for Warsaw, blending with the original Rialto building.
Image credit: Nobu Warsaw/Studio PCH
Warsaw is the cultural heart of Poland, and one of the country’s most dynamic cities. With a booming business community, the city has been ranked as the seventh greatest emerging market in the world and continues to evolve as a vibrant leisure destination.
Named as one of luxury’s 25 most innovative brands by Robb Report, Nobu Hospitality is ranked among an elite section of global brands that is fast expanding its luxury arm across the world. The next anticipated opening from the brand is Nobu Hotel Los Cabos, which is being designed by both WATG and Studio PCH.
With the city of Concord, New Hampshire, being in the middle of a cultural renaissance, The Hotel Concord opens as the city’s first upscale boutique hotel…
The Hotel Concord, the city of Concord’s first upscale boutique hotel, opened in August 2018 with the aim to become a cultural hub of the city with a striking design vision. The hotel has now opened all areas of the hotel following the completion of the top-floor guestrooms.
The 38-room independent hotel brings the high-end hotel experience to the heart of historic downtown Concord. Located on the fourth and sixth floors of the Capital Commons building, the hotel features floor-to-ceiling windows, some of which include balconies and unique views of the New Hampshire Capitol building and newly redesigned Main Street.
Each guestroom is a different shape and size offering each guest a distinctive luxury experience, with high-tech amenities like state-of-the-art climate control systems, wall mounted flat screen televisions, high-speed internet and Amazon Echo Dots. The spacious rooms are sound-proofed and include numerous high-end features such as luxury bed linens and bathrobes, California-style closets, mini fridges and well-appointed oversized bathrooms.
“As we were designing the hotel, we to create a unique space that reflects the character and charm of the city.”
The welcoming lobby is designed to be a place where guests can gather and relax, with a lounge and The Lobbyist bar, fireplace and light breakfast served each morning. Executive lounges, function rooms, on-site restaurant, 24-hour gym and 24-hour concierge service aim to provide guests of the Hotel Concord with all their travel needs during their stay.
Image caption/credit: The lobby of The Hotel Concord
“This is not your ‘cookie-cutter’ style hotel where one room is indistinguishable from another,” said Michael Simchik, owner of the Capital Commons building. “As we were designing the hotel, we to create a unique space that reflects the character and charm of the city.”
Located just an hour north of Boston, the Concord has seen a growth in development and cultivation of the local arts scene over the past decade. The recently completed redevelopment of Main Street added amenities and a more walkable downtown for visitors of the many boutiques, shops, restaurants and cafes. The Capital Commons building, which was one of the first redevelopments, also houses the Red River Theatres, a three-screen arthouse cinema featuring award-winning documentaries, independent films, an art gallery and private events.
Leading bathroom manufacturer Kaldewei was chosen for the luxury bathrooms in the The Capital Kempinski Hotel Singapore…
The five-star Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore, in the heart of the city, offers a magnificent ambiance from check in to check out as a result of dynamic design vision.
The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore seamlessly combines vintage architecture with modern design. The historic facilities of the former Capitol and the Victorian Stamford House were masterly converted by Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Richard Meier and the prestigious Jaya International Design – with focus on maintaining the value of the two historically iconic structures. The result is an architectural masterpiece that offers its guests glamorously appointed guestrooms and suites with a wealth of other highlights – from Singapore’s first and only outdoor salt water pool through to the hotel’s own confectionery.
Image caption/credit: The Kaldewei Meisterstueck Centro Duo Oval bath in The Capitol Kempinski Hotel, Singapore
As well as the guestrooms and suites, each bathroom of the hotel has been carefully furnished with exquisite materials and exclusive design. 142 guestrooms within the hotel feature the freestanding Kaldewei Meisterstueck Centro Duo Oval bath, a product which has been lavished with multiple awards for its pioneering design for promising – and delivering – the ultimate bathing experience. The freestanding bath made of Kaldewei steel enamel stands out with its aesthetic style and unique material properties. Both the bath and its panelling are made entirely of steel enamel. The resulting seamless finish offers flawless perfection for an exquisite look that is exceptionally durable and easy to clean – a combination satisfying the high standards of both the guests and management of The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore. The outstanding design and excellent quality of the elegant products make Kaldewei the perfect partner for international high-end hotels – whether privately managed establishments in the luxury segment or premium hotel chains.
Kaldewei is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
Anthology launches wallcoverings Volume 6, a evocative collection of eight statement wallcoverings inspired by brutalist architecture and organic land forms for SS19…
Anthology has presented volume 06, a stunning collection of wallcoverings inspired by industrial spaces, fabricated walls and the trend for polished natural and man-made surfaces, apposed with soft colours and delicate, feminine accents. Innovative production techniques have been used throughout with the Anthology studio contrasting plaster, concrete, burnished and hammered metals alongside polished, raw and aged facades.
“Anthology Wallcoverings 06 is an expression of how natural and manmade forms work together to create something quite exceptional,” said Linda Thacker from the Anthology studio. “We wanted to focus on how these forms change over time and how their interaction with man modifies them further. By using materials such as poured concrete alongside bespoke techniques, we have created a compendium of organic textures, juxtaposed with how man’s involvement impacts on an element’s overall look.”
“Embosses and embellishments add a luxurious textural detail to this eye-catching collection.”
Oozing international glamour, Anthology Wallcoverings 06 comprises of eight wallcoverings, manufactured using the most technically advanced machines and state of the art production methods. Embosses and embellishments add a luxurious textural detail to this eye-catching collection which works in harmony with Anthology’s range of fabrics.
Image credit: Anthology
A wide array of colours has been used across the collection with names such as Limestone, Pumice, Ruby, Gold, Aventurine and Quartz chosen to reflect how minerals and natural surfaces contrast and complement with the metal ores and precious stones found in mined materials that shape our environment and habitats.
Continuing with the collection theme, Anthology’s design names include Anthropic, which represents the interaction of man in the making of fabricated surfaces and the impact time has on materials, Metamorphosis, emulating the geological changes impacting on rock and stone and Pozzolana, one of the constituent parts of plaster and concrete.
Walking the tightrope to find the luxury balance, Director of Ponsford Ltd Angus Ponsford explains how designers can achieve a dynamically designed hotel that is also practical…
Flawless aesthetics are fundamental to creating the impression of opulence in any luxury hotel interior. However, it’s easy to become overindulgent in your interior choices, subsequently sacrificing the function of a space – and of course, these elements are just as vital when striving for the very best customer experience in any hotel.
Here’s how designers can pull off the ultimate balancing act by ensuring a hotel remains both practical and stylish through smart and considered design choices.
Less is often more
When it comes to interior design, less is often more – and this is certainly the case when it comes to hotel decor. Take the luxury resort of Le Massif, for example, which has officially opened its minimalist doors in the Italian ski resort of Courmayeur.
While there is an understandable temptation to be gluttonous when approaching luxury interiors, taking a contrasting minimalist angle can achieve the desired effect with an equally great success rate. As the hotel industry continues to evolve to meet customer expectations that far surpass a place to simply rest your head, a striking minimalist interior is an effective way of creating a luxury ‘wow factor’ from the moment the guest walks through the door.
What’s more, this is often at great practical advantage too. From the foyer to the guestrooms, de-cluttering these areas will obviously create more space, thus providing a more accommodating room fit for large quantities of guests and baggage.
There are various different approaches you can take to incorporate a minimalist design in your hotel without it stripping away the personality in order to successfully create a luxury interior that values both aesthetics and function.
Image Credit: Italian Hospitality Collection
Use statement furniture (sparingly)
Over-decorating a room can easily create a sense of claustrophobic chaos within interiors. Instead, designers should be smart and sparing with decorative items in communal and private areas.
In the lobby or reception room, a striking piece of large wall art or a complementary grandiose lighting feature is enough to add a touch of elegance to the space without sacrificing your simplistic style.
For guestrooms, suites and penthouses, furniture can also create striking statements. From striking wardrobes to fashionable yet practical occasional tables made for a plethora of uses, pick an item or two that will optimise the guest experience while maintaining a consistent stylish aesthetic.
Invest in easy-clean luxury materials
When taking a minimalist approach to interior design, its important to let the space do most of the talking. As such, investing in high-quality materials with opulent connotations is an effective way of conveying luxury in any hotel space. This is particularly true in the communal areas, where guests’ first impressions are often formed. With practicality at the forefront, designers should be smart with material choices and pick those that require minimal maintenance and are easy to clean – ensuring a high-quality guest experience in all areas.
Stone is perhaps the most obvious choice, varying the type you use by its function and aesthetic benefit. For example, marble would be an elegant addition to any reception or lobby area, while picking up little dirt from the consistent traffic of guests leaving and arriving each day. Furthermore, using granite for worktops in breakfast dining areas will maintain a sleek look, all while minimising the post-dining cleaning efforts that are sure to benefit hotel staff and guests alike.
In the best luxury hotel examples, aestheticism and practicality balance effectively to create an unforgettable guest experience. Following these design tips will ensure your hotel boasts function and opulence, leading to a five-star stay from beginning to end.
Entering a new chapter, Ritz-Carlton Istanbul completes multi-million-dollar renovation…
The Ritz-Carlton Istanbul has completed a two-year, multi-million-dollar renovation across all guestrooms, ballrooms and events spaces. The hotel marks the completion of its refresh with the unveiling of The Ritz-Carlton Suite, which is being dubbed the hotel’s crown jewel featuring more than 2,500 square feet of space and some of the most spectacular views of Istanbul.
Located on the 14th floor, the suite features floor-to-ceiling windows providing magnificent views across the Bosphorus. The space was re-imagined by well-known Turkish architect, Hakan Yürüoğlu, who is also responsible for the redevelopment of all banqueting areas including the stunning ballroom.
In keeping with the other 243 guestrooms, gold and copper hues are combined with highlights of rich blue to reflect the rich history of the Ottoman Empire. A unique mix of colours and materials have been used to emphasise the grandeur of the city, including stone, wood and metals that showcase the dynamism of Istanbul and the Bosphorus views.
Image caption: Ritz-Carlton Suite living room
Comprising a luxuriously appointed King bedroom and separate living room, guests staying in The Ritz-Carlton Suite can enjoy the ultimate indulgence thanks to a spa hot tub with views overlooking the Bosphorus as well as two full marble bathrooms with rain showers and soaking tubs. Other amenities include complimentary access to the exclusive, well-appointed Club Lounge and a 42-inch flat-screen IPTV. For guests travelling in a larger group, The Ritz-Carlton Suite provides flexibility with three connecting rooms available to accommodate up to eight guests.
Image caption: Entrance of the Ritz Carlton Suite
Located in the heart of the city of Istanbul, the hotel now stands as one of the city’s most elegant hotels. Set against the backdrop of stunning Bosphorus shores, the hotel provides a perfect blend of culture, hospitality and sophistication at the heart of the world’s crossroads between Asia and Europe.
Elsewhere in the hotel, the Lobby Lounge is the perfect spot for an afternoon tea and Bleu Lounge Terrace for cocktails offering unrivalled views of the Bosphorus. The hotel also features a wellness centre, featuring a rich menu of facial and total body treatments, an indoor pool and an authentic Turkish Hammam. A rarity in the city, the hotel is the only property to offer an open-air spa with treatments overlooking the Bosphorus.
The hotel compliments Istanbul’s growing new-found reputation as the ‘capital of cool’. The city has seen a raft of hip new hotels arriving in the neighbourhood, galleries and flight routes – including the new $25 billion Istanbul Airport – that are leading the city’s renaissance ensuring a growing demand for more stylish accommodations in this city. The Ritz-Carlton Istanbul now stands among them as a leading luxury hotel in one of the brand’s 30 destinations in which it operates in.
The desire to make Evola decorative panel surfaces ‘true to life’ saw the UNILIN product design team look to where it all begins: with the original materials…
Working from original materials was the key to the authenticity of UNILIN Evola panels. The design team was packed full of discoveries from the natural world, trade shows and even personal purchases that inspired new decors in HPL and melamine-faced chipboard. Working from these original materials, the UNILIN design team began a process of experimentation.
“If we put our Evola panel next to the real thing, we don’t want to be able to see a difference.”
Ann De Blanck, Evola product manager, explains: “We needed variation, so we started to treat the genuine specimens; for example, adding a patina or saw marks to the decor. That is a job for the specialists, because it’s a very fine line between attractive authenticity and over doing it. Our ultimate goal is always very clear: if we put our Evola panel next to the real thing, we don’t want to be able to see a difference.
“That takes an awful lot of skill. By that, I mean that our team experiments and tries things out by hand, day in and day out. For example, when the ‘reclaimed trend’ was all the rage, we created a decor with cracks in the panel. We did that using a drum that we threw nails and screws into; as the drum turned, they made scratches in the decor. Yet another conscious choice and essential if you want to bring unique products to the market.”
This meticulous attention-to-detail sees UNILIN Evola panels beautifully replicate natural materials. From the deep grain and knots of Nordic Pine’s rustic texture to the subtle, super-matt surface of White Birch, each décor is a true-to-life recreation of original materials. This realism is not only down to the experimentation of the design team, but also through using production technology to develop surface structures synchronous with the design underneath.
“As well as an authentic look, the feel also needs to be right, and this has become more-so in recent years. That’s why we have specialised in developing surfaces where the structure follows the pattern beneath perfectly. This gives a realistic design, hardly distinguishable from solid wood or veneer. A realistic, budget-friendly and sustainable alternative for real material,” explains Blanck.
The UNILIN Evola collection is available in 168 different looks available in HPL, melamine and edging tape. Promising life-like wood decors and authentic embossed textures in concrete and metallics, as well as plain; it is a well-rounded collection that brings beautiful authenticity in scratch and stain-resistant panels for commercial use.
In Conversation With: Sebastian Herkner, designer of the year
At just 37 years old, designer Sebastian Herkner who is known for straddling the boundaries between modernity and tradition, becomes designer of the year at Maison & Objet. In between Herkner’s press calls and panel discussions, editor Hamish Kilburn caught up with the man of the moment discuss the evolution of his pieces…
What makes Sebastian Herkner a name to remember in the congested industry of interior design is his ability to effortlessly fuse together tradition with creativity.
His approach to design first became commercialised in 2006, after completing his studies at the University of Art and Design at Offenback, when he set up his own studio. His first landmark design, the Bell Table, took no less than three years to find the right manufacturer because of Herkner’s design being ‘ahead of its time’, the double-edge sword of being a leader with creative vision. The table consists of a steel and brass platter that nestles on a hand-blown glass base that was produced in a centuries-old Bavarian glass factory.
Image caption: The Bell Table
His appetite for a challenge and his desire to explore unchartered territories has not only led him to design glasses, bicycles and perfume bottles or make forays into the world of interior design, but also to embark on an internship with fashion designer Stella McCartney during the course of his studies. “I was interested in the manufacturing processes used in fashion, and understanding how colours are put together” he explains. The flair for combining colours he honed whilst there now underpins his signature style. “Colour is often the very last thing designers think about. For me, it’s always the starting point for the whole design process”. He does admit, nonetheless, that “it can take years to find that perfect colour combination”.
“I want my products to become companions, which I believe is very important these days in order to create timeless pieces.”
Fast-forward 15 years from when he opened his first studio, and more than 120 product launches later, Herkner is today centre stage at one of the world’s most reputable design fairs, Maison & Objet, being dubbed the ‘designer of the year’, a title that feels not only thoroughly deserved but also one that feels totally appropriate for the man who never looks back. “My designs are not driven by target groups, they are more driven by quality and functionality, while mixing new technologies and materials with craftsmanship and colours,” Herkner explains. “I want my products to become companions, which I believe is very important these days in order to create timeless pieces.” These ‘companions’ sit in harmony at the show, exhibiting the designer’s journey.
Image caption: Sebastian Herkner’s Clip Chair for De Vorm
Be it in his studio, surrounded by a six -strong team that herald from all four corners of the world, or during his frequent trips to China, Colombia, Thailand, Senegal and Canada visiting local manufacturers , design houses and craftsmen, Herkner has a longstanding habit of quenching his thirst for ideas elsewhere. “Different cultures, skills and lifestyles all fuel my inspiration” he explains . He also finds his inspiration in traditional materials, such as ceramics, leather, marble and also in art. Another of his iconic pieces, the “Oda” floor lamp (Pulpo , 2014), bears testament to that . Resembling a reservoir of light, the design was directly inspired by photographic images of water towers captured by Bernd and Hilla Becher. Every single source of inspiration is perfectly in tune with his quest for authenticity, his desire to use sustainable materials , and his sense of respect for the time it takes to create a truly stunning piece.
Image credit: “Oda” floor lamp (Pulpo , 2014)
Quick-fire round
Hamish Kilburn: What colour are you finding interesting at the moment? Sebastian Herkner: Salmon pink (in Matt)
HK: What is the one item you cannot travel without: SH: My phone. I am addicted!
HK: Where is next on your travel bucket list? SH: I would love to go to Peru. Big cities, unfortunately, look all the same.
HK: Is there a trend that you hate? SH: When people choose to infuse ‘soft Skandi’ in their interiors. I love the Scandinavian look and feel, but I feel as if people should use it with more courage and strength.
HK: Would you change anything in the last ten years? SH: No, nothing.
For a designer who is known for being ahead of his time when it comes to his ability to combine functionality with technology, I am somewhat taken aback when Herkner suggests that the industry has to some extent gone too far. “Smart homes is one thing, but i believe that furniture will remain still because they are designed for human beings,” he explains. “We need somewhere to sit, and I do not believe there is any need for charging sockets in the sofa – in the table, perhaps, but not the sofa.
Herkner’s recent accolade gives him a platform to unveil some of his latest creations whilst simultaneously showcasing the manufacturing processes that have always been so close to his heart.
Arte’s Extinct Animals wallcoverings are inspired by Moooi’s Museum of Extinct Animals…
Launched at Deco Off in Paris, the Extinct Animals wallcoverings range is the result of a unique collaboration with Arte and Moooi. Both leading brands have launched the collection in order to celebrate nature’s diversity, stimulating to stretch the limits of imagination.
Within the Extinct Animals wallcovering collection, each pattern is inspired by the characteristics of one extinct animal. Striking combinations of colours, features and patterns of its fur, plumage or skin bring it vividly back to life on the walls. The collection that follows popular demand within the industry for art outside the frame, features designs within the wallcoverings that narrate a story; others stimulate our senses using imagery and textures. The animals that time has forgotten that have been depicted within the range include:
Aristo Quagga
Printed wallcovering with a flock finish, inspired by the delicate features and royal appearance of the Aristo Quagga.
Armoured Boar
Wallcovering with gauze and Japanese paper, representing the shiny coat of the Armoured Boar. The upper part of its body was covered in black and golden scales, which gave it an ornamental appearance.
Dodo Pavone
3D wallcovering with a soft suede look, inspired by the Dodo Pavone’s natural outfit – a soft plumage of silvery feathers with different nuances of grey, blue, beige and white.
Blooming Seadragon
Printed wallcovering with a flock finish inspired by the mysterious Blooming Seadragon, who evolved spectacular leaf-like appendages in yellow, brown and green as a clever camouflage.
Dwarf Rhino
Soft suede 3D wallcovering, based on the unique structure of the ancient skin and the typical grey-brown folds that section the Dwarf Rhino’s body, bearing the appearance of a suit of armour.
Umbrella Squid
Wallcovering with a textured print, based on the magical skin of the Umbrella Squid which was covered in bioluminescent ‘jewels’ that changed colour to match its surroundings.
Flying Coral Fish
3D wallcovering with a satin look and a pattern resembling the pectoral fins of the Flying Coral Fish, shaped like delicate, thin and translucent wings.
Blushing Sloth
Printed wallcovering with a flock finish, resembling the beautiful fur of the Blushing Sloth, which lived its life so still and quiet that algae found a way of growing on the outer layers of their fur, giving them a breath-taking glow.
Calligraphy Bird
Wallcovering with a high gloss lacquer print, representing the elegant tail feathers of the female Calligraphy Bird that ended in what resembled graceful calligraphy swirls.
Bearded Leopard
Foil based wallcovering lined with cork and a flock finish, based on the fur of the Bearded Leopard – pale yellow to deep gold, and a dark constellation of rosebuds adorning it.
Menagerie of Extinct Animals
A fantastic fauna print – digitally printed on soft touch textile with a non-woven backing – in which each of the 10 extinct animals are mysteriously hidden.
Moooi is the extraordinary design brand founded by Marcel Wanders. For more than a decade the brand has inspired and seduced the world with sparkling and innovative creations. This brand presents creative luxury for a well curated life. Innovative, provocative & poetic at the same time.
Arte achieved international fame as a designer of the most luxurious and sophisticated wallcoverings. Known for their superior quality and exquisite designs, Arte wallcoverings adorn the walls of residential homes and project interiors all over the world. Inspired by each other, Moooi & Arte created the luxurious wallcovering collection Extinct Animals.
With clear dialogue of style referencing the late Zaha Hadid in each piece, the 2019 collection from Zaha Hadid Design interprets both present and future…
The SWIRL Bowl in crystal glass, a new product for 2019, captures the sweeping gesture of a liquefied vortex. A complex geometry informed by one continuous movement, the Bowl features topographical shifts rippling across the surface. The translucent finish allows the sculpture to coalesce with its surroundings.
Additions to the CELL range include the Platter in Nero Marquina or Statuario marble, and the Plate & Bowl Set in porcelain. A monochromatic colour palette of black or white accentuates the texture, while channels carved into the volumes of the platter and plate allow objects to nest seamlessly on its surfaces.
Image caption: Cell marble by ZHD
The new CELL Centrepiece in stainless steel reflects the spirit in which it was achieved; true to Hadid’s process, the complex perforations remain undistorted and precise with the use of laser technology. The Centrepiece provokes an emotive response to transitions, through the material and geometry; solid to void; hexagonal to sphere; static to explosive; resulting in the creation of playful compositions.
The HEW Tray in stainless steel is described through a series of subtle movements from the gently upturned surface edge, to the undulating base which peels away to reveal a dual purpose; there are voids for carrying, and dips for resting. This dynamism is further expressed through the contrasting colours of the powder-coated finish on the surface and base.
Referencing Zaha Hadid’s design process, with each new project, Zaha Hadid Design (ZHD) continues to examine its significance within the dialogue of contemporary design. ZHD interprets both the present and the future, by continuing to share Hadid’s story, as Director Woody Yao explains: “The strength of the collection lies in our ability to interpret the ordinary into something unexpected. When designing objects Zaha was never constrained by any given use or spatial context. We continue to follow and draw strength from this approach so that the collection has room to evolve without compromising the integrity of the design.”
The collection follows ZHD’s debut collaboration with performance sportswear brand ODLO, a further example of the design firm’s ability to look into new teriorties in order to fulfill the brief, set by Hadid herself, to constantly push design boundaries.
A bespoke tartan carpet made by Wilton Carpets in modern shades of grey and burgundy, now adorns the floor of Centenary Hall, the main function room within Fixby Hall, home of Huddersfield Golf Club…
As part of an ongoing refurbishment of the club’s facilities that has included shower rooms, the Yorkshire Bar, Fixby Room, Conservatory and Entrance, interior designer and House Committee member, Joan Webb of JW Design, Huddersfield, has breathed new life into the club’s main function room and wedding venue.
“We wanted to create a lovely room for members’ functions that would also prove attractive as a wedding venue,” explains Webb. “I knew that a classic tartan design for the carpet would complement Fixby Hall’s historic interior, but I chose a modern palette, teaming this with the silk-effect wallpaper and deep padded pelmets and curtains. The contemporary colour scheme and simplicity of the pelmets balance perfectly with the traditional designs for the curtains, giving the hall a modern feel.”
“Through an 11-row woven axminster construction, Wilton Carpets was able to meet the club’s need for a spike-resistant carpet.”
Working carefully to ensure the new carpet balanced with existing colours in the hall and the decoration schemes of adjacent rooms, Webb turned to Wilton Carpets for the first time, being made aware of the Wiltshire-based manufacturer’s ability to weave carpets in a spike-resistant quality.
Through an 11-row woven axminster construction, Wilton Carpets was able to meet the club’s need for a spike-resistant carpet in a British wool-rich make-up that is perfect for withstanding the demands of a busy function space. Along with a quality that’s durable and easy to maintain, the carpet’s tartan pattern helps to disguise dirt between cleans. Some 150m2 of carpet for the 120-capacity room was woven by Wilton Carpets at its Wiltshire production site.
“Creating the custom design was a simple and quick process and working with Wilton Carpets was a pleasure from start to finish,” adds Webb.
Known as the ‘Home of Yorkshire Golf’, Fixby Hall has a golfing history dating back to 1891 when the original courses were laid out by Tom Dunn, one of the leading golf course architects of the day. Now with its role as a multi-purpose space for members, corporate events, business meetings, family occasions and weddings, Fixby Hall enjoys a year-round calendar of events.
From lighting insights to hotel group milestones, here are Hotel Designs’ top stories of the week…
As we continue our Spotlight On hotel openings, this week’s headlines have suggested a theme of hotel chains arriving in new destinations. From BLESS Collection Hotels opening its first hotel to Bali welcoming the Kempinski brand, it’s been an exciting week to report the hotel design headlines. Here are our top five stories of the week.
In the second article in the series, Hotels at New Heights, we investigate how the luxury train industry is seeing somewhat of a renaissance for plush suite travel following an uncertain journey on the rails…
Lighting designer Moritz Waldemeyer speaks to Hotel Designs about 2019 trends, the power of lighting therapy and how one moment in time can dramatically change the direction of a creative’s career…
The design of these rooms, led by Jean Pierre Martel, of M&P Archidesign Consulting, will follow the same style seen throughout the existing rooms; a distinct minimalistic and chic design, with everything crafted and created in Spain. Each area will feature a contemporary mix of ‘white-on-white’ décor, natural oak detailing and calming, neutral tones will invite guests to wind down and relax during the day.
Unlike any other hospitality offer in Spain’s most famous year-round resort community, the exclusively for grown-up’s hotel with 81 guest suites, offers the same vibrant mix of contemporary design, gastronomy and good times that has established the reputation of its sister property, Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay.
Image credit: Nobu Hotels
Created with the sophisticated sybarite in mind, Nobu Hotel Marbella curates a unique guest experience that blends the best of Andalusian charm, hospitality and unbeatable weather; with the attention to detail, signature design and contemporary flair for which the Nobu brand is famous.
The hotel’s signature Nobu restaurant is designed to be upscale, playful and high-energy. Offering a journey through the senses, the interior design transports the diner to a kind of modernised Japanese canteen, where wood and warm atmospheres play a leading role. The mix of indulgent cream leathers and rich wooden tones give this delectable destination a simultaneous feeling of warmth, intimacy and excitement, all emblazoned with the iconic Nobu logo. Flanked by two impressive floor-to-ceiling wine display coolers, this space represents Marbella for the stylish grown-up set – a place to be seen – and has in turn, become a magnet for food lovers, tastemakers and celebrities.
The adjacent Nobu Lounge is an eclectic space with an international feel. Featuring design-led Andrew Martin furniture, wall art, mid-century vintage objects, and original artwork and posters, the lounge is an inviting space. Encouraging guests to relax and have a good time, Martel has made the lounge as authentic as possible by collecting each piece of décor personally.
Leading radiator brand BISQUE has launched three new finishes to its immensely popular Arteplano collection for 2019…
Bisque, the UK’s first ever luxury radiator brand, has introduced three spectacular new finishes to its immensely popular Arteplano collection for 2019. As a brand widely known for its striking feature radiators, these new styles will be a welcome addition for discerning homeowners and architects alike.
The trend for copper accessories remains as popular as ever, and now you can unleash your inner interior designer with Bisque’s innovative Brushed Bronze finish. This new aesthetic is the perfect addition for modern homes with its simple, yet striking finish, complementing contemporary interiors.
Meanwhile, moody and dark hues continue to lead the way in home décor. Be bold with Bisque’s new Brushed Black finish. This head-turning texture adds a touch of luxury to any space, whilst the matt finish softens its harsh colouring, allowing it to suit most homes.
Image credit: BISQUE
If you’re looking for the ultimate style statement, look no further than Bisque’s Mirror finish. Taking centre stage in any space with its crisp and minimal design, this radiator can double as a mirror, and is a welcome addition to bedrooms, living rooms and hallways.
Depending on the finish, the Arteplano can be delightfully daring or discreetly subtle. The Arteplano can also be made to order when only an exact size will do.
All orders can be placed at Bisque’s newly opened showroom within the Business Design Centre, Islington, on the edge of the vibrant design district of Clerkenwell, where Bisque’s team of experts are on hand to advise every step of the way.
All prices on application. Further information can be found by visiting www.bisque.co.uk.
BISQUE is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
Hotel Designs has officially dropped its February editorial features, which are Surfaces and Architecture & Construction…
Throughout February, Hotel Designs’ Spotlight On features will look at two highly topical features, namely Surfaces and Architecture and Construction. These features to run throughout the month have been carefully selected by the editorial team in light of both topics harbouring popular debates among industry leaders.
Architecture and Construction
Image Credit: Tate Harmer Hotel, Eden Hotel (Winner of The Eco Award at The Brit List 2018)
In 2018, for the first time ever, Hotel Designs included architects in The Brit List 2018 – and for good reason. Continuing this celebration of amazing architects , and taking the search global, we will start the month by investigating striking examples of architecture within international hotel design.
Surfaces
Image credit: Anne Kyyro Quinn
Running in conjunction with the Surface Design Show, our feature on surfaces will explore the various materials used within interiors. From flooring to innovative materials in wallcoverings, we’ll go beneath the surface to bring you an accurate and well-researched insight on the future trends.
If you wish to find out more, or know of a product that we should be talking about, please contact Zoe Guerrier on 01992 374059 or z.guerrier@forumevents.co.uk
Lighting designer Moritz Waldemeyer speaks to editor Hamish Kilburn about 2019 trends, the power of lighting therapy and how one moment in time can dramatically change the direction of a creative’s career…
Anyone who has had the pleasure to spend more than five minutes in the company of the multi-talented Moritz Waldemeyer will agree with me when I say that he is a breath of creative, fresh air. Despite having designed LED pieces for major players in popular culture such as music icons Ellie Goulding, WillIAm, Take That and fashion design hero Philip Treacy OBE, Waldemeyer’s head has always remained cool when working on many creative platforms.
Following a career-defining moment of lighting a costume collection for the closing ceremonies of both the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games, Waldemeyer’s recent gaze in the hospitality industry saw him at the centre of many interesting conversations at London Design Festival last year. His personalised lighting installation entitled Journey of Colour at Focus18 raised eyebrows among designers from around the world on the potential of lighting within hotel design. “Timing is everything,” Waldemeyer says. “My knowledge of technology, which is an area that has always interested me, placed me in the design sphere with a unique skillset at the right time.”
Image caption: WAVE chandelier in Intercontinental Davos, which is 1,400 hand-blown glass spheres swirl in a playful shape of a gust of snow,
Waldemeyer’s journey in the world of fashion, design and lighting started with an early interest for technology. Following his studies on mechatronics at Kings College London, Waldemeyer began experimenting with his passion for lighting – and after graduating, he gained experience working for Phillips in the product development team. It was at this moment in time, while other employees were working the nine-to-five, when Waldemeyer started to experiment with lighting and its boundaries. His forward-thinking attitude soon sparked the attention of the fashion world, which led to what was arguably his first major career break.
Image caption: Virtual Reality – Moritz Waldemeyer for Philip Treacy
Paris Fashion Week 2007 witnessed Hussein Chayalan showcase dresses impregnated with servo-driven lasers that were engineered and programmed by Waldemeyer. With the aim to create a sensational atmosphere that captured the attention of the world’s media, Chayalan turned to Waldemeyer to emit laser beams from the dresses on the models who strutted spectacularly down the catwalk. “It’s a great, indescribable feeling to be part of fashion history,” Waldemeyer shares. “And it was after this show I realised just how revolutionary this was when figures in the music industry got in touch asking me how I could work with them to create visual experiences.”
“I am looking at animated lighting, which is super retro and exciting.”
Waldemeyer’s dip into the world of high-fashion, I believe, gives him a unique leverage when it comes to helping to transform lighting within hotel interior design spaces. But when it comes to looking ahead, it seems as if Waldemeyer is left wondering like the rest of us what defines a ‘trend’. “It’s really difficult to look at trends on a year-by-year basis, because I believe that the development isn’t that fast in lighting,” he comments. “However, from my point of view, we have yet to establish the limits of LED potential. I am looking at animated lighting, which is super retro and exciting.”
Image caption: Flos presented this stunning collaborative project during the Milan Salone 2009 which involved no less than five well known contributors: design by Philippe Starck, text by Jenny Holzer, execution by Flos, crystal by Baccarat and custom electronic design by Moritz Waldemeyer.
Following on from our insight into how the public areas of hotels are changing, there has been many debates about how the lobby and the guestroom can continue to evolve into new eras. Technology within lighting has unlocked the door to welcome in the opportunity of more atmospheric areas within the hotel, which is arguably the key to create the personalised hotel of the future. “Considering that the lobby is the first area that guests walk in to, I believe there is room for designers to be more playful,” he explains. “When it comes to the guestroom, though, I believe we as lighting experts need to ensure that we are creating intuitive lighting that works with the user. It’s a challenge to ensure we are creating seamless lighting experiences that don’t hinder the overall guest experience. It’s sometimes easy to forget when working on large pieces to view the experience from a guests’ point of view, but this is so important when it comes to the design of the lighting.”
“We deliberately use a lot of colour, which is arguably therapeutic with the aim to bring people back to themselves.”
One area within the interior design of hotels that continues to divide opinions is understanding the fundamental purpose of lighting in the guestroom. While designers aim to firmly establish lighting’s functional properties as well as its decorative qualities within the guestroom, there are questions rippling through the industry on how wellbeing can be incorporated within hotel design, and Waldemeyer may have the answer. He explains: “We deliberately use a lot of colour, which is arguably therapeutic with the aim to bring people back to themselves. Art pieces that use light to encourage calmness – similar to watching a roaring open fire – somewhat sedates the tone of the room and the guests’ minds. Using colour in this way has the complete opposite reaction to what happens when we as consumers stare mindlessly at our phones or devices.”
Image caption: Moritz Waldemeyer’s personalised lighting installation, Journey of Colour, was exhibited at Focus 18.
Waldemeyer strikes me as someone who is constantly looking ahead to establish new ways to be creative with lighting. “I’m excited about craftsmanship, which is really big on our agenda at the moment,” says Waldemeyer. “Travelling the world has allowed me to establish new avenues and my task at the moment is to understand how we can present traditional craftsmanship in lighting to a modern audience, which is challenging but also so rewarding at the same time.”
Waldemeyer’s own ‘journey of colour’ is, I believe, still in the very early stages when establishing what is possible within the future of commercial lighting. I leave the creative with focused lenses, now being able to zoom in to understand further the emotional links between our minds and how our hotels are lit. One of the largest conclusions, though, is seeing how outside influences, from areas such as fashion and popular music, can absolutely shed some light on the direction our industry should be heading when it comes to forward-thinking an innovation.
Moritz Waldemeyer Studio is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
The Turkish Sirene Belek Hotel has announced a major €2million refurbishment…
As part of an on-going investment programme, Sirene Belek Hotel in Turkey has announced an extensive renovation that will include all 233 Standard Junior Suites in the main building of hotel being given a modernised and fresh new look.
Each guestroom – which measure from 47 to 95sqm – is being redecorated and equipped with an array of new furnishings including top-of-the-range beds as part of the upgrade but disruption will be kept to a minimum, with the work due to be completed before February 1.
One of two five-star all-inclusive hotels at PGA National Turkey Antalya Golf Club – one of Europe’s premier golf resorts – the 442-room Sirene Belek boasts an array of outstanding sports and leisure facilities including the resort’s two world-class 18-hole golf courses.
The Pasha, which was also designed by David Jones in association with European Golf Design, is wider and more inviting as it meanders through a mixture of towering pine trees and woodland.
Alongside the Kempinski Hotel The Dome, the Sirene Belek Hotel is one of two five-star hotels at PGA National Turkey, with both offering access to a variety of five-star golf, sports and lifestyle experiences.
As the hotel is on the cusp of opening, Hotel Designs takes a sneak peek of the naturally striking design sheltered within the 475-key The Apurva Kempinski Bali…
Kempinski Hotels is preparing to usher in a new era of first-class hospitality in Bali with the opening of The Apurva Kempinski Bali, a luxurious haven that captures the essence of Indonesian culture, art and identity. The second Kempinki-branded hotel in Indonesia will open in the upmarket Nusa Dua area of Bali, with 475 well-appointed guestrooms, striking suites and discreet villas in a quiet beachfront setting. A total of six restaurants, bars and lounges will allow guests to soak in the sensational natural setting, with sweeping views and indoor/outdoor dining venues that celebrate regional flavours. Meanwhile, an immersive ocean-facing spa and fitness centre offers treatments inspired by traditional Balinese healing practices, to promote balance and wellbeing.
“Spectacular, sensational, curated and serene, The Apurva Kempinski Bali takes the form of a majestic open-air theatre, where centuries of Indonesian culture are distilled and brought to life,” says Michael Henssler, Chief Operating Officer Asia, Kempinski Hotels and Member of the Management Board. “We are excited to welcome this outstanding resort to our Asian hotel portfolio: another masterpiece in the Kempinski constellation.”
Image credit: Kempinski Hotels
The Apurva Kempinski Bali cascades down the hillside like one of Bali’s iconic rice paddies, emerging from the cliff tops and gradually making its way down to the Indian Ocean. Award-winning architect Budiman Hendropurnomo of UK-based Denton Corker Marshall drew inspiration from the rice terraces and their centuries-old ‘subak’ irrigation system to create the concept for the property. Modern Balinese architecture pays homage to the island’s natural landscapes and manmade temples, in a symphony of natural-clad stone buildings, bougainvillea-covered terraces and a network of waterways and shimmering pools. Tumbling waterfalls emerge from the lush landscape, flanking the resort’s spectacular Grand Staircase. The 250-step walkway, inspired by Bali’s sacred Pura Besakih water temple, runs through the centre of the resort, and provides a stage for nightly rituals.
Image credit: Kempinksi Hotels
Interior designer Rudi Dodo of Trivium Design Group has imagined opulent interior spaces created by Indonesia’s finest craftsmen and artisans, which pay tribute to the country’s rich design heritage, while adding modern touches that anchor The Apurva in the present day. At the crown of the resort, the pendopo-style lobby is a wide-open and welcoming space with a soaring tiered roof that draws the eye up to the cosmos. Flourishes like the intricate Javanese hand-carved gebyok partitions are symbolic of Indonesia’s prosperous Majapahit kingdom, when the kingdom was a hub of artistic creativity, and the angkringan food cart in Selasar Deli creates a sense of place from the moment guests arrive. In the guestrooms, rich, exotic woods, local fabrics and typical Indonesian motifs create an understated and sophisticated atmosphere that’s both luxurious and homely, while the views of the ocean and surrounding landscape tell their own story through wide panoramic windows.
The Apurva Kempinski Bali will follow two other major openings in the past six months: The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore and Emerald Palace Kempinski Dubai as the brand continues to extend its luxury arm around the globe.
In the second article in the series, Hotels at New Heights, Hamish Kilburn investigates how the luxury train industry is seeing somewhat of a renaissance for plush suite travel following an uncertain journey on the rails…
The year was 1914. Woodrow Wilson was the President of the United States of America and the greatest war the world had ever seen was brewing in the air. Although the year is nowadays referred to in the history books as the beginning of a bloody war, WW1, it was also a year of huge significance within the travel industry. In January 1914, the world’s first fixed-wing airliner took to the skies for the very first time. Despite the short journey between St. Petersburg, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, the monumental defiance of gravity set the scene of the aviation industry becoming commercialised.
Up until then, luxury travellers relied on boats and to a certain extent trains – both of which were uncomfortable and long when navigating from one destination to the other. Watching the world disappear over the horizon from above the clouds became an experience that began to dominate the luxury market. What used to take days on a train or boat could now take hours in the air.
Fast forward more than a century, and aviation today is at an all-time high, with more than four billion of the world’s population taking to the skies every year. But as the bulk of the world fastens their seat belts for take-off, the luxury train industry is seeing somewhat of a renaissance, which is largely being led by the demand for one-off high-end experiences. As travellers around the world become more adventurous on their explorations, so too does their preferred method of transport. For some, luxury trains are in an unmatched league of their own. At the core of that splendour is arguably the beautiful, painstakingly detailed interiors that no airline in the world, past or present, can match.
“Travelling by rail has become a prestigious novelty for the few who had the luxury of time on their hands when exploring the world.”
Realistically, with time being the luxury in most peoples’ busy lifestyles, the thought of boarding a train from London to Venice is somewhat a waste of time. But when the method of transport becomes the experience, as opposed to simply the necessary endurance of a journey to get from A to B, the journey becomes a prestigious once-in-a-lifetime memory.
As the aviation industry continued to grow to cater to the expansive demand to travel to all corners of the globe, travelling by rail has become a prestigious novelty for the few who had the luxury of time on their hands when exploring the world. Today, hundreds of trains on the rails that claim to have luxury rooms – and here are just a few to be inspired by.
Carrying a total of 72 passengers, Ravos Rail, guests can take one of seven African itineraries, but the most popular is Pretoria and Cape Town. The wood-panelled locomotives take guests to the Big Hole and Diamond Mine Museum, but it is arguably the timeless interiors that keeps guests comfortable in their suites. The Royal Suites occupy half a carriage and come complete with a full bathroom and double bed, as well as luxuriously spacious living quarters.
Steeped in history, the Venice-Simplon Orient Express is polished perfection when it comes to luxury trains. Expect Lalique glass and wood panelling in the dining area; the Orient Express transports guests, slowly, from London to Venice, via Paris. Cabin suites include two interconnecting rooms and mosaic-tiled lavatories. Wimberley Interiors has been appointed to design three new suites on board, to enhance luxury and reflect each destination along its legendary route (Paris, Venice and Istanbul).
“It was extremely important when developing the design concept, that we embraced the unique story and history of the brand. To capture the epitome of classic luxury travel that the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express exudes,” comments Rachel Johnson, Vice President and London Studio Director, Wimberly Interiors. “We focused on moments within each city, inspiring visual cues and the overall Belmond guest experience. It was an exciting challenge to use this inspiration to recreate the essence of Art Deco glamour in a graceful and timeless design.”
Proving that not all luxury hotels have to transport you back to the glamour days of the 1920s is the Belmond Andean Explorer. Designed by Muza Lab, which was co-founded by Inge Moore and Nathan Hutchins, it has been emotively designed to be simple and not overly stuffy. As a result, the neutral colour scheme throughout all the cabins opens up the interiors with areas of excitement popping through in the soft furnishings and light-violet lampshades. The rooms, meanwhile, combine contemporary furniture with soft, light oak framing the beds.
It seems that what really stands out among the high-earning travellers is the one-off décor and detail. Just like what defines luxe in the luxury travel industry, these one-off experiences are totally unmatched by competition and painstakingly precise when it comes to creating a certain ambiance.
As we delve deeper into the series – and into other industries in the search for inspirational interiors in different arenas – we discover just how parallel these sectors really are. Travelling the same routes, but perhaps on different tracks, the ever-expanding hospitality market is fast taking design to new heights. In the next article in the series, Suites on the Seas, we will be revisiting why so many hotel designers are being tasked to design the next era of cruise ships.
The luxury hotel brand, which sits under the Palladium Hotel Group umbrella has opened the 111-key BLESS Hotel Madrid designed by Lázaro Rosa-Violan…
BLESS Collection Hotels, a new luxury hotel brand from Palladium Hotel Group which owns , has opened its first property, BLESS Hotel Madrid. The hotel opens as the brand begins to expand its luxury arm in cosmopolitan cities and international beachfront destinations starting with Ibiza this summer.
BLESS Hotel Madrid, located on Calle de Velázquez in the heart of the city’s fashionable Salamanca district, is housed in the former Gran Hotel Velázquez, a historical social hub among locals. Maintaining the original essence of the property, BLESS Hotel Madrid will continue to offer locals an inner-city sanctuary as well as providing guests with a stylish base from which to explore the Spanish capital.
Image credit: BLESS Collection Hotel
BLESS Hotel Madrid boasts 111 rooms, rooftop pool, bowling alley, spa and gym, gourmet destination restaurant, three bars and conference spaces. Renowned Spanish designer and architect Lázaro Rosa-Violan incorporated elements of the property’s former glory including the marble staircase and glass dome with modern materials and colour schemes to create a quintessentially Madrilenian ambience with a contemporary slant, blending the best of Madrid in the 1950s to the present day. Spaces in the hotel including Feten and Picos Pardos have been given names relating to Madrid colloquialism, presenting a truly authentic vision of the city.
“One of the special spaces some of these events will take place is Velázquez 62.5, an elegant boulevard area.”
The BLESS Collection Hotels brand has been built around the concept of Hedonist Luxury, a unique proposition designed for citizens of the world – modern travellers, sybarites and pleasure-seekers. In its own words “BLESS Collection Hotels worships the pursuit of happiness and the best of life”. Guests will enjoy the ultimate in luxury through a range of sensory exclusive experiences designed to feed the spirit. These include BATHOLOGY with a personal butler creating a bespoke bathing experience and BLESSEDBED that will allow guests to personalise their moments of rest through a luxurious menu of pillows and bed linen. Wellness and beauty also takes a relevant position with unique training, spa and beauty propositions. Not to forget the unparalleled food and beverage offering with the signature of Martin Berasategui.
Image credit: BLESS Collection Hotels
The hotel will also present a non-stop programme of inspirational entertainment drawing on the destination’s cultural agenda – from art and culture to fashion and gastronomy. These “happenings” will include live music, fashion shows, performance and visual art and photography exhibitions.
One of the special spaces some of these events will take place is Velázquez 62.5, an elegant boulevard area which will become an exclusive retail and entertainment destination for Madrid residents as well as hotel guests. The space will include an exclusive beauty center and will feature a variety of pop-up art exhibitions and music events.
Guests will also be able to enjoy unique entertainment at Fetén, an elegant and vibrant ‘clandestine bar’ complete with a retro-styled bowling alley.
The Spanish hotel chain currently has 48 hotels in six countries: Spain, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Italy and Brazil and operates nine brands, iuncluding TRS Hotels, Grand Palladium Hotels & Resorts, Palladium Hotels, Palladium Boutique Hotels, Fiesta Hotels & Resorts, Ushuaïa Unexpected Hotels, Ayre Hoteles, Only You Hotels, Bless Collection Hotels, as well as licensed brand Hard Rock Hotels.
The first hotel to opening following the aim to expand portfolio in the UK to seven hotels will be Courtyard by Marriott Oxford South…
Courtyard continues to grow its UK presence with the opening of Courtyard by Marriott Oxford South. Inviting the modern traveller to work and play, the hotel features the latest Courtyard by Marriott design to ensure a refreshing and productive hotel experience. Design company Urban Reef imagined the stunning, futuristic, exterior of the property, and the interior design showcases artwork and murals inspired by the county of Oxfordshire.
Owned by EQ Hotels, the hotel is located within easy reach of Oxford city centre and its historic and cultural attractions, Bicester Village shopping outlet, and premium science and business hub Milton Park.
“Courtyard by Marriott Oxford South is an excellent gateway to discover the unique attractions of this historic area,” said John Licence, Vice President Premium and Select Brands Europe at Marriott International. “Whether our guests are in Oxfordshire for business or pleasure, they are sure to enjoy an authentic local experience that inspires them to both work and play.”
The 170 welcoming guest rooms feature complimentary Wi-Fi, 55-inch TVs with Chromecast technology, rainfall showers, comfortable Hypnos beds, and Nespresso machines. Guests can also unwind in the state-of-the-art fitness centre.
Image credit: Marriott International
The hotel’s signature all-day dining restaurant, The Oxen Bar & Grill, presents seasonal British-inspired and international cuisine in a relaxed setting with its open pizza kitchen, all-weather alfresco dining terrace, and urban lounge bar.
Courtyard Oxford South is the ideal venue for a memorable event or conference. Four spacious meeting rooms, with natural daylight and equipped with the latest technology, offer 185 square metres of versatile meeting and function space, with the largest area able to cater for 120 delegates.
The addition of Courtyard Oxford South brings the brand’s footprint in Europe to over 60 hotels. Further hotel openings are anticipated over the next couple of years in key growth markets including Germany, UK, and France, as well as new markets including Armenia, Iceland, and Finland.
Following Hurricane Irma, the iconic hotel on Grand Cul de Sac debuts fresh look following design vision from Parisian designer Christian Liaigre…
Sereno Hotels has announced that Le Sereno St. Barth’s has reopened following the damage it sustained from the passing of Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The decision to rebuild from scratch a significant part of the property came from the Contreras family with the aim to extensively renovate more than half the rooms and all the public spaces, while maintaining the iconic style of Le Sereno which has a devoted following among guests.
Le Sereno St. Barths was designed by the Sereno Hotels team, in keeping with the original vision of Christian Liaigre. The furniture for the new Le Sereno was also purchased from Christian Liaigre. With the high level of attention to detail and design-driven ethos, the new Le Sereno features the following:
• The entire Bungalow Piscine room category has been built from the ground up, featuring larger rooms and new interior design. • Three new rooms have been added to the Bungalow Piscine category, two of which are part of a brand-new Family Suite offering that includes private pools for each suite. • All-new waterfront Grand Suite Plage Sud rooms built from the ground up, featuring a larger bedroom and private garden with outdoor bathtubs. • Completely redesigned restaurant with new bar, lounge and an all-new beach restaurant extension, where guests can dine with their feet in the sand. Le Sereno’s much-loved oak roof was rebuilt, and amazing views of the lagoon remain intact. • Brand new spa and fitness facility with new treatment rooms and new fitness equipment. • New garden space leading up to the Grand Suite Plage rooms, which will retain their classic look with new interiors. • New on-site retail boutique featuring curated finds from French and Italian brands, including Milan-based. • The total room count has increased from 36 to 39 rooms.
“The next phase of Le Sereno St. Barth truly ups the ante in the Caribbean with every room being touched with a fresh design.”
The iconic and much-Instagrammed pool at Le Sereno overlooking the Grand Cul de Sac retains the same look. The lobby building with its picturesque red doors will also continue to greet guests and each of the three, 7,000 square foot, four-bedroom Villas retain their much-lauded design, while the interiors have been refurbished and the private pools will now be heated.
“We are thrilled and eager to welcome back familiar faces and new guests to Le Sereno and we have been touched by the outpouring of support after Hurricane Irma,” said Samy Ghachem, managing director of Sereno Hotels. “Le Sereno has always been known as the most stylish hotel in St. Barth, and we are pleased to raise the bar in the Caribbean yet again.”
In keeping with the Sereno Hotels philosophy of building, owning and operating intimate, design-driven hotels in highly desired destinations, the next phase of Le Sereno St. Barth truly ups the ante in the Caribbean with every room being touched with a fresh design. For the entirely brand-new Bungalow Piscine rooms the designer “flipped” the previous parquet floors and white ceiling and now the ceiling is made of intricate oak carpentry while the floors feature warm white stone. New corner couches have been designed to fit seamlessly into the room and the ceilings are open and airy with an extended height of 11 feet at their peak.
The open-concept bathrooms are now air-conditioned, and feature custom made Iroko wood, oak and stone vanities. The Grand Suite Plage Sud rooms were demolished and rebuilt with entirely new finishings, a private garden with outdoor bathtubs and the floorplans have been reworked to allow for more living space. The waterfront Grand Suite Plage rooms, the heart of Le Sereno, now features new interiors, new technology, new furnished waterfront terraces, and a walkable garden in front of the suite entrances, to enhance the guest experience.
“The former Le Sereno was beloved by clients and in the past, when asked about potential renovations at Le Sereno, I always said that the hotel was almost perfect and that we continually invested a lot of money every year so that the property would keep its integrity. After the passing of Hurricane Irma, we had the unique opportunity to completely reimagine the hotel, while still making it feel the same,” said Luis Contreras, owner of Sereno Hotels. “We have applied our experience from operating the hotel for more than ten years to implement state of the art technology, while keeping all of what made Le Sereno so great. While the hotel is new, our loyal guests will feel that little has changed.”
“Building the new Le Sereno provided an opportunity to take environmental impact into account in every aspect of the hotel.”
The Spa at Le Sereno has been expanded and now includes three full treatment rooms, including the guest favourite waterfront pavilion, a coveted space for relaxation and the island’s only beachfront treatment room. The new fitness room boasts the latest fitness technology and equipment.
The central heartbeat of the hotel is Restaurant Le Sereno, which features a new look while still maintaining 180-degree views of Grand Cul de Sac. A fully open-air concept, the space takes maximum advantage of the dramatic surroundings giving guests a water view from almost every angle.
Building the new Le Sereno provided an opportunity to take environmental impact into account in every aspect of the hotel. New solar panels, air conditioners with heat exchangers and LED lighting allow the hotel to offer new amenities to guests while significantly lowering energy consumption throughout the property. All of the new construction is made with sustainably sourced woods and stone. The entire property is outfitted with new windows and insulation designed to reduce energy consumption. Le Sereno also features on-site water desalinisation capability and grey water is treated and reused for irrigation; which allows the property to be completely “off the grid” from scarce city water resources.
With less than one month before the Surface Design Show 2019, Hotel Designs identifies what to look out for at this year’s event…
From February 5 – 7, Surface Design Show 2019 will take place at London’s Business Design Centre to provide a platform for architects, designers and specifiers to explore the best in interior and exterior surface materials, lighting design, development and innovation.
For more than ten years Surface Design Show has been the place where industry professionals immerse themselves in the latest materials for the built environment, gain new insights and network with like-minded designers, architects and suppliers. More than 150 exhibitors will showcase an exciting range of products including natural stone, acoustics, recycled materials, living walls and architectural lighting.
Surface Design Show 2019 also features some 40 talks from over 50 industry professionals, all designed to engage and inspire.
Image credit: Anne Kyyro Quinn
The Opening Night Debate returns from 6.30pm on the first day of the Show, Tuesday February 5. Organised in association with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and New London Architecture (NLA) it will discuss whether factory-made housing can provide Londoners with better places to live. The panel will be chaired by Peter Murray of NLA, with Ben Derbyshire of HTA Design and RIBA President, Carl Vann of Pollard Thomas Edwards and Hazel Rounding of shedkm debating the topic ‘Factory-made Housing: is this the solution to building better homes long term?’. The debate is sponsored by Bruceshaw.
Stone Gallery, which is officially supported by Stone Federation GB whose Stone Knowledge Hub forms a focal point for the event, will also be returning to Surface Design Show 2019. Stone Gallery, which is also supported by media partner Tomorrow’s Tile & Stone, is an industry-leading event for architects and designers to meet and specify natural stone. The Stone Hub stage will host a series of presentations curated by Arup.
Now in its fifth year, Light School is the home of architectural lighting, allows architects and designers to touch, compare and learn about innovative lighting and technology products. The Light School arena, Light Talks, will return once again supported by the Institution of Lighting Professionals and LED Linear.
Since 2013 the show has hosted the Surface Design Awards, now recognised as one of the most respected events in the design calendar. The awards distinguish the best and most interesting exterior and interior surfaces for different sectors of design. The 2019 awards received entries from across Europe, the USA, Australia, China, Korea and India. The shortlist consists of an impressive 43 projects across seven categories. A multi-category Finalist is the Morpheus Hotel by Zaha Hadid Architects and Isometrix Lighting Design. The hotel, which is in China, was praised by all judges, with James Soane commenting: “I can’t help but admire the mastery, it is extraordinary, I am drawn to it.” The awards presentation at #SDS19 will take place on the morning of Thursday February 7.
Free registration to #SDS19 is available via this link.
Taking a turn for tradition, Hotel Designs’ Recommended Supplier BISQUE launches timeless radiators…
Pioneering designer radiator brand Bisque has, for the last four decades, represented the pinnacle of cutting-edge, contemporary design; however, for the first time, the luxury firm has announced its inaugural range of traditional towel radiators for use in classic bathroom designs.
The collection – comprising the Buckingham, Osbourne and Balmoral models – has been carefully designed with a timeless aesthetic in mind, without compromising on performance or output.
Image caption: Buckingham Range by BISQUE
To start, the Buckingham (pictured above) is a transitional wall-mounted design, as suitable for modern bathrooms as it is traditional rooms. It is made from chromed brass, and can be used on both central heating and hot water systems, further adding to its flexibility. Customers will recognise the customary ball joints, more commonly found on older radiators, but this time benefitting from Bisque’s class-leading heating technology. Customers can also choose from three deluxe finishes – bright nickel, brass and antique bronze – alongside a further six finishes in Bisque’s repertoire.
Next up, the Osbourne is a floor-mounted model, similar in style to its sister radiator, the Balmoral. Offering plenty of space for luxurious towels, it is an equally stylish option for industrial-style homes and loft bathrooms thanks to its antique look.
Image caption: Osbourne range by BISQUE
Finally, the Victorian-style Balmoral is best suited for vintage-inspired interiors. It not only heats the space, but keeps towels crisp and dry thanks to a large, roomy hanging rail to store even the plumpest of linens. Once again, the Balmoral features recognisable ball joints and is available in Bisque’s gorgeous selection of colourways.
The three new designs mark a real turning point for the brand and present customers with a luxury towel radiator which matches style for substance. Being Bisque, innovation and performance is at the forefront of the new collection; while the new designs may look ‘traditional’, there’s nothing old-fashioned about their performance. Bisque uses only the very best materials available to ensure all three designs offer customers an impressive output, and a radiator that will stand the test of time. Meanwhile, Bisque continues to offer the widest selection of designer radiators on the market, from school-style models to eco-friendly options, not to mention its made-to-measure or colour-matching service.
BISQUE is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
In the same week Hotel Designs’ announced a new floating hotel in Edinburgh, a mountain of so-called 2019 trends and major openings were among the highlights of this weeks headlines, as editor Hamish Kilburn reports…
January arrived, and what inevitably followed was a plethora of emails of which each subject claimed to have the answers to this year’s must-have trends (I use the term loosely). And while it’s interesting to read all about whether the ’70s will or will not makes its return, or whether chrome really will replace the brushed-brass finishes, hotel designers must ensure that whatever they produce is timeless. The age-old argument between whether it’s best to be fashionable or stylish is never more relevant than it is in hotel design. Style, in our industry at least, wins every time over ever-changing fashion. It is somewhat hypocritical of myself, therefore, to have uploaded a piece about flooring trends this week, but I urge you to approach this topic with a pinch of salt. If trends were concrete (and I’m not referring to the industrial-chic bathroom look that was ‘in’ in AW19), international hotel design would become static with nothing ever changing. My hope is that this piece, along with all my features I have the pleasure of writing for Hotel Designs, can be seen as a guide – one opinion among many, if you like, with the ‘many’ referring to our wonderful readers of course.
To start the conversation over the weekend, leaving trends aside for now, here are five headlines that have grabbed the attention of our industry this week.
Developed by The Royal Yacht Britannia’s trading company, Royal Yacht Enterprises, Fingal, a new floating hotel with 23 luxury cabins that are each named after Stevenson lighthouses, has launched.
The hotel, which will be permanently berthed in Edinburgh’s historic Port of Leith, includes considered design that offers high specifications of craftmanship and finishes with nautical touches and polished woods throughout. Sumptuous Scottish leathers and the finest linens are in colour palates inspired by Fingal’s journey from land and sea.
Last week, we brought you what we considered to be the top hotels that are planning on opening in the first half of this year. Following suit, we have identified even more significant launches of design hotels that are planning to cut their ribbons from this Summer onwards this year. From beachside resorts, to cliff-side eco hotels, here are the editorial team’s top picks.
Juxtaposing the neighbouring buildings in the Liberty Village area, which were once cut off from the rest of the city of Toronto, Hotel X Toronto is the new sought-after boutique kid on the block that is making waves as a new kind of luxury experience in a city that welcomes more than 40 million tourists each year.
Travelling the world today is arguably the most comfortable it has ever been. And it comes with few raised eyebrows that the long-haul travel market is dominated, without a shadow of a doubt, by the airlines. In 2017, National Geographic reported that air travel is predicted to over the next 20 years. In the same year, Forbes reported that within just 12 months more than a staggering four billion passengers travelled by plane, which set a new record. But with slower forms of travel, such a luxury cruises and iconic train carriages, making their return in popular demand, airlines are having to adapt for the luxury market – and each other – in order to welcome guests into suites in the sky.
Two new Radisson Blu-branded landmark hotels have arrived in Abu Dhabi, one of which is located on the vibrant and iconic sea walk of Abu Dhabi, while the other is situated in one of the UAE’s cultural gems, known as the Garden City for its natural springs, plantations and lush palm groves.
The 188-key Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa, which is centrally located on the famous Meskel Square, features carefully designed areas throughout and is complete with a total of six dining outlets.
“We are excited to celebrate the opening of Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa and to introduce the brand to Ethiopia,” said Heddo Siebs, general manager, Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa. “We are confident that our loyal World of Hyatt members and global travelers will feel welcomed the moment they arrive and we look forward to serving them delicious blends of local flavors, while also offering an array of live entertainment.”
The 188 spacious guestrooms include 12 luxury Regency suites, two Executive suites, one Presidential suite and one Royal Presidential suite with four bedrooms. Regency Club room and suite guests can enjoy complimentary use of the boardroom and exclusive access to the Regency Club lounge.
Image credit: Hyatt Hotels
With six restaurants and bars to choose from, the hotel offers something for every taste. Guests can enjoy delicious Levantine signature meals in the hotel’s The Kitchen or a wide array of coffees and cocktails in Cascara Coffee & Cocktails, while taking in the stunning courtyard views. For business meetings, The Lobby Lounge allows guests to indulge in fresh fruit and delicious pastries from The Market. The hotel also features a Pool Bar and Lounge overlooking the inner courtyard. The Oriental serves western style barbeque and fine Asian cuisine in a casual yet contemporary setting. In addition, The Metro Bar, located in the basement, offers live music.
Guests wishing to relax and revitalise can visit the outdoor pool or enjoy a massage at the spa. The 2,530 square foot (235 square meter) fitness center will provide the perfect workout with state-of-the-art equipment.
The 18,300 square feet (1,700 square meters) of flexible meeting space overlooking the legendary Meskel Square leads to the open air inner courtyard of the hotel. The magnificent Regency Ballroom adjoining the courtyard offers the best setting for memorable occasions. Further, the hotel features multi-functional meeting spaces equipped with high-tech audiovisual and lighting equipment, making Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa, according to the brand, the best place for any occasion.
Africa’s hotel pipeline
In June 2018, it was reported that the total number African hotels in the pipeline was 281 projects/45,555 rooms, which was up 21 per cent by projects YOY. In Africa, there are 127 projects/21,233 rooms under construction, up one per cent by projects YOY. Those scheduled to start construction in the next 12 months were at 79 projects/11,954 rooms, up a whopping 65 per cent, while projects that were in early planning stood at 75 projects/12,368 rooms are up 29 per cent.
Following Hotel Designs’ Miniview on The Holiday Inn brand and its direction, Holiday Inn Denver East – Stapleton has completed a renovation that included 298 guestrooms; 20,000 square feet of meeting space; 3,210 square feet of public spaces; and the hotel’s restaurant, Burgers & Crafts.
“After much anticipation we are excited to reveal our newly redesigned property and restaurant concept,” said Brian Lenfestey, Complex General Manager of Holiday Inn Denver East – Stapleton. “With a design unlike any other in the brand, this renovation elevates the guest experience while creating a familiar at-home feeling, giving us an edge in Denver’s growing hotel market.”
Built in 1974, Holiday Inn Denver East – Stapleton sits in an area where the original Denver airport was located. A remaining control tower seen from the east facing balconies serves as a visual reminder of the hotel’s unique history. Today, the hotel serves as a convenient option for travelers, located midway between Denver International Airport and downtown Denver in the Stapleton neighborhood, an area that has become a destination in itself with a plethora of new restaurants, walking districts, and residential neighborhoods.
Image credit: The Holiday Inn
With the renovation overseen by InterServ, Holiday Inn Denver East – Stapleton has been renovated with a grey and white color scheme accented with orange tones. Designed for the contemporary traveler in mind, the new design offers familiarity, reliability and excitement paired with a smooth guest experience whether traveling for business or leisure.
Guestrooms: Renovated guestrooms create a familiar experience like entering a home with residential carpet patterns, residentially-inspired surface mounted or wall sconces, a welcome nook that provides the guest a place to store their belongings, charge their devices, and settle in, and a living zone with a TV, dresser, additional storage and a moveable table.
Meeting Space: The meeting spaces have been revamped with new lighting fixtures, wall coverings, and grayscale carpet accented with blue tones.
Lobby: The Lobby of the Holiday Inn has set the modern yet simple tone that the rest of the hotel emulates. The renovation brought new modern couches, chairs, and local photography throughout the public space.
As part of the $12.8 million renovation, Holiday Inn Denver East – Stapleton has also revamped its casual, all-day restaurant, Burgers & Crafts, which officially re-opened in November 2018.
The centerpiece of the restaurant is the craft centric bar which smoothly conforms with the design of the restaurant to feature an inviting “open” feel with communal tables and soft seating. The bar will provide a retail “to go” selection of espresso drinks, pastries, fresh fruit, parfaits and breakfast sandwiches, as well as casual dining with a wide selection of craft beers and whiskeys.
“We are thrilled to be reopened for our guests with a new design and dining concept,” said Keith Falco, Executive Chef of Holiday Inn Denver East – Stapleton. “Our team has thoughtfully crafted a food menu using regional ingredients and a drink menu that highlights the strong history of our region’s breweries and distilleries.”
Following the company’s expansion as it prepares to open offices in the UK, Enagic International explains why hotel operators should consider offering their guests Alkaline water as an alternative to still or tap water…
For more than four decades, Japan-based Enagic International has been the leading manufacturer of alkaline ionizers and water filtration machines around the globe. As the company grows, and prepares to launch a London base, its mission to educate the world on the benefits of alkaline water filters onto the hospitality scene.
Since 1974, Enagic has been a pioneer and innovator in alkaline water ionisation technologies. The company’s Kangen Water system is the result of heavy integrated research with superior Japanese craftsmanship in order to enhance nature’s most vital life source, water, around the world. This level of research alone has made the company the only water filtration and alkaline-ioniser distribution firm in the world with its own OEM manufacturing facility in Japanese and ISO certified quality control process.
The Enagic Technology produces drinking water that has an alkaline PH, without the addition of any chemicals. This is done through electrolysis, the process that separates the acid from alkaline minerals. There are five levels of alkalinity to from. When consumed, alkaline water helps to neutralise and flush out acid water that accumulated as the result of an unhealthy diet, stress and pollution.
The benefits of Alkaline Water include:
The water balances the body’s PH levels
It replenishes essential materials
It enhances energy levels
It reduces blood sugar, acid reflux and heartburn
It slows down the aging process
It aids to eliminate toxins
In addition to providing water that is scientifically proven to be good for you and your hotel guests, the company’s mission to be environmentally responsible has allowed it to work to secure materials with a low environmental load and conserve natural resources as measures to prevent global warming.
Head of procurement at Mitre Linen, Phillip James, explores the importance of creating a healthy and hygienic sleep environment for your guests and what measures you can take to ensure they can relax in the knowledge that your beds are clean and fresh…
Ensuring that your hotel has exemplary hygiene measures for your guests is a necessity, especially when mattresses and pillows are ideal breeding grounds for dust mites. These microscopic bugs are invisible to the naked eye, however enzymes in the fesses of the dust mite are the second largest cause of allergies in the UK.
Considering that the average person produces between one to two pints of perspiration per night, mattresses and pillows are often the most invested areas due to the constant supply of dead skin cells, moisture and heat from our bodies.
“Dust mite are the second largest cause of allergies in the UK”
Given the significant investments that hotels make in beds, mattresses, pillows and duvets, protecting these assets offers a dual benefit. Guests sleep well with a reduced risk of allergies and hoteliers safeguard their property while extending the lifespan.
Experts in all things related to beds and bedding, Mitre Linen provides expert advice on how hoteliers can provide guests with a hygienic sleep environment and protect their investments.
Mattresses
A mattress represents a considerable financial investment and is worthy of protection against spills, mishaps and untimely deterioration. Today, hotel owners and operators are becoming increasingly convinced of the need to protect against fluids, dust mites and bed bugs and a mattress protector will help to maintain the quality and cleanliness of mattresses. There are a whole host of mattress protectors and mattress encasements available, here Mitre Linen recommend their favourites:
For accidents and spills, the Cushion Cloud Protector is a must, this cushioned mattress protector provides luxurious comfort with its jacquard knit weave, and it is also waterproof and provides allergy protection for mattresses.
“With more than 5.4 million people in the UK suffering from asthma, the importance of keeping your beds and bedding free from dust mites is becoming more prevalent.”
For total mattress protection, then a Mattress Encasement that fastens around the whole mattress is essential. The Protect A Bed Buglock Plus Encasement is bed bug-escape and entry-proof as well as waterproof and has been test-washed over 200 times to ensure quality and durability.
If budget is a concern, the Mitre Linen Essentials Polyrest Mattress Protector is generously thick and this moisture-resistant protector features a 25cm deep skirt, is easy to launder and will help to prevent mattresses becoming damaged.
Pillows
Considering that within two years, approximately one third of a pillow’s weight is made up of dead skin, dust mites, oil and dirt then protecting pillows is a given.
The Allerzip Smooth Pillow Protector from the Mitre Comfort range saves pillows from contaminants which affect the lifespan and smell of pillows which guests will be quick to notice. The protector is both waterproof and breathable, allowing water vapour to escape. With a handy zip it is also easy to fit and to remove for washing.
The Comfort Quiltop Pillow Protector is an economical housewife flap pillow protector featuring a Hollowfibre filling and polyester cover. It keeps pillows free from spills, stains and excess moisture to preserve their lifespan and keep odours neutralised.
In addition to using mattress and pillow protectors, consider these two recommendations from Mitre Linen:
1) Wash bed linen on a high temperature
Washing bed linen on a high temperature will help to kill bacteria. 100% cotton bed linen can be washed on a high temperature (always check the care labels); not only will this ensure that your beds are thoroughly cleaned, but it will also help to maintain the crisp, white appearance of your bed linen, so beds will look and feel fresh.
2) Consider the type of duvet and pillows
With more than 5.4 million people in the UK suffering from asthma, the importance of keeping your beds and bedding free from dust mites is becoming more prevalent and with bedding and mattresses being renowned for harbouring dust, this can cause many issues that will affect sleep quality. Choosing an anti-allergenic duvet and pillow, like the Healthy Living Range can help provide a healthier sleep environment. Treated with a special Estlon fibre, these duvets and pillows comprise of a reduced fungal level of up to 99.99 per cent in comparison to untreated fibres.
Mitre Linen is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
Elounda Peninsula all-suite hotel introduces the largest seafront pool on the Greek island of Crete…
Elounda Peninsula All Suite Hotel has introduced new seafront pools for 2019, which will include the largest on the island of Crete. The new main pool and accompanying children’s pool have been introduced to open in May 2019 by the Kokotos family at a cost of €700,000. Collaborating with London-based designers, WATG, the hotel has produced a new pool concept that will undoubtedly amaze.
Part of Elounda SA Hotels & Resorts, the Elounda Peninsula All Suite Hotel enjoys beautiful views across the iridescent Aegean Sea and Sitia mountains. Perched on the water’s edge, the hotel has been famous over the years for having the finest beach area on the island of Crete, flaunting crystal clear waters and smooth sandy shallows. Situating the pools right next to the beach, along with the hotel’s restaurants and bars, has created an ideal summer holiday combination of pool and beach relaxation.
The new main pool will be the largest seafront pool on the island of Crete, with 420 square metres of gentle curves winding through native trees. Features include a hydro-massage area, loungers in the shallows and wide steps for easy access. A new children’s pool of 80 square metres will be separated from the main pool and features the ideal layout of shallow and safe waters. Finished with a silky-smooth ‘pebbledeck’, both new pools can also be heated up to 27C, if needed.
From a sustainability perspective, the new pools have been purposefully designed around the trees in the area that could not be re-located, involving them in the design. As carob trees cannot be transplanted, the pools were constructed around the two carob trees by the seafront in an effort to preserve the existing nature.
Taking advantage of the kids’ pool’s new location, the design firm has created a variety of levels and niches to create more privacy for poolside day-beds and cabanas and to allow for unobstructed sea views from all corners. Rich vegetation, vibrant night-time lighting, contemporary shading solutions, as well as a much-improved flow around the pools and between the restaurants and bar, will ensure that the new beach scene will have something for everyone.
The hotel offers a selection of premium accommodation including suites, villas and residences to create the perfect getaway. Premium accommodation comes not only with a lounge area and terrace featuring a private waterfront pool, but also direct access to private jetties or the hotel’s private sandy beach, being the only hotel in Europe offering this.
The former private palace in Palma, Palacio Can Marques, has opened its doors to the public for the first time in 250 years as a luxury boutique hotel…
Set in Palma’s bustling La Lonja district just 100m from the harbour, Palacio Can Marques has opened in Palma, Mallorca. The property, which was built in 1760 and is considered one of the city’s most historic properties, was name after the Marques family who lived there for over a hundred years. Bought in 1999 by German businessman Kim Schindelhauer, the property was turned into a hotel offering an exceptional space in the heart of the Old Town.
Consisting of thirteen individually-designed suites, a restaurant, gym and a 200m2 garden surrounded by palm and olive trees, the hotel has been meticulously renovated to preserve the tranquillity of the old Palacio.
“Following 18 months of intensive restorations, we are proud to present a luxurious five-star boutique hotel that still carries with it the soul of the private residence it once was, said Schindelhauer. “Under the guidance of interior designer Aline Matsika, the property has been restored to its former glory. Having changed hands only twice in its history, we are excited to finally be able to welcome guests into this remarkable city palace.”
Tucked behind a discreet façade, guests arrive into a dramatic interior courtyard, unique in Mallorca with its free-standing staircase leading up to the first floor. Set beneath eleven metre high ceilings supported by gothic alabaster columns, the 140m2 space leads onto the property’s quiet, leafy garden, a peaceful haven in Palma’s lively centre.
Using the existing architectural and decorative elements as a starting point, every room has been curated to evoke a particular atmosphere. From the 38 chandeliers handcrafted in Murano to the hand-woven silk and wool carpets, Matsika has attached particular importance to the hotel’s selection of furniture and artwork. Additionally, with a boutique shop located within the hotel itself, guests intrigued by their surroundings are able to order furnishings and art that they have seen at Palacio, as well as seek individual design advice.
Housing a traditional French restaurant and bar in the vaults of the building, and a roof terrace offering views of the nearby cathedral, Palacio Can Marques provides guests with the opportunity to soak up Palma’s vibrant culture, whilst immersing them in a slice of the city’s history.
Perfect for boutique hotels, UK Flooring Direct predicts five wood flooring trends that can help lift the hotel corridor…
In between the check-in area and the guestroom, connecting each area within the modern hotel are the hotel corridors, which, for many reasons including a lack of lighting, awkward surfaces and narrow channels of blandness, fill many designers with dread. Selecting the right style of flooring, however, can help to transform these no-mans-land walkways into interesting spaces that can further amplify a hotel’s theme or style.
A flooring refresh can work wonders in turning a gloomy corridor into a bright, inviting space. In our quest for stunning surfaces, UK Flooring Direct has rounded up five fabulous styles that can to take the boutique hotel corridor from drab to fab.
1) Extra-wide planks
Large-scale planks are the latest flooring look and are ideal for creating a sense of drama in open-plan living areas and larger rooms. In a beautiful golden-brown shade that will inject instant warmth into any space, Vantage Wood 14mm Laminate Flooring Sunset Oak features an authentic-looking rustic grain and 244mm extra-wide boards that are a breeze to fit thanks to a 5G click installation system. With an AC5 Commercial rating and a 35-year warranty, this stunning floor will keep its good looks for years to come.
2) Scandi Noir
Seductive and decadent, Scandi Noir is the latest, dark twist on Scandinavian style, with deep greys and black replacing pale wood and white. It still champions simplicity and functionality, though – and Parquet Vinyl Victoria Black Plank Luxury Vinyl Click Flooring definitely delivers on both counts. This stormy grey LVT floor offers a bold, contemporary update on the oak look, and features an ultra-stable rigid core that makes it likely to indent and mark. Boasting a 35-year warranty, it’s safe to use with underfloor heating and in areas exposed to UV rays.
3) Cool chocolate
2019 is going to be all about ash-toned woods, and Audacity 12mm Laminate Flooring Coastal Oak comes in a cool brown shade that complements a wealth of colours – in particular, Spiced Honey, Dulux’s Colour of the Year. Its toughness and high level of water resistance makes it a great fit for hallways, kitchens and other demanding areas – its stain- and scuff-resistant surface means spills, dirt and accidents can simply be wiped away – while its 35 per cent more stable core means it can be used across the largest of spaces without the need for unsightly room profiles.
4) Modern rustic
Painting walls and woodwork brilliant white can help prevent a hallway looking dingy, but if you’re looking to introduce some warmth into the scheme, Home Choice Engineered European Rustic Oak Flooring is a fantastic choice. Packed with character, its classic-size boards feature eye-catching grain markings, knots, sapwood, mineral streaks, and have been sanded smooth and finished with high-quality UV lacquer to give an attractive subtle sheen and fantastic protection against the rigours of boutique-hotel life. This tough floor features a three-layer construction for fantastic stability and a 2.5mm real wood wear layer for long-lasting good looks.
5) Colour variation
Planks in different shades of brown – from pale sand to chocolate – give Aqualock 12mm Laminate Flooring Harlequin Brown Oak genuine wow factor, but with added protection against moisture and spills, this striking, traditional floor is as practical as it is beautiful. With on-trend colour variation, this look is set for big things in 2019.
Hotel Summit, which returns this year in a new home in Heythrop Park on July 8 – 9, provides hoteliers with direct access to leading hotel suppliers…
Following last year’s sold-out event, Hotel Summit, which returns this year in a new home to provide an unmatched networking opportunity for hoteliers and leading suppliers, has announced its first line-up of hotel suppliers.
The Summit, which this year celebrates its 21st anniversary, is specifically organised by Forum Events for senior professionals who are directly responsible for purchasing and procurement within their organisation, and those who provide the latest and greatest products and services within the sector.
Over just two days, the highly focused event consists of pre-arranged one-to-one business meetings, interactive seminars and valuable networking opportunities throughout.
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How to register
If you are a supplier to the hospitality industry looking to meet top hotel professionals, contact Jennie Lane at j.lane@forumevents.co.uk– or click here to book your place.
If you are an architect or interior designer and would like to attend the Summit, please contact Liam Cloona on l.cloona@forumevents.co.uk – or click here to book your place.
In last few weeks, Hotel Designs has profiled the 75 finalists who made it onto the Hotel Designs Brit List 2018. We conclude our profiling by listing our winning architects in alphabetical order…
Having recently completed Shanghai’s very first Bellagio hotel, WATG are at the top of the architectural food chain in international hotel design. Recently appointed to lead the architecture firm into the future is Martin Pease.
With more than 25 years’ architectural experience, which spans across the world, Pease was recently interviewed by Hotel Designs, where the publication learned of his love of drawing and seeing a project come to life. As the new Managing Director of the London studio, his leadership style stands out as exceptional and enables him to be involved in all aspects of the business.
Commended with the Emerging Woman Architect of the Year accolade by The Architects’ Journal, Nathalie Rozencwaijg, who co-founded RARE Architecture with Michel da Costa Gonclaves, brings a wealth of experience of overseas associations and collaborative teamwork.
As the founder of NAME Architecture, Rozencwaig’s portfolio includes London’s Town Hall Hotel, where the team worked to create a sensitively contemporary design with the aim to preserve the original features while integrating modern inserts such as a new roof extension.
Georgia Stevenson has vast interdisciplinary design expertise, enabling her to lead some of the practice’s landmark hotel projects such as The Trafalgar St. James London and The Mayfair Hotel.
Stevenson is known for her flexibility and co-operative style, and her ability to build exceptional relationships with clients, consultants and project teams alike.
Phil Jaffa has created some of the finest landmark projects in the hospitality industry.
His company, Scape Design Associates, claims to be the only European based landscape architectural practice which specialises in the design and detailing of landscapes and external environments for the hospitality and luxury lifestyle markets.
The firm leads with passion, and Jaffa is not afraid to participate debates in design. The aim of the company is to raise the bar in world-class landscapes in order to create a new kind of luxury.
Having overseen more than 50 luxury international projects, Richard Hywel Evans built his global reputation on the solid design and delivery of bold innovative projects.
Since founding Studio RHE in 1997, Evans’ research has been published in the RIBA Journal and has also contributed to publications such as The Times, The Guardian, Finacial Times and the BBC.
Debuting this year, the Interior Design & Architecture Summit, which will take place at Hilton Tower Bridge London on April 29, has announced its panel discussion entitled The Rising Ceiling of Creativity…
Following the announcement that HBA London’s creative director will be the headline speaker at the Interior Design & Architecture Summit (IDAS), the event has unveiled its exclusive panel discussion, which will take place on April 29 at Hilton Tower Bridge. Bringing together a handful of leaders and visionaries in both the interior design and architecture sphere, the session entitled The Rising Ceiling of Creativity will discuss areas such as the creative boundaries within interior design and architecture as well as looking at how designers and architects can inject flair while working within a budget.
The panel discussion, which will be moderated by editor of Hotel DesignsHamish Kilburn, will include the following panelists:
Gilly Craft – President, British Institute of Interior Design and director of Koubou Interiors
Gilly Craft started Koubou Interiors in 2004 after graduating with a Diploma in Interior Design with Distinction in 2002. She is the current President of the British Institute of Interior Design and was previously the CPD Director at the Institute. Craft, who exhibited the Hotel Room of the Future last year at the Independent Hotel Show London, has been a lecturer in Interior Design for her local and other colleges and a guest speaker for a number of years especially speaking on the subject of designing for special needs to include dementia.
Speaking ahead of the panel discussion, Craft said: “I was delighted to be asked to sit on the panel at the forthcoming Interior Design and Architecture Summit. This event, run by Hotel Designs, will be a great opportunity for the design community to network and meet with relevant contacts.”
Recently interviewed for Hotel Designs following her dynamic display of her Sleep Set at last year’s Sleep + Eat event, Yasmine mahmoudieh has been rewarded many times for her creative and innovative designs and is a reference in her field. Her multiple talents and skills helped her throughout her entire career in order to live her passion for architecture, design and entrepreneurship.
Charles Leon and Nicholas Black established Leon Black Architecture in 2014. Since then, Leon has been asked to lead lectures internationally on interface between design theory, neuroscience, innovation, emotion and the workings of the designer’s mind. His talks blend neuroscience, design, economics, politics, philosophy, sociology and current affairs to provide a new, powerful and persuasive way of understanding how the mind works.
Leon is the Past President of the British Institute of Interior Design and also a guest lecturer at Middlesex University, KLC, Inchbald and The Interior Design School.
Speaking ahead of IDAS, Leon said: “In my opinion, innovation is an innately human quality that pushes us to constantly improve our wellbeing and our situation in life. I am passionate about design, its role in innovation and its ability to transform the way people feel. I am fascinated by the emotional, mental, environmental, social and political aspects involved in design. Designing is a leap of faith, a view of the future, that is condensed into an experience. Designers and innovators are at the very core of this process”.
Robin Sheppard has been a hotelier for 40+ years winning many Hotel/Hotelier of the Year awards, including the Outstanding Contribution to the Hospitality Industry at The Brit List 2018. In 2000 he co-founded Bespoke Hotels, which has since grown into the UK’s latest independent hotel group with more than 220 properties, including the multi-award winning Hotel Gotham. Most recently he won the Hotel Catey and the Oxford Brookes awards for Outstanding Contribution to the Hospitality Industry.
He is also Hotel Sector Champion for Disabled People.
His greatest achievement, though, has been to fight back from GBS, a totally paralysing illness. His relative recovery inspired him to launch the Bespoke Access Awards in conjunction with RIBA at the House of Lords encouraging better design and empathy from architects and interior designers.
“Revolution is still in the air,” said Sheppard ahead of the event. “The world of hotel design continues to be turned upside down and this debate promises to be close to the centre of this step-change”.
Moritz Waldemeyer Studio, which is owned by internationally renowned lighting artist Moritz Waldemeyer who recently exhibited an immersive installation at this year’s London Design Festival, occupies a diverse range of creative spaces, from art and product design through to fashion and entertainment. One of Hotel Designs’ recommended suppliers in the lighting category, Moritz Waldemeyer Studio‘s creative flair has led the designer to work with large celebrity profiles as well as international hotels.
The panel discussion, The Rise of Creativity, will take place at 4.30pm – 17.15pm on April 29 at the Hilton Tower Bridge Hotel, London
About IDAS
The one-day event is designed to connect senior executives working within the sector with product and service suppliers for face-to-face meetings and business networking.
The Summit aims to support the design and architecture sector with a unique platform to help create long-lasting and mutually beneficial business connections.
How to register your interest in attending
If you are a supplier to the hospitality industry looking to meet the top architects and interior designers, contact Victoria Petch on v.petch@forumevents.co.uk – or click here to book your place.
If you are an architect or interior designer and would like to attend the Summit, please contact Kerry Naumburger on k.naumburger@forumevents.co.uk – or click here to book your place.
Hotel Designs has started the New Year fresh by focusing the spotlight on significant hotel openings for 2019 that together are expected to transform the landscape of international hotel design. Following our start last week, here are our top picks of hotels that are launching in Q3 & Q4…
Last week, we brought you what we considered to be the top hotels that are planning on opening in the first half of this year. Following suit, we have identified even more significant launches of design hotels that are planning to cut their ribbons from this Summer onwards this year. From beachside resorts, to cliff-side eco hotels, here are the editorial team’s top picks.
Q3
Amare Beach Hotel, Ibiza Opening: July 2019
Image Credit: Amare Hotels
Located just four kilometres San Antonio de Portmany, Amare Beach Hotel Ibiza will open its beachfront hotel doors this summer. Showcasing 366 contemporary-designed rooms with stunning views of The Mediterranean, the hotel will also include an infinity pool, three restaurants and direct access to Bou Cove, making it one of the island’s most anticipated openings of this year.
Following the Munich-based hotel brand announcing UK expansion plans at the end of last year, Ruby Hotels will launch its first hotel outside of Germany this summer, taking the brand’s ‘Lean Luxury’ to London’s Southbank.
Ruby Lucy will house 76 rooms, ranging in size from cosy ‘Nest’ rooms to expansive ‘Loft’ rooms. A laid-back , contemporary design will see quirky touches such as the inclusion of a Marshall guitar amp in each room.
The new 200-key Pacific beachfront luxury hotel will be the first Mexican property from Robert De Niro and chef Nobu Matsuhusa’s hotel group. Both WATG and Studio PCH have blended Japanese minimalism with locally sourced Californian raw materials, such as custom furniture pieces, wood-soaking tubs, teak and stone materials, shoji inspired closet doors and Japanese inspired lanterns, the hotel’s interiors will reflect Japanese-Mexican fusion at its best.
With the interior design led by the award-winning Alexandra Champalimaud – not to mention the hotel’s storied history being known by many as inventing the famous Singapore Sling cocktail, Raffles Singapore is expected to open it colonial doors once more this Summer.
Following a milestone year for the hotel brand that aggressively extended its luxury portfolio with a number of significant openings around the globe, Six Senses is preparing to open its first hotel in Israel. Perched on the edge of a cliff in the south of the Negev Desert, the 58-suite hotel will have a focus on eco-living, banning cars on the property as well as all outdoor lighting to further minimise light pollution.
The 25-key boutique hotel is the result of the conversion of two baroque townhouses and a bank in Malta that overlook the medieval Fort St Angelo. Complete with original glazed baroque balconies and intricately painted ceilings and wallcoverings, the hotel is expected to blend old and new, paying distinct homage to its former shells.
Slated to open in September of this year, the Paramount Hotel will be sheltered in a structure that consists afour-tower master development by Damac Properties. The 800-key hotel will stand at more than 270 metres in Dubai’s Burj area and its interior design will be inspired by the quintessential California lifestyle.
Pushing the boundaries of ‘luxury glamping abroad’, the air-conditioned tents at Nayara Tented Camp in Costa Rica make the most of the views over the Arenal Volcano. The camp-themed hotel will feature 18 luxury tents; 12 of them will be mirror image tents linked together to create a spectacular two bedroom unit for families.
With international hotel design pushing boundaries further than ever before, can the designers in the field benefit from an insight into other industries when it comes to designing the hotel room of the future? Hamish Kilburn kicks off our series, Hotels At New Heights, by investigating how the airlines have raced to design suites in the sky…
Travelling the world today is arguably the most comfortable it has ever been. And it comes with few raised eyebrows that the long-haul travel market is dominated, without a shadow of a doubt, by the airlines. In 2017, National Geographic reported that air travel is predicted to over the next 20 years. In the same year, Forbes reported that within just 12 months more than a staggering four billion passengers travelled by plane, which set a new record. But with slower forms of travel, such a luxury cruises and iconic train carriages, making their return in popular demand, airlines are having to adapt for the luxury market – and each other – in order to welcome guests into suites in the sky.
In 2014, jaws of #avgeeks on Instagram and beyond dropped to the floor when Etihad launched its unrivalled three-room Residence on board its Airbus A380, single-handedly taking first-class experiences in aviation to new heights, way above what any of its competition could offer. The suite comes complete with a living room which can seat up to two passengers, an extra-wide ottoman for storage, a 32-inch TV, a private bathroom and its very own private bedroom. For the first time in history, although other airlines had falsely claimed before, passengers with deep pockets could pay for the hotel experience in the air as their mode of transport during long-haul travel.
Image credit: Etihad Airways
Since that monumental moment in aviation design, airlines have tried, with mixed reviews as to whether they have succeeded or not, to go one-better in order to further raise the altitude of creativity in the industry. In 2017, Emirates unveiled new cabins for its Boing 777 fleet, which were inspired by Mercedes Benz. Of course, this isn’t the first time the automotive industry has partnered with the hospitality industry. In 2014, the hotel brand Starwood Hotels & Resorts partnered with Bentley to unveil the dynamic interiors of The Bentley Suite at the St Regis Istanbul. Similar to the hotel, the new Emirates suites feature sleek design with a blend of soft creamed leathers and padded noise-cancelling walls, allowing passengers the luxury and privacy of 40 square feet of personal space.
Image Credit: Bentley Motors. Caption: The interiors of the Bentley Suite at the St Regis Istanbul
Colour within the design of these so-called suites in the sky too reflect timeless luxury, which continues to be a look that hotel designers are striving to achieve. While many hotels chose 1920s inspired Art Deco to achieve this look, Emirates opted for a palette of soft greys, cream and Champagne, conveying a contemporary feel that is open. Etihad on the other hand settled for opulent brown leather sofas and calming dark purple walls in the bedroom area.
Imagined by French luxury yacht designer Jean-Jacques Coste, the individual cabins in Singapore Airlines’ suites are finished in cream and brown, and accented with leather and wood to create a cosy, homely atmosphere. Each cabin features a sliding door and window blinds for more luxury and come complete with a chaise lounge and large table. Considering it has just launched the world’s longest flight, which will be 17 hours and 52 minutes, from Singapore to New York, the suites are designed in such a way to provide maximum comfort over long periods.
Image credit: Factory Design
Bi-level suites have become a popular novelty for many hotel designers around the globe, but will this playful interior that provides a solution to many hotels that are wanting to set themselves aside from their competitors, become a reality in the future of aviation travel? Some designers, such as Factory Design seemed to think so, and its render of what the firm predicted to be the luxury first-class suite certainly made use of the multi-level A380s. However, with many airlines opting for more economical planes, the dreamed up bi-level suite could be nothing other than fiction, or the thought of what could have been.
Designed to make use of space, these first-class seats and suites have questionably been the inspiration behind urban hotels which, too, have been tasked to design amazing rooms within the confines of small areas. The beds in London’s New Road Hotel, for example, were selected by designer Nigel Howard Creative in order to make the most of the bedroom/living area. Hypnos beds were deliberately chosen and designed in such a way to eliminate the need for an in-room sofa. As a result, the rooms are cosy and feel unfamiliarly large considering that the hotel is situated a stone’s throw away from Shoreditch. Another guestroom that has opened recently, which too has utilised every square metre, is the ‘Womb Room’, which is the result of a collaboration between Cuckooz, Simba and Studio Stilton to deliver a home away from home designed around the pursuit of sleep excellence by tackling the ‘first night effect’. Created to, as the name suggests, to reflect the safe security and warmth of the womb, the pod-like room comes complete with muted lighting, soft-pink walls and a high-tech mattress.
Image credit: Image credit: Simba/Cuckooz/ Billy Bolton
It seems as if there are many parallels to draw from between the aviation industry and the hotel design sphere, and as aviation arguably fast-becomes a new frontier in the hospitality market, one that is building hybrid cities in the skies, it is proving that suite design is not limited to statutory luxury hotels around the globe. Of course lessons can be drawn from the designers creating these spaces in the skies because of the challenging confined environment they are designing for, but the real question is whether the aviation industry also benefit from the hotels that are being designed specifically to help increase the quality of sleep and rest.
The next article in this series will investigate Rooms on the Rails, where Hotel Designs will look into how the rail industry is taking inspiration from hotels to provide luxury slow travel on a level that has never been reached before. To contribute to this series, tweet @HotelDesigns on Twitter.
Hotel Designs has vowed to follow interior designer Nicky Dobree as she works towards opening the soulfully restored doors of Plaza 18. In the first article in the series, Hamish Kilburn exclusively catches up with Dobree to establish the plans for her first hotel project…
Up until now, Nicky Dobree has been known and celebrated for her talent in restoring luxury ski chalets, villas and contemporary residential interiors. In 2003, her first chalet conversion, a 300 year old alpine farmhouse, was followed by Grand Designs Abroad and described by presenter Kevin McCloud as the “ultimate James Bond pad” and in so doing set a new benchmark for chalet design. Moving on from 007’s ideal alpine bachelor estate, Dobree has recently turned her attention to the luxury hotel design scene – in particular to one building in Andalucía.
Inspired by the classicism of a heritage building and the surrounding Spanish region of Andalucía, Plaza 18 has become one of the most anticipated openings this year. Set in the historic white town of Vejer de la Frontera (Vejer), featured on forbes.com, the hotel which will shelter just six luxurious, individually designed bedrooms is the conversion of a listed 19th Century merchant’s house. The project, a collaboration between Dobree and Vejer’s principal hotel La Casa del Califa, is expected to turn one of Vejer’s landmark properties into one of the finest boutique hotels in Andalucía.
“There will be comfort and elegance through every door.”
The building, which dates from 1896 and stands on the foundations of an ancient 13th C Arab house, is being restored using entirely organic building materials including traditional lime-based mortars, wooden floors and natural stone and marble. “There will be comfort and elegance through every door, a place to feel at home, a place to re-connect and re-discover,” says Dobree who describes her first hotel project as a home hotel’. “There is no one dominant material,” adds Dobree. “I have retained the existing black and white Andalucian tiles and mixed them with timber and stone. Large black doors with bespoke feature brass handles open onto the six individual bedroom suites, each of which has been personally curated.”
“There are many challenges, but over and above the planning constraints, the space is disproportionate.”
With the design world watching, and with just six bedrooms to play with, this project has been quite something, “There are many challenges, but over and above the planning constraints, the space is disproportionate,” explains Dobree. “It has a huge central patio and elegant sweeping staircase leading to an amazing roof terrace that overlooks the castle with views across to Morocco. It has meant that we have had to be creative with planning the space for the individual guest suites.”
I have come to the conclusion that hotels are only at the edge of the curve when they bravely break the mould of what is considered, at the time, as being conventional. It is therefore a relief to hear that Dobree is planning on ‘Breaking the rules’ – her words not mine – in order to create this timeless, luxury hotel. “I want to add layers of soft furnishings to create a home,” she explains. “But above all, I want the hotel to be true to its heritage and I want it to retain its soul.” To do this, Dobree has worked to retain and repair original features using local craftsmen to restore the glass ceiling, stairs, balustrade and even the wrought iron gate. “I see myself very much as a curator of the building whilst making it comfortable for living in today,” she adds.
Quick-fire round
Hamish Kilburn: What’s your favourite colour this season? Nicky Dobree: Burgundy
HK: Where’s next on your travel bucket list? ND: Lebanon
HK: What’s worse, bad lighting or bad wallpaper? ND: Bad lighting
HK: What is one item you cannot travel without? ND: An Adaptor
HK: Can you give us one easy way to brighten up your interiors? ND: With cushions
HK: What’s the largest misconception about you? NB: That I am an extrovert
“As with everything, it is all about timing,” Dobree says when I question her as to why she has waited until now to commit herself to the venture and step into hotel design. “I have wanted to design a boutique hotel for a while and was fortunate when this opportunity arose that we were able to embrace it.”
As I learn more about the awaited Andalucían jewel, I can’t help but wonder how similar this hotel will be from some of Dobree’s previous projects.“There are similarities,Plaza 18 is all about elegance and comfort, using the local vernacular in the design and celebrating the local culture,” Dobree explains. “It is what I endeavour to achieve in all my projects.”
And with that, Dobree’s task continues as she prepares to enter a new design chapter in her already celebrated career.
The hotel group’s first ski resort sits at the foot of Mont Blanc…
As the ski holiday industry grows even further in popularity, despite factors such as the EU Referendum or Brexit, Italian Hospitality Collection has announced that the luxury resort of Le Massif has officially opened its doors in the Italian ski resort of Courmayeur.
Le Massif, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, has a distinct chalet vibe in its design. It shelters a total of 80 rooms and suites, a world-class spa, a private, in-house ski concierge, two on-site restaurants including the gourmet Cervo Rosso Steakhouse and all-day-dining family restaurant Chetif, two bars and a ski room.
The five-star hotel is conveniently located in the centre of picturesque Courmayeur, a stone’s throw from both the resort cable car and the village’s most fashionable boutiques and vibrant nightlife.
Image Credit: Italian Hospitality Collection
The expansive Le Massif Spa offers the ideal antidote to a day on the slopes, with a range of innovate treatments including forest bathing and alpine stone massages designed to soothe aching muscles. Centred around Italian Hospitality Collection’s signature Equilibrium philosophy – pioneered at the collection’s award-winning Tuscan spa properties – the treatment menu has been expertly curated to tackle internal inflammation, the number one cause of life-limiting illnesses.
In an exciting period of growth for the hotel collection, Le Massif is Italian Hospitality Collection’s first ski property, joining a portfolio which includes Chia Laguna resort in Sardinia and the renowned thermal spa hotels Grotta Giusti, Bagni di Pisa and Fonteverde in Tuscany.
In regards to hotel development within ski locations globally, recent reports suggest that an overwhelming majority of 76 per cent of ski travellers believe that chalets were a more popular accommodation choice than hotels. This suggests even further that hotels opening in these locations must, like Le Massif, work harder to ensure that its design is one that evokes a home-from-home setting on the slopes.
Celebrating the New Year in style, the new luxury flame retardant decorative upholstery velvet collection from Skopos, La Feria, officially launches this month…
Appropriately named La Feria, after the annual local festival in Spain and southern France which is characterised by bullfights, bull running in the streets, bodegas, Skopos’ new collection brings a dramatic carnival feel to contract upholstery. A collection of unique FR velvet designs, La Feria incorporates five elegant new designs, involving different combinations of expressive colour and elegant soft neutrals.
La Feria achieves the high standards required for cruise, hospitality and leisure contract interiors.
Image credit: Skopos
Designs include Cadiz, an organic feather/herringbone design with an exquisite metallic outline and Cordoba, a soft textured pebble design; a multi-coloured chevron; a diamond; and an exotic tile. The collection comes with Crib5 backing as standard and a soft, luxurious pile. La Feria achieves 40,000+ Martindale rubs, meeting the needs for severe contract fabrics.
Samples of the collection are available now. View the La Feria designs on the Skopos website.
Skopos is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
Ushering in the New Year with a bright contemporary look, Anantara Dhigu Maldives Resort has unveiled luxuriously refurbished beach villas…
Nestled among lush foliage and silvery shores, the Anantara Dhigu Maldives Resort has opened 75 new beach villas retain the resort’s relaxed beach ambiance, whilst now offering guests a refreshed palette of sophisticated neutral tones that reflect the island’s natural hues.
“Darker timbers have been lightened with soft ivory and beige.”
The new beach villas have undergone a striking transformation. Darker timbers have been lightened with soft ivory and beige, brightening the interiors and creating a refined beach-house vibe with infusions of tropical charm synonymous with Maldivian getaways.
Image credit: Anantara
Bathrooms have also been rejuvenated to offer sleek indoor and outdoor spaces. Guests can sink into a deep oval tub in their courtyard garden, or retreat to the cool of a glassed-in air-conditioned area. On each villa terrace, a traditional Maldivian swing has also been added, lending an authentic touch of local culture, inviting guests to enjoy balmy island breezes in their own private sanctuary.
Aside from the visual transformation, villas also feature modernised amenities to reduce energy consumption, including an electricity system that shuts off when the room isn’t in use as well as bathtub designed to save water. These amenities work in line with Anantara’s wider sustainability goals, ultimately aiming to preserve this amazing destination in the 110 villas on the island.
To experience an idyllic Maldivian holiday immersed in contemporary island style, guests can choose from Sunrise Beach Villas, Sunset Beach Villas, Anantara Pool Villas, Sunset Pool Villas, Two-Bedroom Family Villas and Two-Bedroom Anantara Pool Villas. In addition to the refurbished beach villas, Anantara Dhigu Maldives Resort offers guests Sunrise Over Water Suites, Sunset Over Water Suites and Anantara Over Water Pool Villas, for those looking to relax above the turquoise waters of the Maldives.
In the coming weeks, Hotel Designs will be profiling the 75 finalists in the Hotel Designs Brit List 2018. We continue with profiling our winning architects in alphabetical order…
For Jonathan Manser, design is in the blood as both his father and sister are both architects and his mother is an architectural journalist.
With more than 30 years’ experience in the design and management of large-scale commercial and residential projects, Manser has led projects such as Heathrow Hilton Terminal 4, Artigiano and The Great Eastern Hotel.
Julian Dickens brings a wealth of experience from various sectors, with built projects including the £30m Aloft hotel in London docklands, £13m Timber Wharf housing in the London Borough of Hackney and two state-of-the-art data centre campuses in northern Europe.
Dickens has been a visiting tutor at London Metropolitan University and has been invited to lecture at various universities and conferences across the UK and in Australia.
The practice has been led by Liz Pickard for more than 20 years. Pickard is an accredited RIBA Client Adviser.
Since being awarded a European Laureate as one of the best emerging European architects in 2010, Pickard has completed projects including the five-star hotel, The Lowry Hotel, The Savoy and The Oriental Club, demonstrating that she is a leading architect in her field.
The Murray, Hong Kong’s newest luxury hotel has now fully opened to the public. Located the heart of Hong Kong, with panoramic views of The Peak and the gardens to the south, this major transformation of a listed government office building reinvents this unique urban quarter – stitching together the urban fabric by linking the large green spaces flanking the site to the east and west.
Luke Fox, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners London said: “Our design for The Murray creates a dialogue between the old and the new – giving the building a new lease of life and a renewed purpose, with a unique sense of character that is embedded within the fabric of the building.”
Heading up the hotels and hospitality team, qualified RIBA architect Mark Bruce has extensive experience across the hotel sector including working on milestone projects such as The Ned, Hoxton Hotel Waterloo and Hotel Russel among others.
Radisson Blu has announced the opening of two hotels in Abu Dhabi…
Two new Radisson Blu-branded landmark hotels have arrived in Abu Dhabi, one of which is located on the vibrant and iconic sea walk of Abu Dhabi, while the other is situated in one of the UAE’s cultural gems, known as the Garden City for its natural springs, plantations and lush palm groves.
“We’re delighted to begin 2019 in such a positive manner with the opening of these amazing properties in the UAE, arriving under the upper upscale Radisson Blu flag,” said Tim Cordon, Area Senior Vice President, Middle East and Africa, Radisson Hotel Group. “Both properties remain iconic landmarks in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, offering guests the opportunity to enjoy such unique locations. Abu Dhabi continues to flourish as a destination, with significant investment going into demand generators for the tourism sector – from cultural landmarks to entertainment and leisure offerings. We’re proud to be playing a supporting role in this evolution.”
Khalid Anib, Chief Executive Officer, Abu Dhabi National Hotels, said: “We’re pleased to lead our hotels into their next generation under the globally recognized Radisson Blu brand. Both hotels are undergoing extensive renovation works that will see them reach leading standards. Each hotel has its own distinct and attractive offering for both business and leisure segments. We’re confident that our guests will enjoy many memorable moments at our hotels, whilst discovering all that Abu Dhabi and Al Ain has to offer.”
Radisson Blu Hotel & Resort, Abu Dhabi Corniche
Image credit: Radisson Blu
Offering stunning views of Abu Dhabi’s coastline, the Radisson Blu Hotel & Resort, Abu Dhabi Corniche is ideally located for travellers looking to enjoy the hotel’s extensive leisure facilities and private beach or explore the city centre attractions.
Stepping inside, the hotel also has everything guests need to enjoy memorable moments. As well as 327 spacious rooms and suites, the Radisson Blu Hotel & Resort Abu Dhabi Corniche brings together culinary excellence and entertainment. The nine restaurants provide an ample choice of international cuisines for breakfast, lunch or dinner, while the three swimming pools, spa, fitness centre and the beach club offer plenty of opportunities for relaxation. The meeting and events space can host events for 10 to 2,000 guests, with 14 meeting rooms, two ballrooms and outdoor facilities that include a private beach club for special events.
Radisson Blu Hotel & Resort Al Ain
Image credit: Radisson Blu
Set in the UAE’s remarkable Garden City, the Radisson Blu Hotel & Resort Al Ain gives guests the opportunity to enjoy an authentic UAE experience away from the urban buzz of the main cities. The hotel is located in one of Al Ain’s stunning historic properties and offers easy access to a number of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Well-equipped for guests looking to relax or explore, the hotel features 210 rooms including a range of suites, villas and studios – as well as six restaurants and four bars. It also has a fantastic selection of leisure facilities, including swimming pools, tennis courts, a sauna and steam room. In addition to this 1,070sqm of event space (including four versatile meeting rooms and the Oasis Ballroom) provides a unique setting for events – especially the ballroom that can host 650 guests or the garden area that’s ideal for social gatherings.
The new floating hotel that will be permanently located in Edinburgh has launched, marking a new era in luxury hotel design in Scotland…
Developed by The Royal Yacht Britannia’s trading company, Royal Yacht Enterprises, Fingal, a new floating hotel with 23 luxury cabins that are each named after Stevenson lighthouses, has launched.
The hotel, which will be permanently berthed in Edinburgh’s historic Port of Leith, includes considered design that offers high specifications of craftmanship and finishes with nautical touches and polished woods throughout. Sumptuous Scottish leathers and the finest linens are in colour palates inspired by Fingal’s journey from land and sea.
The design development was led by the Pedley Group’s Co-founder Alan Pedley who has been responsible for manufacturing and installing more than 180,000 hotel rooms in 61 countries for the world’s leading hotel groups including IHG, Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott.
Image credit: Fingal
A stylish yet relaxed restaurant with banquette seating offers a light menu celebrating the best of Scotland’s larder, from coast to field. Guests can raise a glass at the welcoming Moët Hennessy Champagne bar or opt to enjoy a cocktail from the creative menu. Spacious outdoor decks provide a blend of private and public spaces to bask in the quayside setting or sit out under the stars.
Launched in 1963, Fingal was the last ship to be built by the prestigious Blythswood Ship Building Company in Glasgow. She spent most of her service life working out of Oban helping maintain lighthouses and transporting their keepers, equipment and supplies to some of the most treacherous locations in Scotland. Fingal was originally registered in Leith and has now returned home to Edinburgh’s vibrant waterfront, the largest deep-water port in Scotland.
Situated adjacent to Lake Ontario, a shimmering glass tower shelters a new kind of luxury in Toronto. Edited by Hamish Kilburn, Vincenzo Ferrara reviews Hotel X…
Juxtaposing the neighbouring buildings in the Liberty Village area, which were once cut off from the rest of the city of Toronto, Hotel X Toronto is the new sought-after boutique kid on the block that is making waves as a new kind of luxury experience in a city that welcomes more than 40 million tourists each year.
Imagined and designed by Stephen B. Jacobs Group and Andi Pepper Interiors Design, the hotel opened in March 2018 with the aim of creating an extravagant and contemporary hotel with dramatic flourishes. Using its unparalleled location and striking views as a design and architectural reference, X certainly does now mark the spot near Liberty Village, which becomes directly apparent when checking in.
Image credit: Hotel X, Toronto
Upon arrival, guests are immediately welcomed into the hotel’s towering size combined with unassuming elegance. On the exterior shell, reflected beams of light hit the glass building, which creates a colourful display in an otherwise grey, and somewhat sombre business district. Despite the hotel, with its state-of-the-art technology and business facilities, appropriately keeping in line with the suit-and-tie scene that surrounds, personality pops out in unassuming moments. In the entrance, for example, monochrome, geometric flooring that has been sourced from all corners of the earth is the perfect metaphor to represent the city as a place where people meet from around the world.
Image caption: View overlooking the monochrome lobby area at Hotel X
The hand-cut marble reception desk sits in front of a living wall that covers the height and width of the lobby and creates an instant sense of peace that is far removed from the metropolis outside. A grand staircase on the right leads to a glass bridge that overlooks the spacious and minimalist area and offers a platform where guests can enjoy the lobby area from a different perspective, such as an up-close look at the detailed circular patterned chandeliers.
Image caption: Kandy Gallery, Hotel X
Art is a prominent theme captured throughout the hotel. A gallery on the ground floor is devoted to photographer Neil Dankoff, whose landscape pieces famously led him to become a staple on the art and photography scene in Toronto. His ‘Kandy Gallery’ commission with Hotel X, which sees his signature images that depict worldwide adventure hung on the walls, turned out to be the largest fine art photography transaction in Canadian history. Dankoff spent almost three years travelling the globe to capture more than 800 landscape photographs that were purposefully commissioned for use within the hotel. Hung in such a way so that guests notice an eye-catching canvas of natural beauty around every corner, Dankoff’s work is quite literally written on the walls. Cleverly, his work from the gallery filter into the guestrooms and suites, resulting in a further reclined backdrop. The guestrooms and suites that offer a lake view incorporate water within the pieces, whereas the rooms that face the city skyline contain more physical features such as woodlands and rock formations.
Image caption: The Library, Hotel X
The gallery is a strong design unique selling point that positions Hotel X in a league of its own, but the adjacent library, complete with an oversized statement floor-to-ceiling bookcase, is another design centrepoint. Set in a monochrome setting, which is filtered through from the lobby area, the library’s matte-silver backdrop creates a sense of place with a carved map of the famous downtown area embossed in black paint. The space, which is open to both guests and the public, has been sensitively designed to offer guests a tranquil working environment.
The ambiance within the ground floor corridors changes from the other public areas as the walls transform from a soft cream to white light glass panels. Placed side by side, these LED flashes create a chequered wall that both reinforces the Hotel X brand while also boosts new energy in an area that is lacking natural light.
Image Credit: Hotel X, Toronto
Taking full advantage of the complete Toronto skyline, each guestroom and suite features floor-to-ceiling windows. The spacious living quarters in the suites, which are filled with natural light, blend blues, greys and blacks into dark-oak fittings. Bright, block colour in the furniture infuses the right balance of personality. The sliding doors between the living areas and the bedroom keep the space open at all times and flooded with natural light that flows, like the carpet, throughout each room. The large beds with cream headboards create another layer of calmness that is occasionally interrupted by loud accents in the furniture.
“The glass conservatory has been built on several 18th century military forts.”
New Fort Hall is a unique area of the hotel, not only for its visual appeal but also for its way of retelling history. The glass conservatory has been built on several 18th century military forts. Instead of demolishing the ruins completely, the design team incorporated them to create an eye-catching venue space. The glass floor quite literally allows visitors of the hotel to look down on the original floors of the military barracks. The room itself provides a beautifully simplistic contrast between the old beneath and the modern metropolis that can be captured through its glass.
“No stay at Hotel X is complete without a visit to the 28th floor.”
The hotel supports multi-level sports halls that have been positioned in such a way to overlook some of the city’s largest sport stadiums including BMO field. Adding to this motivation is the personalised EGE Atelier carpet, which divides each area with the lyrics to the song ‘imagine’ by John Lennon.
No stay at Hotel X is complete without a visit to the 28th floor, which is where the vision for Liberty Village’s new era of luxury was conceived from. Both the rooftop Falcon SkyBar and heated swimming pool on the top floor offer guests the ability to experience the city from a VIP-perched level. The iconic three-level bar balances relaxation, style and drama. The suede purple wingback chairs sit alongside other gold and grey suede seating that tributes the colours of the sunset that reflects off Lake Ontario.
The 404-key Hotel X is more than just another urban hotel with a view to pop up. Unlike other hotels in the area, Hotel X took on mission impossible to help transform the largely undiscovered area of Liberty Village into a luxury tourist hotspot that was also equipped to take bleisure travel to new heights. Through design lenses, it has completed that mission in style and has become a go-to destination in itself, further complementing the city skyline with effortless charm.
We have started our year at Hotel Designs by ensuring that hotel openings are hot on the lips of leading hotel designers, architects and hoteliers. Hamish Kilburn breaks down this week’s top stories…
Welcome to the first week of 2019. On the menu this week we have a look at the major hotel openings of the year, jaw-dropping spas and some exclusive interviews, garnished with a sprinkle of not-to-be-missed offers from one of our Recommended Suppliers. Easing you back into the New Year, here are the top five stories of the week.
Looking ahead, and kickstarting our Spotlight On feature on Hotel Openings, here are the most anticipated ribbon cuts that are planning to make waves in Q1 and Q2 of this year. The Q3 & Q4 feature will be live on Monday….
Conceived as an immersive island retreat, Joali Maldives has opened with an array of original, experiential works of art and dynamic design, reflecting the beauty of nature, and with sustainability at their core. Situated on the idyllic isle of Muravandhoo in the remote Raa Atoll, just 45 minutes by seaplane from Male, the unspoilt island celebrates the creativity of world-class talent…
Yasmine Mahmoudieh, to me, is a woman of multiple worlds – and that’s not just because she can speak no less than six languages. While she defiantly marks her territory as one of the UK’s leading hotel design architects, she is also churning up a creative swirl in the interior design industry…
GROHE has launched its latest cashback incentive, its first for 2019, offering consumers up to £50 cashback on some of the brand’s most innovative showers…
PDG Studios, which is the newly launched in-house boutique interior design team at Paradigm Design Group, has recently completed the renovation of Weare Cottage, coastal boutique hotel located in Maine, New England.
Taking the next junction in modern hotel design, the design team at IHG has recently unveiled new interiors at The Holiday Inn London – Heathrow M4, Jct.4…
The days of the The Holiday Inn brand being perceived as a cheap and rather basic night away are long gone, as IHG has unveiled a new design era in the brand’s history which begins on the fringes of London Heathrow airport.
Complete with a open lobby, flexible work stations and dynamic interiors throughout with a strong focus on contemporary art outside the frame, The Holiday Inn London – Heathrow M4, Jct.4 has pulled off a significant refurbishment to the public spaces, revolutionising the guest experience from check in through to check out.
The refurbishment followed the news that LGH Hotels Management Ltd, which owns and manages a portfolio of Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels across the UK, announced a multi-million-pound refurbishment plan across their properties, starting with the Holiday Inn London – Heathrow M4, Jct.4.
The new open lobby transforms how guests eat, drink, work, meet and socialise by providing one cohesive space to fit their individual lifestyles. The redesigned space merges the reception, lounge, bar and restaurant to create one relaxed and multi-faceted area with no barriers, so that guests can blend work and leisure instinctively, which has already received rave reviews from guests and visitors.
Omar Nicholls, Development Director for LGH Hotels Management Ltd, was tasked to oversee and execute the refurbishment plans for the hotel and has worked closely with external design agency Design Coalition to achieve the new Holiday Inn open lobby concept.“Our main goal with the open lobby design was to create a space that feels familiar, like an extension of home, and has a logical flow so guests can truly relax and utilise each corner in a way that makes sense to them and accommodates all of their work and relaxation needs,” he explains.
Designed to reflect a laid-back living room, guests find comfort in the furniture that feature appropriately placed charging units. The new dining area in the lobby is now a flexible and informal space with a range of high and low tables and booths to suit everyone, be it a working lunch or relaxed group meal.
The open lobby concept is unique to The Holiday Inn brand and will be extended to properties across Europe to become a brand-defining feature.
In the coming weeks, Hotel Designs will be profiling the 75 finalists in the Hotel Designs Brit List 2018. We continue with profiling our winning architects in alphabetical order…
Working with David Archer, Howard Jones is a Project Director with 20 years’ experience specialising in delivering a diverse portfolio of building typologies including commercial, residential, retail, large single mixed-use developments and more recently hotels and hospitality since joining the practice eight years ago.
The architecture and design that comes out of the London-based studio displays a keen sense of how people behave, or can behave, within a built environment. Within all past projects there is a harmony and unity between architecture, the interiors, the location and the provenance, which creates a great sense of continuity and congruence.
Qualified as an architect, James Dilley also has particular expertise in interior design and so, where possible, Jestico + Whiles’ hospitality projects, such as W Edinburgh in the heart of the city’s UN World Heritage site are delivered under combined architectural and interior design services.
Notable projects already completed include the ‘ultraluxe’ Yas Abu Dhabi, W London and Andels Lodz in Poland.
With more than 25 years’ experience of architectural practice, much of it focused on luxury hotel refurbishment, James Twomey has been responsible for statement projects such as The Beaumont, Four Seasons Park Lane and Four Seasons St Petersburg.
Twomey is currently leading the teams responsible for the Adare Manor Hotel, and the proposed Wanda Hotel in Nine Elms London, currently in the early stages of construction.
John Denton’s principal interests in both architecture and urban design have shaped a range of projects over more than 40 years of owning the company. Denton, who is the founding partner of the London-based studio, lectures to schools of architecture, professional institutes and is a well-known keynote speaker.
Denton has internationally recognised skills in the design and leadership of major institutional and public building projects, evidenced through the practice’s significant number of national and international awards for major buildings under his control.
John Simpson pioneered mixed-use sustainable urban design long before it was adopted as government policy in the UK.
Most recently, Simpson has worked on the new public facilities at Kensington Palace as well as landmark projects such The Royal Household of Buckingham Palace and The Royal Collection, St James’ Palace.
From architect to interior designer and back again, Yasmine Mahmoudieh is an undeniable icon in international hotel design. Editor of Hotel Designs, Hamish Kilburn, joins Mamoudieh to understand the need for versatility on the modern hotel design stage…
Yasmine Mahmoudieh, to me, is a woman of multiple worlds – and that’s not just because she can speak no less than six languages. While she defiantly marks her territory as one of the UK’s leading hotel design architects, she is also churning up a creative swirl in the interior design industry. Thinking like an architect, to carve out beautiful narratives in surfaces, furniture and lighting, has helped Mahmoudieh to establish innovative interior spaces that somewhat echo what the future of hotel design will look like. The most recent example of this was seen in her Sleep Set in collaboration with Penguin Books that was exclusively exhibited at Sleep + Eat 2018.
After the noise of the show softened, I caught up with the one and only Mahmoudieh to understand how that unique pairing all came together, what it means for her to be recognised as a Brit List 2018 winner and where her focus for the future is.
Image caption: Mahmoudieh’s Sleep + Eat Set
“When you think about it, a hotel is like a mini city; there’s a mix of public and private areas that have to function and work together,” she says as we begin discussing why there is so much accurate emphasis on conceiving the hotel of the future. “And just like a city, a hotel only has so much space, so you have to plan accordingly by using clever techniques along the way.” I agree with Mahmoudieh that a city – like a hotel – is only as interesting as what it is that it shelters. “I’m a creative,” she claims proudly. “I like to design these mini cities to become something new, something that the world has never seen before that goes far deeper than beautiful wallpaper that surrounds and comfy bed.”
With this year’s Sleep + Eat theme very much focusing around collaboration outside of hotel design, Mahmoudieh was tasked to create a suite that reflected, in some way, the much-adored Penguin Books. With just six months to imagine, draw and build, the challenge was on. “I decided to opt away from the obvious, which would be to incorporate the Penguins branding throughout the suite,” she explains. “Instead, I decided to take inspiration from three books for three areas of the suite. A zen space of tranquility awaits in the bathroom area with influences from Elizabeth von Arnim’s “Elizabeth and her German Garden”. The bedroom area will remind visitors of Plato’s ‘The Symposio’ of origin and pure love. Meanwhile, the lounge and workspace area will dwell deeper into philosophy and wisdom through the works of Rumi.”
Image caption: The bedroom in Mahmoudieh’s Sleep Set 2018
One can’t help but think that, for Mahmoudieh, designing new spaces is almost like a puzzle where more often than not, the missing piece is technology struggling to keep up with her ideas. “The patterned sound that I used within my Sleep Set really took the whole ambiance further, and for that reason I believe that we will see more of this in hotel design,” she explains. “The sound came from inside, travelled along the walls and was programmable. The fact that you can personalise the sound makes it totally relevant to the modern traveller of today, or tomorrow.” For Mahmoudieh, technology that works has to be invisible and more importantly, easy to use.
“Lighting should never be from the top.” – Yasmine Mahmoudieh
As well as constantly pushing open technology’s trap door, Mahmoudieh also looks at ecological materials within her projects. “The paper and copper yarn form Woodnotes that I used in the curtain of my Sleep Set that hung around the bed not only used naturally sourced material but it also created subtle boundaries between private and public areas of the suite.”
Image credit: Paper and copper yarn form Woodnotes
Opting for using the simple, effective products from Astro Lighting, Mahmoudieh believes that many designers are getting it wrong when it comes to lighting the bathroom. “Lighting should never be from the top,” she says as I raise an eyebrow. “Instead it should come from the front, otherwise the guest will not be able to escape from the shadows on their face.” In Mahmoudieh’ s eyes, a hotel bathroom’s lighting should reflect an actors’ dressing room.
Image caption: Lighting in the bathroom of Mahmoudieh’s Sleep + Eat Set
Quick-fire round:
Hamish Kilburn: What’s your favourite colour? Yasmine Mahmoudieh: For some time, it has been a natural mud colour
HK: What’s your number-one travel item you cannot board a plane without? YM: My phone, for sure
HK: What’s a trend that has inspired you this year? YM: Calling on other industries to use eco materials and sustainability
HK: Where is next on your travel bucket list? YM: Tulum in Mexico
I have heard on the grapevine that Mahmoudieh has her eye on yet another world (apparently for this visionary, interior design and architecture isn’t enough) that she is considering entering the hospitality world to become a hotel owner. Starting from scratch, I would expect nothing less, Mahmoudieh’s idea is to create a new kind of country house hotel retreat in England. “It’s true, I have been drawing this up as a concept that is going to be an architecturally driven, warming English country farmhouse,” she says clearly keeping some pieces of the puzzle close to her chest.
I’m inspired massively by Mahmoudieh’s for not only her enthusiasm for innovative design, but also her fearless approach to diving into new sectors in order to constantly push international hotel design forward. We end our delightful time together with a quote that she she uses as her mantra, which she first heard from her university mentor: “Don’t do something different if it’s not better.” And all of a sudden, everything that Mahmoudieh has spoken about makes that much more sense, and I totally share her drive and spirit that makes her the architect, designer – and soon-to-be hotelier – that she is today.
Sleep Set Suppliers:
Artisan Collective Dornbracht Hommbru Designers Guild Königstone ALPI HI-MACS LG Sun Studio London Midland Stone Centre Karndean Design Flooring Sekers JD Interior Solutions Muzëo Astro Lighting Sonux GDSL Hypnos Northern Lights Woodnotes Laminam Dedar
GROHE has launched its latest cashback incentive, its first for 2019, offering consumers up to £50 cashback on some of the brand’s most innovative showers…
The cashback offer that GROHE has recently announced runs across eighteen different model specifications of GROHE’s one box SmartControl Shower systems, including exposed, concealed, excealed and Euphoria styles with choices of round and square trims and shower heads to ensure a perfect match to existing decor.
The extensive range of SmartControl models and specifications can be found on the website or alternatively, GROHE offer an online configurator tool where customers follow various steps, selecting their preferred style or requirements to find the perfect model to suit their bathroom or project. You can visit GROHE’s online SmartControl configurator.
– Exposed – The original SmartControl shower system, which is wall mounted and comes complete with head and hand shower. Multiple spray patterns can also easily be switched between, delivering a shower perfectly tailored to your mood. Ideal for retrofit. – Concealed – All of the SmartControl technology but with none of the pipework on display. The concealed version is a great way to achieve a minimalist look in the bathroom or create more space in your shower area. Concealed showering also offers more personalisation of the individual space in terms of layout. The freedom to create a truly bespoke shower space is enabled thanks to the concealed valve being able to be placed on an opposing wall away from the outlet. – Excealed – Excealed offers the best of both worlds, with an exposed thermostat still on display but reduced pipework thanks to the wall-fixed head shower meaning a riser rail is unnecessary. Both head and hand shower offer a choice of two spray patterns. – Euphoria – The latest addition to the range is an excellent choice for retrofit projects. With a traditional exposed frame on display, it has a slimmer interface, creating an illusion of more space in the bathroom. Euphoria offers a multi-jet shower head with up to three shower patterns plus the additional hand shower for more personalisation than ever before.
The cashback offer is available on qualifying SmartControl purchases from a verified retailer and consumers can make their claim directly through the GROHE website, www.grohe.co.uk.
The offer applies to purchases made from January 1, 2019 until the May 31, 2019, with all claims to be made by June 30, 2019. Proof of purchase is required. Terms and conditions apply.
GROHE is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, click here.
Paradigm Design Group’s boutique design firm, PDG Studios, completes its first hotel renovation…
PDG Studios, which is the newly launched in-house boutique interior design team at Paradigm Design Group, has recently completed the renovation of Weare Cottage, coastal boutique hotel located in Maine, New England.
With a backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean and the Maine cliffscape, Weare Cottage at Cliff House is a cliff-hanging home-from-home boutique quintessential New England cottage with a unique history. Originally home to the Weare family, the Weare Cottage is the resort’s new design-led jewel with views that set the boutique property apart from other hotels in and around the area.
Image caption: The public areas of Weare Cottage
The landmark transformation was conceived by Paradigm Design Group’s Lisa Haude, the President of PDG Studios. The overall aim of the renovation was to layer a graceful coastal style into the interiors. Haude and her team did this by using as much of the original design features as possible in order to create modern yet timeless decor. The result is a calming, quaint environment that has impressive instagrammable moments of grand drama. The cream pallet throughout the cottage keeps the interiors grounded. The lighting, on the other hand, is dynamic and reflects a contemporary personality within a heritage property.
The cottage’s stylish home-from-home look and feel from the exterior is echoes in the interiors through the use of coastal-inspired furnishings as well as private terraces that overlooking the scenic view that often frames turbulent swells breaking against the iconic Bald Head Cliff. Soft dark tones in the wooden flooring further creates a cosy nest where guests can fully relax in.
Image caption: Ensuite at Weare Cottage
The residential-styled guestrooms and the beach-white ensuite bathrooms are divided by wooden sliding doors. Complete with marble basins, industrial-chic shower heads and a large contemporary round mirror, each bathroom’s style is timeless and relevant to its location.
The recent opening of Weare Cottage is yet another example of modern boutique hotels can welcome in residential moments to add personality further challenge conventional interior and exterior hotel design.
In the coming weeks, Hotel Designs will be profiling the 75 finalists in the Hotel Designs Brit List 2018. We continue with profiling our 25 winning architects in alphabetical order…
Established in 2010, Ben Adams Architects has quickly developed a reputation for elegant, contextual architecture balancing function with an appropriate degree of innovation and flair. Its portfolio demonstrates an ability to design buildings that fulfi ll clients’ immediate needs, but which also provides enough fl exibility to meet changing requirements in the future.
Ben Adams, the founding director, has a particular expertise in the intelligent refurbishment of existing buildings, delivering projects which are contemporary yet respectful of their site, surroundings and historic conditions. The company diagnose the existing strengths and weaknesses of a building to fully unlock its potential, rationalising circulation, entrances or social spaces to add experiential and commercial value.
Caroline Smith has been working in professional practice for more than 30 years, a decade of which she spent working with Fox Linton Associates. In 2009 she set up WISH London with the backing of specialist multidisciplinary surveying and design consultancy, GIA.
Over the course of her career, Smith has designed architectural interiors for many private clients, hoteliers and luxury brands, as well as some of the main commercial developers in the UK. WISH recently provided the concept scheme and narrative for a 223-key design hotel in Eastern Europe.
Archer Humphyres were presented with the Inspiration in Design – Architect of the Year award on the night of The Brit List 2018 for 15 years’ experience, working with clients such as Great Northern Hotel, LaLiT London and The Gainsborough Bath and Spa. The practice was praised by the judging panel for its way of designing hotels with a strong focus on the people who would use the spaces.
The architecture and design that comes out of the London-based studio displays a keen sense of how people behave, or can behave, within a built environment. Within all past projects there is a harmony and unity between architecture, the interiors, the location and the provenance, which creates a great sense of continuity and congruence.
Geoff Hull has more than 30 years’ experience specialising in hotels and hospitality including new builds, conversions, refurbishments, restoration and heritage schemes in listed buildings for budget, boutique and luxury brands.
Hull was responsible for the multi award-winning Rosewood London along with Hotel Russell and The Waldorf Hotel.
As Head of Hotels for 3D Reid, Gordon Ferrier brings with him more than 30 years’ hospitality experience on a wide range of hotel projects, covering both new-builds, refurbishments and conversions.
Projects that Ferrier has led include Gleneagles, The Principal Manchester, Three Quays London and Cameron House Hotel.
Joali in The Maldives has unveiled a full immersive array of eco-inspired artworks and high-concept sustainable design throughout…
Conceived as an immersive island retreat, Joali Maldives has opened with an array of original, experiential works of art and dynamic design, reflecting the beauty of nature, and with sustainability at their core. Situated on the idyllic isle of Muravandhoo in the remote Raa Atoll, just 45 minutes by seaplane from Male, the unspoilt island celebrates the creativity of world-class talent.
Dotted around the resort, adorning villas and hidden beneath the waves are a collection of extraordinary works by 13 international artists, hand-picked by curators and concept developers of No LaB; Ala Onur and Zeynep Ercan. From sculptures to design and experiential pieces, No LaB has chosen pieces which capture and conserve nature both visually and materially. Each artwork is thoughtfully integrated into their natural surroundings: some pieces were created by artists on-site, other creative concepts were adapted for Joali’s tropical climate. Joali will continue to curate surprising interactive art experiences, with new pieces added throughout the year. An annual art calendar will host a roster of workshops and residencies with visiting artists, designed to inspire, inform and enchant.
Image caption: Three-bedroom ocean residence with two Pools
Joali’s impressive roster of artworks are integrated with impeccable design and architectural skill by acclaimed Istanbul-based Autoban, whose other projects include House Hotels Istanbul and London’s Duck and Rice. The firm used custom-made furnishings, hand-carved wooden panels, local wood, bamboo and terrazzo flooring to create the ultimate sense of jungle chic. In designing the resort, Autoban worked to preserve the natural flora of the island as much as possible, saving more than 1,000 palm trees in the process. On arrival, guests are wowed by an impressive Manta Ray-shaped welcome jetty complete with undulating Maldivian thatched roof crafted by Istanbul’s Atölye4n, while Tokyo-based Studio Glitt are behind standout Japanese restaurant SAOKE, with its majestic pyramid roof made up of timber blocks like origami, with clean lines and soft lighting reflecting Japanese aesthetics.
Heron Chair & Manta Ray Treehouse – Porky Hefer, Cape Town
Image caption: Porky Hefer_ Grey Herron Head found in the Mura Bar area
Vernacular architect Porky Hefer, who recently partnered with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation at Art Basel, displays his signature passion for local wildlife and endangered species, with his hanging ‘Heron’ chairs, which overlook the beach. The grey heron is the national bird of the Maldives and Joali’s signature, spirit animal. Hefer’s astonishing Manta Ray hideaway, woven in-situ from natural materials (WHAT) is suspended in the trees, experiential dinners in the treetops. His imaginative, nature-inspired works are designed for functionality as well as style, and have a message of conservation.
Club Tropicana Table & Underwater Coral Sculpture Garden – Misha Kahn, New York
Renowned for his sculptures which use unconventional materials, including recycled rubbish, bronze and glue, at Joali, Kahn has created an underwater sculpture garden using a combination of vibrant-coloured and pale mosaic tiles to reflect the coral bleaching occurring in the Indian Ocean. Visitors to the island will be able to snorkel or dive to interact with this piece, and coral itself will gradually attach as part of the regeneration of the reef. Above land, Kahn’s Gaudi-esque communal table, which echos the shapes of the underwater pieces, is the perfect spot for sunset drinks and experiential dining experiences overlooking the beach.
Evolution Chair – Nacho Carbonell, Spain
Image caption: Nacho Carbonell_Vandhoo, The Art Bench
Recreated especially for Joali with materials like sand and tree sap, Nacho Carbonell’s iconic Evolution chair has been adapted for the tropical climate. The cocoon-like chair offers a private moment of quiet introspection to anyone seated inside its depths.
‘PEARL’ wall art – Seckin Pirim, Istanbul
Image caption: The water villa features an eye-catching clam-like centrepiece by Seckin Pirim have a ripple shape reminiscent of the aquamarine waters surrounding the island
On the wall of each villa, an eye-catching clam-like centrepiece by Seckin Pirim have a ripple shape reminiscent of the aquamarine waters surrounding the island. Pirim’s installations are a reflection on his childhood memories and pick up on the varied tones of brilliant sea blue around Joali.
Maldives Vibes – Zemer Peled, Israel
Inspired by the Maldives’ rich underwater world and appearing in Joali Spa, this dramatic sculpture comments on the issue of coral bleaching affecting the region, with striking bursts of colour against a stark white backing reflecting a hope for future regeneration.
The hotel, which opened in December 2018 on the island of Muravandhoo, embodies the joys of life in its focus on art, wellbeing and sustainable luxury, with a boutique feel to its 73 beach and over water villas.
As we continue to focusing the spotlight on Hotel Openings and Spas, a new spa hotel in Alvor, slated to open in June 2019, merges the two topics together by hailing itself as the hottest wellness hotel to open in 2019…
Longevity Wellness Worldwide will open the five-star Longevity Health & Wellness Hotel, in June 2019 in Alvor, Portugal. The state-of-the-art wellness centre will be the first of its kind embracing modern integrative and regenerative medicine with the most advanced wellness and preventative diagnostics, therapies and programmes, meaning it is set to be 2019’s hottest new wellness property.
Image credit: Longevity Health & Wellness Hotel
The hotel will offer a wide selection of impactful programmes from light programmes for beginners including relax and spa or detox to intensive longer specialised programmes around women’s health optimisation or intense detox and reshape. Such is the dedicated wellness offering that more specialised programmes are also available such as exclusive hyperbaric treatments for intense tissue oxygenation, in-depth diagnostics, advanced detoxification and health regeneration therapies, cardio-vascular repair and prevention programs, diabetes, metabolic and sleep optimization programs, obesity management programs.
“Through continuous research, development and innovation, Longevity Wellness Worldwide is the ‘Source to Wellness.”
“Longevity has learned over the years the wide range of clients’ issues and needs when they are looking for a health and wellness holiday,” said Nazir Sacoor, CEO of Longevity Wellness Worldwide. “Our upcoming flagship Longevity Health & Wellness Hotel, is aimed at being a world class product with 360º solutions in health and wellness to meet all such needs.”
Image credit: Longevity Health & Wellness Hotel
A ground-breaking adults-only health and wellness property set in the western Algarve with panoramic views of the bay of Alvor, the property will offer a world class dedicated wellness and medical spa over two floors focused on a full array of medical and non-medical state-of-the-art diagnostics and therapies for optimal health and wellness. The hotel will have a total of 70 bedrooms and suites offering standard Longevity rooms, junior suites, Longevity thematic suites and one premium Longevity ‘The One’ suite.
Through continuous research, development and innovation, Longevity Wellness Worldwide is the ‘Source to Wellness’ for guests looking for a relaxing spa or wellness break or a more intensive high impact health and wellness programme.
In addition to the innovative wellness and medical spa offering, Longevity Health & Wellness Hotel will have two restaurants, including a rooftop Pure Cafe by Longevity with a panoramic view over the stunning bay of Alvor. The Mediterrânico Restaurant by Longevity and the Chill Out & Relax Tea Lounge will be located on the ground floor. Staying true to the core of the Longevity brand the food will be fresh, delicious and colourful focusing on local and functional, alkaline and anti-inflammatory foods.
In the constantly evolving landscape of international hotel design, staying relevant and on-trend is somewhat a daily challenge. Simon Mitchell from Action Storage details three key areas where hotels can create timeless look and feel that is flexible to all guests checking in…
In your hotel, when it comes to creating an atmosphere that makes your guests comfortable and the prospect of them returning probable, it’s vital that you invest time and resource in ensuring that those providing them with the service are equally as happy and comfortable in their workspace. Therefore, when designing a hotel that encourages a cohesive and productive environment, building a space for your staff as well as your guests should be at the top of your priority list.
Whether you start off by focusing on one particular area like your hotel’s busy lobby, or you choose to optimise the practicality of the additional facilities in your accommodation first, giving your hotel a functional design overhaul will help highlight all that’s wonderful in your facility.
The lobby
A universal issue for guests and hoteliers alike is check-in and check-out times that don’t align with scattered schedules. For reception desks that aren’t able to stay open 24/7, providing your guests with the option to leave their important possessions in a secure place within the hotel’s premises is a practical solution that ensures security while encouraging an accommodating atmosphere.
By providing durable and secure locker units within a sensible distance from the central reception desk, your guests’ luggage will be easily and efficiently organised in one area. Not only are storage units great for keeping your visitors’ possessions secure, but they can also provide a space for your staff members to keep their own belongings stored safely away.
The additional facilities
For hotels that provide a restaurant, bar or spa experience within their facility, creating a logical layout in a surrounding that, for many, will be unfamiliar to them is crucial if you want the space to be used effectively. Make it easy for your members of staff to provide a fluent and hassle-free service by picking non-slip flooring solutions that make rushing around easy. Additionally, while extravagant ornaments may be beautiful to look at, forcing both your guests and staff to manoeuvre around them not only creates a health and safety risk, but can make your space look small and cluttered as a result.
Next up, you’ll want to keep your customer in mind when it comes to designing the function of your room. Pick warm amber colours and place glistening spotlights above your luxury swimming pool to invite guests into your idyllic spa atmosphere. Not only will these small touches make your guests fall in love with your hotel, but will make your members of staff proud and happy to work where they do.
Image credit: Pexels
The guestrooms
When designing a stylish yet functional hotel room, it’s important to tailor the area your guests are likely to spend most of their time in – the bedroom – to their specific needs. Optimise the room with plenty of built-in storage features so that whether guests are stopping by on a one night business trip or a week-long holiday, they have the options they need to create a home-from-home atmosphere.
While the aesthetic of a space is important, so too is its functionality – so make sure that door frames and the space surrounding the bed are clear enough to allow a cleaning trolley to make its way around. Whether this means rearranging furniture, picking ‘invisible’ storage or knocking down walls to create an open-plan space, a tidy and practical room will make for a happy guest and employee!
As with any business, preparation is key. By planning ahead for 2019’s busy summer season and streamlining your hotel accordingly for both your guests and crucial members of the team, stress will be relieved and an enjoyable hotel atmosphere created. Whether it’s through back-of-house storage techniques or up-to-date hotel rooms, optimising your accommodation for a positive guest experience through various interior adaptations is sure to make a noticeable difference to the way your hotel operates.
Hotel Designs is starting the New Year fresh by focusing the spotlight on significant hotel openings for 2019 that together are expected to transform the landscape of international hotel design. Here are our top picks of hotels that are launching in Q1 & Q2…
Looking ahead, and kickstarting our Spotlight On feature on Hotel Openings, here are the most anticipated ribbon cuts that are planning to make waves in Q1 and Q2 of this year.
Q1
Hotel Bennett, USA Opening: January 2019
Hailed as the newest grand dame hotel to debut in the American South, Hotel Bennett is designed for travellers seeking an opulent and luxurious escape. Overlooking Charleston’s iconic Marion Square, the hotel will comprise of 179 luxurious guestrooms and suites, a signature restaurant, , a stylish bar and lounge that will utilise reclaimed pink marble. In addition to a spectacular rooftop bar which stretches out to overlook the city’s famed park, the hotel will also feature a new destination spa for guests and locals to enjoy.
YTL Hotels’ Monkey Island, UK Opening: February 2019
Image credit: Monkey Island Estate
The much-anticipated luxury hotel, designed by the award-winning Alexandra Champalimaud, will open in the historic village of Bray-on-Thames, Berkshire. The island, which dates back 800 years, has been the haunt of monarchs, aristocrats and artists, along with writers, famous performers and Berkshire locals.
The private countryside escape will consist of 27 guest rooms and three deluxe suites, plus a separate barn with 11 rooms for private hire. The estate will also feature the Floating Spa – a first-of-its-kind bespoke barge, which will offer an aray of luxury treatments.
Santarena Hotel, Costa Rica Opening: February 2019
Expected to be Costa Rica’s hottest new opening, Santarena Hotel will be a bohemian gem located in the town of Las Catalinas. The 45-guestroom hotel will include three suites, a rooftop lounge and swimming pool and elevated local cuisine that is focused on sustainability and farm-to-fork dishes.
The First Roma Dolce, Italy Opening: February 2019
Image credit: The First Roma Dolce
Situated on Via del Corso, The First Roma Dolce, a new patisserie-themed boutique hotel, is set to open its doors in February 2019. The Dolce will be the newest addition to the ‘First Experience’, which joins three distinctly unique hotels together and emboldens guests to truly experience the city as locals.
The hotel will be housed within a classic 19th-Century building designed by the renowned Italian architect and urban planner Giuseppe Valadier, who is known and widely celebrated for creating the elliptical design of Piazza del Popolo.
The boutique hotel will shelter 23 refined suites and guestrooms, with views overlooking the bustling Via del Corso. With particular attention being paid to the contemporary design of the guestrooms and spacious suites, the hotel encourages guests to feel as though they ‘live’ in the city during their trip. State-of-the-art amenities include in-room fitness equipment, and ensure The Dolce will become guests’ ‘home-away-from-home’, offering an elegant yet comfortable and familiar atmosphere whilst visiting the Italian capital.
Following the success of the award-winning Bisate Lodge, Rwanda, Wilderness Safaris will continue to expand its luxury arm and ecotourism footprint by opening a new camp in Akagera National Park in March 2019. In partnership with the Rwanda Development Board and conservation group African Parks, the six-tented camp called Magashi will be situated in the north-eastern part of Akagera overlooking Lake Rwanyakazinga.
With a prime location in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle, Hotel EQ will be an ideal base for bleisure breaks, a trend that is expected to reach new heights this year. Set in a multi-use 52-storey building occupying floors 29-52, the hotel will feature 440 guestrooms and suites, an authentic Pan-Asian restaurant and an impressive rooftop Sky Restaurant and Lounge.
Lelewatu Resort Sumba, Indonesia Opening April 2019
Image credit: Preferred Hotels
Expected to turn heads with its remote pristine beaches, Sumba Island’s latest hotel will be set on a cliffside overlooking a private lagoon and the Indian Ocean.
Scattered over 10 acres of land, the resort’s 27 luxurious villas are designed with authentic Sumbanese wooden interiors, handwoven ikat fabrics, indoor marble baths, and private pools.
Ikos Aria will bring an elevated and luxury dimension to all-inclusive offerings on the popular island of Kos. Situated on the southwest coast of Kos, the five-star resort will feature 373 elegantly appointed guest rooms with chic modern interiors, all with panoramic vistas across the Aegean Sea.
The remote village of Omalo, which is where Hotel Samzeo is situated, is positioned between two mountain ranges in Geogira’s historical Tusheti region. With just 43 guestrooms and suites, the boutique hotel is entirely powered by energy efficient systems and solar power.
Breathtaking views over serene Powai Lake to Mumbai’s dramatic cityscape elegantly finish the sophisticated and thoughtful offerings of this game-changing luxury hotel in India’s City of Dreams. The Chedi Mumbai will welcome business travellers with sophisticated meeting facilities, state-of-the-art equipment and communication technology.
Seven exceptional and innovative dining options, a holistic spa and wellness facilities plus stunning venues for private events of all sizes extend our heartfelt welcome to business and leisure travellers as well as to this city’s most discerning residents. Each of the 312 generously sized guestrooms and suites will capture stunning panoramas, while tasteful interiors will reflect GHM’s legendary motto: ‘style to remember.’
In the coming weeks, Hotel Designs will be profiling the 75 finalists in the Hotel Designs Brit List 2018. We continue with profiling our winning hoteliers in alphabetical order…
Recently reviewed by Hotel Designs, and the venue chosen to shelter the inaugural Hotel Designs Meet Up North event, King Street Townhouse is a shining example of how hotel design in the north is booming.
The hotel shelters 40 stylish rooms in the centre of Manchester, and boasts the only hotel rooftop infinity pools in the city. Jenny Oh has led the hotel from the beginning having been the General Manager since March last year.
Johnson Joseph arrived at LaLiT in November 2017 from his role with the Cairn Hotel Group, where he was most recently hotel manager at Crowne Plaza Gerrards Cross.
Jospeph is a general manager of Holiday Inn Whitechapel is a versatile hotel professional with 20 years experience in managing operations in fast-paced hospitality environment moving forwards new and existing business within a challenging environment.
Kevin Brooke joined Cliveden House as General Manager in October 2016. Before arriving at Cliveden House, Brooke was the general manager of the Aman Sveti Stefan in Montenegro where he was responsible for all aspects of operation and performance of this 58 multi-site luxury resort. His extensive career history with the Aman group commenced in 2003 with management positions at the Amangani Resort, USA, Amanyara Resort in the Caribbean and the Amanwana Resort in Indonesia.
With the recent renovations nearly complete, he believes it’s a wonderful opportunity to further elevate the guest experience and fulfil Cliveden’s enormous potential.
Recently appointed, Marco Novella succeeds Geoffrey Gelardi, who stepped down from the role as Managing Director after 28 years, which had made him London’s longest serving managing director of a luxury property. The Lanesborough is owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and since its relaunch in 2015 has been managed by the German-based Oetker Collection.
Novella was most recently Managing Director of Brown’s Hotel London for nearly two years. In his new role he will oversee operations of the 93-key property while driving growth and ensuring service excellence in all departments.
Mario Ovsenjak arrived at Hotel Gotham in 2016 and has led the property from strength-to-strength ever since. Hotel Gotham, which was recently reviewed by Hotel Designs, quickly established itself as one of the most striking hotels in the UK.
Having worked extensively across the Bespoke Hotels portfolio, Ovsenjak boasts experience leading teams at a range of five country house properties, including The Lambert Arms in Oxfordshire, Shaftsbury’s Grosvenor Arms, as well as the Prince Regent Hotel.
The sun is falling on 2018 – and this particular sunset is filtered in a warm, peachy orange glow, also known as Living Coral or Pantone 16-154.
Despite December traditionally being a month of reflection, it’s also a time to sprinkle a hint of optimism on the horizon as the industry turns its head to leading international colour experts to understand next year’s dominant shade predictions.
Dulux settled for Spiced Honey, a versatile hue that signifies warmth, positivity, purpose and transformation. Pantone, on the other hand, divided opinions by opting for Living Coral, a colour that it describes as an “animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energises and enlivens with a softer edge.” Having listened to both sides of the argument as to whether this is just another marketing ploy or something more significant, I have my own opinions. I believe that, regardless of anything, this colour choice has the power to raise much-needed awareness that 60 per cent of the world’s remaining reefs are now at risk of being destroyed by human activity. As far as I am concerned, a shade with that much competence in the wider context is a shade to stay. It wasn’t long before contract companies unveiled their sneak peek into how they are splashing Living Coral into their 2019 products.
“This month, Hotel Designs took its eagle reviewer eyes across borders and into the African wilderness.”
From colour to design in all five continents, one trend that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon is the timeless look and feel that many luxury hotels strive to achieve while balancing character and personality. This month, Hotel Designs took its eagle reviewer eyes across borders and into the African wilderness to unearth an unassuming luxury hotel in Zimbabwe. Matetsi Victoria Falls is the country’s answer to luxury in the bush. I will never forget the feeling of checking out of technology, checking in with myself and opening my eyes to the great outdoors in all its splendour. Leaving my phone on airplane mode for the duration, I captured one-off moments that will stay with me forever; we even saved an elephant’s life (a detail that was left out of the main review). My conclusion of Matetsi is that it is a hotel that through design evokes one-off experiences, which is the real ‘luxury’ in luxury travel.
As the year closes, and before we start layering peachy orange hues all over our walls and in our furniture, one cannot help but look back on 2018 as one of significant change. It’s been a sheer delight editing our ultimate throwback (part one and part two) to highlight this year’s most game-changing product launches. From Milan to Paris; London to New York and Dubai to Singapore, over the last 12 months, hotel design suppliers have drip-feeded us with inspiring new products that have helped our industry leap into a new era.
Exciting times are ahead of us at Hotel Designs. Optimism has been left hanging in the air since we reached more than half a million readers over the last 11 months, breaking several monthly traffic records along the way.Not only are we debuting new meet-the-buyers events next year (IDAS, HTI, CES), but we are also bringing you more juicy news and features, all of which will be displayed on a newly designed website as we continue to be the leading international hotel design website for designers, hoteliers, architects and key-industry suppliers.
In the coming weeks, Hotel Designs will be profiling the 75 finalists in the Hotel Designs Brit List 2018. We continue with profiling our winning hoteliers in alphabetical order…
Gilly Craft, President of the British Institute of Interior Design
Charles Leon, founder of Leon Black Architecture and Interior Design
Gerri Gallagher, former associate editor, Tatler
Lysbeth Fox, founder and director of Fox PR
Hamish Kilburn, editor, Hotel Designs
Rami Fustok – The Mandrake
Rami Fustok now considers himself a Londoner having grown up in Beirut. A businessman and an entrepreneur, Fustok is the owner of The Mandrake – a brand new independent boutique hotel in the heart of London, which was recently reviewed by Hotel Designs, and combines eclectic, vibrant interiors, extraordinary art, intriguing soundscapes and specially designed scents.
Robin Sheppard – Bespoke Hotels (Winner: Outstanding Contribution to the Hospitality Industry award)
Formed in 2000, Bespoke Hotels has grown to represent more than 200 properties worldwide, and now stands as the UK’s largest Independent Hotel Group. Ranging from specialist golfing hotels to award-winning spa resorts and chic city centre properties, the group prides itself on a diverse roster and a unique, individualised management style. Bespoke Hotel’s Chairman, Robin Sheppard, has recently been appointed Chairman of the Institute of Hospitality, as well as being instated as Hotel Sector Champion by the Government’s Office for Disability Issues. A tireless campaigner for awareness around disability and the importance of accessible design, Sheppard launched the Bespoke Access Awards in 2016 alongside members of the House of Lords.
The largest such design competition in the country, the now Blue Badge Access Awards, is going into its third iteration and has seen winning designs incorporated across the Bespoke portfolio and forthcoming new-build locations.
After two years leading the restaurant team at The PIG near Bath, during which she was awarded a Hotel Catey, Sarah Holden was promoted to the position of Hotel Director in 2015. Since then, Holden has made a name for herself on the British hotel scene by overseeing 90 staff in the stunning 29-key property.
Thomas Kochs became the Managing Director of The Corinthia London in May 2017. Kochs is responsible for managing Corinthia Hotel’s flagship property, which opened its doors on Whitehall Place in 2011. In six years, Corinthia London has achieved international acclaim as one of the world’s leading luxury five-star hotels. The hotel, located near London’s Embankment features 294-guestrooms, suites and penthouses, two international restaurants, a cocktail bar and the UK’s award-winning ESPA Life.
Nominated for Hotelier of Year at this year’s Independent Hotel Show, Will Ashworth took over his parent’s hotel business in 2004. Going against the grain of a typical seaside hotel, Ashworth transformed the Watergate Bay Hotel’s fortunes by refurbishing the building, running fresh initiatives and taking its marketing to new heights. As a direct result, the hotel now runs at 86 percent occupancy all year round.
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