Design &amp; Architecture

February 13, 2013

How a small luxury hotel can compete and thrive | londonhotelsinsight.com

I recently met Mohamed Jajbhay, Revenue Director at the tiny Beaufort Hotel – a family-run business founded by his mother and father who apparently still exert a close influence just like proud homeowners. I was keen to learn whether this type of property has a future in a market like London: luxurious and well-run but up against globally-recognised luxury brands and flamboyant “personality” boutique hotels. And I also wanted to explore the lessons applicable for other small luxury hotels operating in equally-competitive markets.

November 15, 2012

BD Reveals 12 Innovative Hotel Room Designs of the Future

The competition, organised by the UK's leading architecture newspaper BD and Bdonline.co.uk, invited designers to develop a scheme that would make a tiny space (14sq m) feel generous and luxurious. With budget accommodation accounting for over a third of the new hotels being built in the UK, the competition was a chance to shine a light on the lack of design innovation in these buildings.

bdonline.co.uk

United Kingdom

October 1, 2012

London boutique hotels round-up – September 2012 | londonhotelsinsight.com

With the nights fast drawing in and London’s busy summer beginning to fade into memory, you might be forgiven for thinking that things are quietening down. But as our news roundup from the UK capital’s boutique hotel sector shows, that’s simply not the case… One Aldwych in Covent Garden launched its brand new guests-only lounge in September. Lounge at One is an elegantly-designed haven with modern decor, iPads for guests’ use, food and cocktails. It also has free WiFi unlike many other 5 star London hotels with hefty internet charges.

August 15, 2012

Best London hotel conversions | londonhotelsinsight.com

London has a treasure trove of clever hotel conversions, many of which are somewhat hidden from view. Here is a little tour of some of my favourites. St Ermin’s Hotel was originally a Grade II listed late Victorian building constructed as a mansion block. It is thought to have been the venue of covert meetings between spies during World War 2 and has played up this rather exciting heritage as we’ve previously blogged. The most recent refurbishment completed in April 2011 has helped it to soar into the top 30 London hotels on TripAdvisor – it’s certainly tastefully done.

July 31, 2012

London boutique hotels round-up – July 2012 | londonhotelsinsight.com

2012 continues to be an exciting year for London’s boutique hotel sector, whether you’re in the industry or a visitor to the capital. As well as recent openings, tantalising details of upcoming new hotels continue to emerge and boutique properties across London keep on innovating.

July 17, 2012

Much of rock history has happened in hotel rooms. Now, Aloft is about to make another musical milestone

Aloft, the sizzling "style at a steal" brand from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), is partnering with hot indie rockers We Are Scientists to discover the world's hottest unsigned band. The groundbreaking "Play & Stay at Aloft" contest will see the winning band write and record a new track with We Are Scientists in a custom-built studio at Aloft London Excel.

Starwood

Why Hospitality Net Leads B2B in Hospitality

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Hospitality Net

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June 5, 2012

London hotels go pop-up crazy! | londonhotelsinsight.com

One of the big trends in the hotel world at the moment is pop-ups. Some hotels have pop-up shops, others have pop-up bars or restaurants; and there are even pop-up hotels. It’s not just hotels; there are pop-up cinemas, like Films at the Yard which popped up in the East End earlier this year and pop-up shops all over the place. There’s even an entire pop-up shopping mall, the Boxpark in Bishopsgate, based in shipping containers.

United Kingdom

March 27, 2012

The hotel as a gallery – the InterCityHotel photo art project

The InterCityHotel Group has joined forces with colleges of art to launch a special and unique project in which art students create tailored photographic works for InterCityHotels. Since 2008, all new InterCityHotels have featured specially produced photo art designed to match in with the respective hotel and its surrounding environment. In 2011, this successful project was extended to include existing InterCityHotels and hotels which have recently been renovated.

H World International

Germany

Opinion Article

March 2, 2012

Expectations for key design trends in London Hotels

The 2012 Olympic Games are giving London the impetus to complete a number of hotel projects – which in turn is giving interior designers the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity in some interesting new spaces. Dexter Moren, Director at London-based design practice Dexter Moren Associates, shares his expectations for the key design trends he sees for the year ahead in this dynamic hotel market.

HYB

December 1, 2011

London boutique hotels round-up Nov. 2011 | londonhotelsinsight.com

As we move closer to Christmas and the start of London’s big Olympics year, there are many new developments in the UK capital’s boutique sector – things to look forward to and offers to check out. We summarise what’s hot in the London boutique hotel scene below in our monthly round-up. The five-star Egerton House Hotel plans to make guests feel even more at home this Christmas with complimentary refreshments in the drawing room.

June 16, 2011

Europe's first b2b conference for boutique and lifestyle hotel sectors attracts capacity international audience to London

Boutique Hotel Summit, Europe's first ever b2b conference for the boutique and lifestyle hotel sectors, drew a capacity audience of hotel professionals from around the world to London's St Ermin's Hotel to engage in lively debate over the future of the industry.

Fractional Life Limited

June 15, 2011

Boutique Hotels, Particularly in London, Set to Grow as Investors and Operators Look to the Sector for Expansion

This was the upbeat conclusion of HVS London director Tim Smith, speaking earlier today [14 June] at the inaugural Boutique Hotel Summit 2011, held at London's St Ermin's Hotel.

HVS

May 16, 2011

Inside Hotel Plaza Athenee's Barbie Suite In Paris | huffingtonpost.com

Barbie was never exactly slumming it. From the Dream House to the Corvette, to the Mattel-inspired designer clothes, shoes, jewelry and handbags, Barbie has it all. Even after 50 years, Barbie still has a hot guy who, despite her cute friends and brief stint with the The Rockers, has remained completely devoted to her (although some of us still have our suspicions of Ken, but that's not the point). And as if that wasn't enough, now Barbie has her own suite at the Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris.

huffingtonpost.com

Paris, France

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April 20, 2011

Which London hotel suits your style? | londonhotelsinsight.com

While some London boutique hotels like the Hempel are totally Zen – cool minimalism, white space, almost austere in design – others are at the opposite end: crammed full of antiques, upholstery and vibrant colour. And what’s in fashion seems to swing from one pole to the other from year to year. Then each of us has our own personal taste to consider as well – do you prefer minimalism or grandeur? Open space or homely furnishings?

January 13, 2011

London hotels which display great art | londonhotelsinsight.com

If you want art in London, you might head to Tate Britain, the National Gallery or Sotheby’s for example. Or for something more cutting edge, you could be tempted to check out the Saatchi Gallery or Tate Modern. But you might also find your hotel to be an equally good place to find contemporary art – since many London hotels are now looking to artists to help them foster their own distinctive character. An increasing number of London hotel lobbies are turning into proper little art galleries!

November 30, 2010

Interview with Mark Lankester | CEO of Tune Hotels | abtn.co.uk

Mark Lankester is CEO of Tune Hotels, which has 10 properties in Malaysia and Indonesia, has recently opened its first London property and announced a second in the Broadgate complex with funding for 15 hotels in London by 2015. Tune Hotels is part of the Tune Group, the private investment group of Tony Fernandes, founder and Group CEO of low-cost airline AirAsia.

abtn.co.uk

United Kingdom

November 9, 2010

Marriott International Acquires and Will Redevelop Historic Berners Hotel in London

Just weeks after the grand opening of the first EDITION hotel in Hawaii, Marriott International today announced the acquisition of the historic Berners Hotel in London that will be renovated over the next 18 - 24 months to become The London EDITION. The new boutique EDITION brand was conceived by Ian Schrager in partnership with Marriott International. It combines the personal, intimate, individualized and unique lodging experience that Ian Schrager is known for, with the global reach, operational expertise and scale of Marriott.

Marriott

Opinion Article

September 23, 2010

Room Mate Hotels

As he was developing his business plan for what would eventually become the Spanish chain Room Mate Hotels, Enrique Sarasola was confronted by naysayers who told him there was nothing new in the hotel industry. Check-out was 11 a.m., period. Continental breakfast was served until 10 a.m. at the latest, period. High design meant high prices, period. To which Sarasola replied, why?

HotelNewsNow

Spain