InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is known for pioneering every aspect of luxury hospitality over the past 75 years, and nowhere is this more clearly visible than in the brand’s thoughtfully elegant and worldly design philosophy. Our hotels and resorts are constantly updating their look, feel and facilities to ensure they continue to exceed the expectations of the modern luxury traveller. Journey across the world and explore some of our favourite renovations and refurbishments from the past five years, to see how renewed style, technology and sustainability have combined to welcome InterContinental guests.

Presidential Suite - InterContinental Toronto Centre, Canada
InterContinental Toronto Centre unveiled its freshly renovated 2,200 square foot Presidential Suite, upgrading it with sleek decor and modern technology. Located on the 18th floor, the spacious suite includes a living and dining area with a built-in kitchenette, a master bedroom with a lavish bathroom and a second bedroom with an ensuite. It also delivers an astonishing south-east/west view of the downtown cityscape and waterfront thanks to its wrap-around terrace. Recognising the needs of the modern, tech-savvy, luxury traveller, the suite includes a media room with full surround sound and a smart device in the bedroom to help guests stay connected. Local firm Moncur Design Associates handled the interior refresh, which includes splashes of teal and gold. Many of the furnishings are sourced from Canadian manufacturers, whilst all of the art in the suite was sourced from PI Fine Art, in North York.

The Mayfair Collection - InterContinental London Park Lane, UK
135 rooms and suites were refurbished and launched as the Mayfair Collection in early 2020. The team at leading international interior design practice RPW spearheaded the multi-million-pound refurbishment project with aspects of the neighbouring Royal Parks reflected within the final design. Natural fabrics, bronze leaf handles on bedside tables, and elements of tree trunks on the bathroom mirror all help to bring the outside in, with materials like pure wool, leather and dark woods bringing a sense of grounding and elegance . These rooms and suites were designed to make city life harmonious, with refinement, comfort and timeless elegance – all intrinsic to InterContinental’s delivery of discreet luxury.

Junior Suite – InterContinental Paris Le Grand
The hotel completed an ambitious restoration to the hotel and the iconic Café de la Paix in summer 2021. This iconic, storied hotel is a perfect example of adapting a historic building and evolving with the needs of the modern luxury traveller. The recent reopening marked the end of the third and final phase of renovation of InterContinental Paris - Le Grand, a global flagship for the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand. The extensive multi-year renovation, entrusted to interior architect Pierre-Yves Rochon, included the launch of new Rooms and Suites, refurbished meeting rooms, works to the glass-roofed La Verrière, the hotel’s public areas, and more recently the unveiling of a brand-new Club InterContinental Lounge and the relaunch of the esteemed Café de la Paix. The depicted Junior Suite with Opera View is inspired by the ballet and the opera and decorated with mirrors, leather headboard and velvet.

Presidential Suite - InterContinental Buenos Aires, Argentina
InterContinental first opened a hotel in Buenos Aires in the early 1980s, but the current InterContinental Buenos Aires has been open since 1995. This building, although modern in style, represents the sophisticated and classic style of the historic district of Montserrat in which it is located. The dazzling Presidential Suite located on the 18th floor of InterContinental Buenos Aires offers one of the best views of the City, overlooking the majesty of Buenos Aires from south to north. The 200 square metre spaces includes a spacious main living room, a full kitchen, a bedroom with a dressing room, large bathrooms and other versatile environments, with the perfect combination of innovative designs and high quality materials.

The lobby - InterContinental Doha, Qatar
This sophisticated new lobby, bathed in Italian marble and designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon, debuted in March 2020. Its beige and navy furniture is refined and modern, vivid paintings bring vibrancy, oversized windows let in plenty of light and a 4,000-piece hand-blown crystal chandelier provides a dose of lavishness. Surrounded by imported Italian marble, the new lobby embodies classical, yet modern designs depicted in a complementing blend of gold and oakwood tables, deep navy furniture, a touch of colourful paintings, and décors that are true to Qatar’s local culture and heritage. Subtle nods to the Middle East are dispersed throughout the Lounge, seen in the marbled floor inspired by Islamic mosaic tilework, which lies underneath oriental sofas, silk cushions and cashmere patterned fabrics surrounding openwork tea tables. Individual seating areas were created to accommodate several business or leisure groups at once, each offering an intimate, residential ambiance.

Guest room - InterContinental Muscat, Oman
Launched in 2019, this renovation created guest rooms that are simple yet refreshing and reflecting the rich heritage of Oman. Rooms feature soft furnishings in turquoise hues, while accents of velvets are cleverly detailed in the upholstery to lend a soft touch to the furnishing. Rooms were also equipped with sophisticated digital features, including a guest room management system that controls lighting scenes and thermo regulation settings. Motion sensors built into the glass panels of the windows to detect entry into the room, which allows for better temperature and lighting regulation.

Guest room - InterContinental San Francisco, US
Completed in early 2020, the top-to-bottom interior renovation transformed 43,000 square feet of meeting and event space, 556 guestrooms, 14 suites, and the lobby level Concierge and Living Room. The nearby Moscone Center and San Francisco’s SOMA district influenced the guest room redesign by Kiko Singh of San Francisco-based BraytonHughes Design Studios, creating interiors that evokes a strong sense of place and giving the spaces a residential quality. The pinstripes in the grey carpet call to mind a suit, a theme carried through the room with suit-like buttons on the bed skirt outlined with striping of International Orange, the official colour of the Golden Gate Bridge. There are also oversized wingback chairs and modern lamps. Additional updates include guestroom light fixtures that were designed with convenience outlets, USB connections for guests to have ample space to plug in and motorised drapes. Artwork comes from local emerging artists discovered in boutique galleries, and in one case, on Instagram.

Club Deluxe room - Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, South Korea
The hotel re-opened in 2020, celebrating its 30th anniversary with a new look, following an 11-month renovation. 1508 London, a British interior design group, designed new interiors and created a design narrative encompassing the themes of ‘Return to Nature’, ‘Balance’ and ‘Crafted Detailing’. The design also incorporated Korea’s unique lines and warm colours, creating harmony between materials for an exquisite finish, for a distinctively luxurious atmosphere. The 40 square metre Club InterContinental Deluxe Room encapsulates traditional Korean style with a refined contemporary twist. Accented in blue, the room features stylish wooden and bronze furnishings, panel detailing and modern conveniences which all evoke inviting residential charm.

Club Lounge - InterContinental Singapore, Singapore
A multi-million refurbishment of the public areas including its lobby and all-day dining restaurant, Ash & Elm, and guestrooms in the main tower. Characteristic of InterContinental’s focus on showcasing the beauty of the region with modern comforts, the hotel’s Club InterContinental conveys rich Peranakan culture through its spacious interiors featuring exquisite fabrics, elegant furniture and a fascinating collection of arts and artefacts.

Club room - ANA InterContinental Ishigaki Resort
The much-anticipated expansion of ANA InterContinental Ishigaki Resort opened in mid-2020 with the addition of two wings to the resort, including a spectacular refurbishment to guest room and facilities. Set in its own private enclave, the unrivalled Club InterContinental experience, designed by the G.A Group, is complete with an exclusive Club InterContinental pool, private gardens and Club InterContinental Lounge. The Club rooms palette is a sophisticated and rich scheme, referencing textures of coral with modern accents of leather and metal.

The lobby - InterContinental New York Barclay
One of the brand’s best know hotels, the 95 year-old Barclay has seen many changes over the years. It remains quintessentially New York whilst showcasing the brand perfectly, never more so than since its latest glow-up. IHG Design Studio, architects Stonehill + Taylor and interior design firm HOK worked together to restore and enhance this iconic, quintessentially New York property; launching the new look in 2016. The $180 million, 20-month top-to-bottom renovation featured more than 420,000 square feet of redesigned interiors. A lighter, more open and inviting lobby welcomes guests to their slice of the InterContinental Life and leads to a new spectacular Carrara marble staircase, bringing added grandeur to the space. Structural reinforcement needed to support a new ballroom that was installed on the building’s second floor during renovation meant the domed light in the centre of the lobby had to be removed. It’s replacement – a flat laylight seamlessly slots into the space whilst giving a slightly more contemporary edge. Eight brass Warbler silhouettes were added to the hotel’s central revolving door, a homage to a birdcage that once sat in the lobby, hosting guests’ own pet birds and later songbirds.

About IHG^®

IHG Hotels & Resorts [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global hospitality company, with a purpose to provide True Hospitality for Good.

With a family of 17 hotel brands and IHG Rewards, one of the world's largest hotel loyalty programmes, IHG has over 6,000 open hotels in more than 100 countries, and a further 1,800 in the development pipeline.

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InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated and registered in England and Wales. Approximately 350,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

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Caroline O'Grady
IHG