Category Archives: Hotels

Moroccan Design Hotels

October 12, 2009 By in Hotels, Interior design Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

murano resort

I’m doing a bit of holiday prowling today on one of my favorite sites.  Where do designers go to find the best Design Hotels to visit?  designhotels.com, of course!  Both of these hotels are in Marrakech, Morroco. 

Anayela

Housed in a 300-year-old palace, the hotel is named for a former occupant, a girl named Yela who left behind an intimate journal in one of its secret rooms.

The building itself is an homage to Moroccan history – in particular, local architecture and design. Its restoration was conducted using only traditional Moroccan craftsmanship, with over 100 artisans performing the work completely by hand, without the help of a single electric tool. Similarly, each piece of furniture and ornamentation was personally designed by owner Bernd Kolb and designer Yannick Hervy and then hand-crafted by a team of Moroccan artisans.    >more info

06anayela_ds_0

03anayela_ds_0

01anayela_ds_0

Murano Resort

Designed by Christine Derory and Raymond Morel  the designer duo behind the Murano Paris.  Combining European design sensibilities with traditional Moroccan aesthetics, Derory and Morel created modern interiors with a North African flair contained within a palatial Moorish exterior. Facades feature typical red-pisé walls and arched oval windows, while suites boast white stucco walls, billowing white curtains and burgundy accents. 

Nowhere is this palette more stunningly expressed than in the resort foreground: set amidst leafy green trees, the red-tiled back-lit pool enhances the brilliant whites and reds of the pool-bar furniture, made exclusively for Murano by French design agency La COX.   >more info

murano_exterior

murano_dining

muurano_marrakesch_ds_2_0

source:[http://www.designhotels.com]

Community By Design

August 5, 2009 By in Exterior, Hotels, Product Design, Toronto Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

DSCN1623

I spotted this outside my dinner spot in the Drake Cafe window on my date with the baby tonight.  Between rapid fire supplying Hudson with Sweet Pea Mac and Cheese, and rough sketching my building sections for the MUC house, I noticed this Community Message Centre on the side of the bus shelter.  (also drank a cool glass of Kim Crawford whilst doing all of the above)

It was sponsored by Astral Media, and I think a great idea and in this case that means good design.  It will no doubt get abused in the wrong areas, but here, right outside the hotel it’s a lovely and practical community addition to an otherwise utilitarian space.

Little gestures go miles to creating the overall tone.  True for interior spaces, street scapes and entire communities!

Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel

February 5, 2009 By in Hotels, Interior design, Travel Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

courtesy of TrendHunter

34516_1_468

London’s latest hotel offering is – wait for it – strictly for rock’n’roll superstars. But rock and roll seems to have grown up and the hotel is positioned as ‘sexy’ not ‘rowdy’.

Out: throwing TVs from the window.
In: serious relaxation, decent beauty sleep and 24 hour food and drink and an offering all geared to the needs of touring artistes.

A bouncer is on the staff, apparently, to keep the paparazzi and autograph hunters firmly at bay.

The hotel has been created in a partnership between the management of Iron Maiden, the heavy metal band, and Mark Fuller, a nightclub owner. The hotel is billed as a retreat for musicians playing in London, including Iron Maiden themselves.

The band’s co-manager Andy Taylor claims the hotel will meet the specific needs of rock ‘n’ roll guests.

“The hotel will be rock ‘n’ roll at its best,” Taylor said. “The desk clerk will definitely be dressed in black just as in Elvis’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel.’ It will be a fairly elite environment. The bar will be open for 24 hours to cater for bands who come off stage at venues such as the O2 at 11 p.m. or midnight.”

The £6.5m project, called Sanctum Soho and rumored to open in either February or April 2009, has 30 boutique rooms. A stay will cost from £150 for a “crash room” to £260 for rooms which have names such as Purple Haze and Naked Baroque to £500 for suites called Naked Luxe.

Source: trendhunter via: designhotels

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 2,072 other followers