Fusing History With Style

You would never expect to find this incredibly chic hotel behind the concrete façade of what used to be a Japanese Army headquarters building from the 1930s. Shanghai's Waterhouse at South Bund is a fierce boutique hotel located by the new Cool Docks development on the South Bund District. Neri & Hu Design based its entire design concept on "a blurring or an inversion of internal & external spaces, creating a disorienting yet refreshing spatial experience for guests in search of something out of the ordinary" — winning them an 'Emerging Architecture Award' by the Royal Institute of British Architects. 

It's incredible to see how the designers managed to transform a rather nondescript and utilitarian structure into such a magnificent retreat that fuses cutting-edge with comfort. It must be so neat to stay in a place where you can feel its history just by looking at the scars and cracks on the exposed walls.

Images © Pedro Pegenaute, © The Waterhouse at South Bund

Le Royal Monceau Hotel - Paris

Paris loves to show off. The recently re-opened Le Royal Monceau is by far the showiest hotel in which the TCH team has ever stayed. This is a storied hotel and a location with a fantastic, historical past, but the latest incarnation is reimagined by Philippe Starck.

We are not huge fans of Starck as we tend to consider him one of the somewhat “gimmicky” designers — together with Karim Rashid or Marcel Wanders — whose creations sometimes transcend time and become classics, yet at others appear like a flash-in-a-pan that you only want to see once. This kind of design is fun and quirky, but we get tired of it very quickly.

In Le Royal Monceau, Philippe Starck has created a classic. Two years after possibly the wildest ‘demolition party’ in history, Paris’ newest palace hotel is THE place to stay.

The location itself is a winner: Five minutes’ walk from Arc De Triomphe and Champs-Elysées.

The entry to Le Royal Monceau is super-grand, from the six doormen to the first glimpse of the foyer — it feels like you’ve walked onto the movie set of Eyes Wide Shut. The luxe-chic interiors are the grandest we’ve seen but it’s somehow magically NOT over the top. It works in Paris; it really works wonderfully.

The hotel’s point of difference is a serious commitment to art. It has its own gallery, Art District, with the inaugural Basquiat show, of works selected from Enrico Navarra’s collection. There’s also an art bookshop and a dedicated blog Artforbreakfast.

There’s also a whiff of rock’n'roll, with each room featuring its own guitar, with a portable recording studio available to guests. Trailblazing fashion multibrand, L’Eclaireur, will also host a show room in the hotel. Plus there’s a Clarins spa, Pierre Hermé desserts, a cigar smoking room, a cinema, an extensive garden.

The rooms are fantastic, and for 800 Euro a night, you’d want them to be.

We were upgraded to the hotel’s best suite on the top floor with an attic-style roof. We entered a room to find a service of croissants, macaroons, coffee, water, grapes and oranges presented in a way fit for a president. The room has a small lounge with a large mirror leaning against the wall like a painting. The mirror miraculously becomes a TV with a switch of the remote control.

While the bed with its Italian crisp linen is divine, the bathroom is a real eye-opener. It’s like ‘Studio 54 meets a Puff Daddy video’ or like bathing on the face of a Chanel diamond wrist watch. All mirrors on every wall. You either love it or hate it.

Le Royal Monceau has it all, including all the beautiful people. The in-crowd has found it and the breakfast room was buzzing with film directors, actors models, advertising gurus, fashion types ; everyone dressed immaculately looking like a tear-sheet from Paris Vogue.

Power meetings were happening over lunch and at dinner/drinks. The place was buzzing with the most flamboyant characters we’ve seen in a while and literally every night was busy. We can only imagine the vibe of this place when Paris Fashion Week comes along! - Bill Tikos http://www.thecoolhunter.co.uk/

Soho Hotel - Berlin

Elite, exclusive, private - Soho House Group’s properties continue to exude an air of privilege and luxury that entices members and non-members with its exclusive, members-only spaces, hotel suites, several restaurant brands and the Cowshed spa brand.

The newest property, Soho House Berlin is Soho House Group’s first outside-UK European property and its largest so far.

It is a private members club and 40-room hotel located on eight floors of a 1928 late-Bauhaus building on Torstrasse in Berlin’s famous Mitte district.

The hotel rooms offer the typical upscale fare: custom beds, rainforest showers, Samsung flatscreens and in-house Cowshed spa products. Some even have restored vintage record players and vinyl LPs to evoke a retro industrial feel also reinforced by exposed concrete and dark paneling.

Soho House Berlin’s hotel rooms are a delightfully mad yet subtle mix of this hard, angular visual language with a padded-velvet lush and prissy 1930s glamour. Soho House’s cool interiors are the work of in-house designer Susie Atkinson and London-based Michaelis Boyd Associates.

Following the concept of Soho Houses in London and West Hollywood, a Cecconi’s restaurant will open in Berlin’s Soho House this fall.

Soho House Group operates five Soho House clubs and hotels in the UK and one in each of New York, West Hollywood and now Berlin. The next property, Soho Beach House Miami will open this fall in Mid-Beach, Miami, in the historic Sovereign hotel. - Tuija Seipell  www.thecoolhunter.net/

« Peneira by the Campana Brothers for Alessi Japanse Winkeltje by Nezu Aymo Architects » Pantone Hotel by Olivier Hannaert and Michel Penneman

Interior designer Olivier Hannaert and architect Michel Penneman have completed a hotel in Brussels, Belgium, for colour company Pantone.

Called Pantone Hotel, the building has seven floors each decorated with a different colour pallette.

Photographs are by Serge Anton.

Here’s some more information from Pantone:

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Kick Back in Pantone Inspired Style: PANTONE HOTEL Opens in Brussels. A Work of Art in Itself, the PANTONE HOTEL Brussels Inspires Guests with Colorful Design and Décor.

Pantone LLC, an X-Rite company (NASDAQ: XRIT) and the global authority on color, today announced the opening of the PANTONE HOTELTM in Brussels. Centrally located just steps from Avenue Louise, a glamorous shopping and business district named for a king’s daughter and now a muse to modern-day designers, the boutique PANTONE HOTEL combines a chic, colorful design aesthetic with comfortable, well-appointed guest rooms. The lobby and rooftop terraces are destinations unto themselves within a bustling city center famous for its artistic, culinary and political history.

The PANTONE HOTEL is perfect for cosmopolitan adventurers as well as small corporate meetings and business conferences, cocktail receptions and special events. The PANTONE HOTEL will awaken guests’ senses to an array of colorful delights and playful surprises. Designed by Belgian interior designer Michel Penneman and Belgian architect Olivier Hannaert, each of the hotel’s seven floors are enlightened by different color palettes to complement guests’ emotions with distinctive hues – whether vivid or subdued.

Through a licensing partnership with British developers, the PANTONE HOTEL is part of PANTONE UNIVERSE®, an expanding line of colorful, design-inspired products for consumers. From PANTONE Chip inspired mugs created by W2 to Sonia Spencer cufflinks and Alpa stationary and bags, the hotel offers the largest selection of PANTONE UNIVERSE products worldwide, all available for purchase at the hotel.

“Paris has the Champs Elysées, Barcelona has the Ramblas and New York City has Fifth Avenue,” said Lisa Herbert, executive vice president at Pantone. “On Avenue Louise, international labels commingle with Belgian goods of all kinds against a backdrop of elegant mansions and modern business towers, all bordered by chestnut trees. Pantone is right at home in the heart of this vibrant city center, having long been synonymous with color and design in all walks of life, from high fashion and interior design to corporate branding.”

The guest rooms are works of art – white walls and bedding provide a clean, crisp canvas for saturated pops of vibrant color. Adding to the artistry, rooms feature photographic installations created by renowned Belgian photographer Victor Levy that include a spectrum of vibrant PANTONE Colors to create a unique ambiance in each room. The 59 affordably priced rooms and suites empower guests to transform their travels by selecting a room that complements their mood through color. The rooms and suites are patterned after one of seven distinct PANTONE Color palettes and include inviting bedding, LCD TVs and central air conditioning; many also offer unparalleled views of Brussels.

Two custom, top-floor meeting rooms are available for private events and other functions. Meeting rooms can accommodate up to 20 people and are equipped with state-of-the-art audiovisual and technical equipment. Ideal for summer cocktail parties or events, the rooftop terrace, complete with its own bar, can be rented for private functions of up to 100 guests. PANTONE Color consultants are also available by appointment for informal color consultations or to present educational seminars on color psychology and trends.

The Met Hotel

Zege Architects projected this contemporary hotel of 212 guestrooms in Greece accompanied by accommodations such as Spa, VIP lounge, conference rooms, gourmet restaurants and atmospheric bars.

The lobby/reception area is a generously open plan inviting you to walk through the space and explore the mod living in front of the dynamic fire place or the lounging comfort of the alternative living ambiences.

One of the restaurants, Chan, designed by Andy Martin, is treated like a “boutiesque” project, there is a space within a space approach designed for intimacy and privacy. The second restaurant is designed with an approachable ambience.

Glazing and natural day light plays a prime role. In the Spa the design language is kept simplistic and edgy. Day light is present in a controlled form and throughout the whole interior a hygienic essence is present.

In the corridors leading to the bedrooms we experience volume and warmth through the structural wood panel forms. Arriving inside the bedrooms there is the presence of wood, lacquer and glazing. Three finishes combined with smooth fabrics to create a luxurious but approachable space.

Zenden Hotel and Swimclub

Wiel Arets Architects designed the interior of the Zenden Hotel and Swimclublocated in Maastricht, Netherlands.

Here is the project description:

The Zenden Hotel and Swimclub is located within three monumental town houses near the river Maas in Maastricht, the Netherlands. During the renovation, the scattered program was re-crystallized into an iconographical and integrated whole.

Newly created openings in the hotel’s walls allow for views between all areas of the new program, as well to as the exterior. The renovation led to an abstraction of the structure in both plan and section, not least because all ceilings heights were kept to a maximum. The resulting interior sculpture is completely clad in white, while the exterior inversions are painted anthracite.

Upon entering the hotel, a relaxing lounge welcomes guests and invites them to have a drink, admire the hotel’s pool or simply enjoy the red Japanese maple on the patio. From the lounge, guests can pace past the glass-clad wall in the entrance area and descend to the basement, where one finds the sapphire blue waters of the pool, which retains its original medieval vault. Oppositely, ascending the stairs, nine hotel rooms await their guests, each room unique.

Inside the four new guest rooms, services such as showers, toilets and cupboards have been condensed to blocks, enabling more living space. Corian inlays and night-stands have been integrated into the walls, washing tables placed on floating shelves, TV’s hidden behind reflecting glass and bathroom doors also serve as mirrors.

Photos by Jan Bitter and Joao Morgado