Hotel-tastic

There are few designers who wouldn’t relish the opportunity to create an entire hotel from scratch.

From rooms, restaurants, offices, spas and conference areas, to bars, business centres and fancy bathrooms, hotels have a bit of everything – and present interior designers with a unique opportunity to show off their creative clout. Hotel projects mean more variety, greater scope, increased exposure and larger budgets. With a hotel project, a designer can show the world, and themselves, what they are truly capable of.

But the average hospitality project is also fraught with challenges – most notably, juggling the often contradictory demands of owners and operators, and co-ordinating with everyone from the in-house purchasing, operations and housekeeping teams, to the procurement company. And, of course, in the current climate budgets aren’t what they were, which presents a whole other set of problems.

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With the Hotel Show taking place from May 18 to 20, this month’s issue of CID has focused in on the world of hospitality design. We talk to Jesper Godsk of LW Design, the company behind some of the region’s most iconic hotels, about one of its latest projects, The Media One. According to Godsk, this four-star property in the heart of Media City is breaking new ground for Dubai’s hospitality industry, taking contemporary design to a whole new level.

We’ve also spoken to Teo Ah Khing, managing director of the Dubai branch of Teo A. Khing Design Consultants, about his design for the new Meydan Hotel (page 8). The hotel is being positioned as one of Dubai’s best, alongside the likes of Burj Al Arab, and Khing was tasked with creating a striking interior that would support these lofty ambitions.

The scale of a hotel project makes it critically important to work with partners and suppliers that are both capable and reliable, so we’ve also compiled a list of ‘Hospitality Suppliers You Should Know’ (page 53). In addition, we’ve asked a select group of leading hospitality designers to share their thoughts on the evolution of hotel interiors in this month’s ‘Industry Speak’.

According to them, the secret of successful hospitality design lies in forging a strong emotional connection with the guest, by creating an environment that is totally immersive. We hope that their expertise will help you with your next – or first – hospitality project.There are few designers who wouldn’t relish the opportunity to create an entire hotel from scratch.