GS MAGAZINE AUGUST 2018

Celebrating 21 years of

Issue 77 www.gsmagazine.co.uk

Inspiring Hospitality Design

With over 40 years’ experience in joinery and construction, French Group have acted as principal contractors on major contracts for many multi-national companies as well as smaller independents and specialist commissions. We are able to offer in-house joinery, detailed shopfitting and refurbishment services that are second to none.

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Telephone : +44 (0)1825 723688/9 www.frenchgroup.co.uk | mail@frenchgroup.co.uk French Group, The Old Brewery, 16 High Street, Newick, East Sussex BN8 4LQ

Issue No.77 www.gsmagazine.co.uk

Celebrating 21 years of

Issue 77 www.gsmagazine.co.uk

Inspiring Hospitality Design

Editor Stirling Johnstone Mobile: 0788 402 1551 Tel : +44 (0)1462 742367 editor@gsmagazine.co.uk Design Miles Johnstone Tel : +44 (0)7888 998208 design@gsmagazine.co.uk

Cover Image 1 Hotel, Brooklyn Bridge, New York.

Photographer: Eric Laignel Photography James French, 20 Stories Gareth Gardner, Hans’ Nick Ingram, Beaumont Classic Daniel Krieger, NoMad Hotel Eric Laignel, 1 Hotel Paul Lehane, Adare Manor Douglas Lyle Thompson, Ace Hotel Tom Mannion, Principal London Carol Sachs, Neptune, Principal London Ian Schrager, PUBLIC Nick Simonite, Hotel San Jose Richard Southall, Emphasis, Inko Nito Contributors Caroline Collett Fay Gristwood Peter Hancock Stacy Shoemaker Rauen Jori White

editor’s note

W

elcome to this, our 21st Anniversary issue. To mark the occasion we’ve invited several industry luminaires to contribute to the magazine with their thoughts, observations and opinions.

You’ll find them in amongst our usual offering of news and reviews. Our aim has always been to

inspire by featuring new and often ground-breaking projects. And inspire we do; our readers often ask us who supplied the furniture, the fabrics or the lighting that appears within our features, because they want to source the same, or similar, for their projects. There’s nothing wrong with that, after all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Imitation is what has led to the growth we’ve seen in the restaurant market.

Restaurant PR guru Jori White alludes to this in her article on page 42. The pioneers may have led the way with fresh dining concepts (that roll call should include Sir Terence Conran, Claudio Pulze, Rainer Becker, Alan Yau and Simon Woodroffe who coincidently opened the first Yo! Sushi in 1997, the year of our launch) but soon after other entrepreneurs took those ideas, put a new spin on them and rolled them

Print Stephens & George, Wales © STEVENSON PUBLICATIONS No part of GS MAGAZINE may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher.

The views and opinions expressed in GS are not necessarily those of the publisher, nor does he accept liability for any printing errors or otherwise which may occur.

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You can subscribe online ~ www.gsmagazine.co.uk Alternatively, please post us a cheque (payable to Stevenson Publications) with your full address details to: Subscriptions.

GS Magazine. 19 Wharfdale Road, London N1 9SB.

out. The same can be said of hotels; witness the growth of the design hotel, the boutique hotel, the aparthotel, hotels with a social hub and even pod hotels. All of these ideas have been copied at some point, and in every case design has played a crucial role in their success.

It’s been a pleasure to have been able to visit so many of these wonderful hotels and restaurants to celebrate their design. So here’s to all those who have helped GS Magazine along the way: the hoteliers, the restaurateurs, the pub and bar owners, the innovators, the architects and designers, the industry suppliers and all the wonderful Public Relations professionals who, like Jori White, have brought the best stories to our attention.

Thank you and Cheers!

GS Magazine supports the aims and objectives of ACID

Stirling Johnstone - Editor

GS Magazine 3

A NEW DESIGN DNA FROM ROCA

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CONTENTS 11

In this issue...

18 20 22 25

 THE FISH TREEHOUSES

Glamping in the trees on the Farncombe Estate

 THE PAINSWICK

A charming little Cotswolds’ hideaway

 PRINCIPAL LONDON

Principal hotels open their flagship property in this iconic London building

 THE CREAM OF THE INDUSTRY

If we were to build our own luxury hotel who would be our go-to suppliers?

26 28 30 32 33

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34

 LEVELS OF LUXURY

37

 UNIFORMS

42

 TWENTY ONE YEARS OF LONDON RESTAURANTS

44

 INTERVIEW – RICHMOND DESIGN INTERNATIONAL

46

 AN AMERICAN POINT OF VIEW

34 46

REARDONSMITH ARCHITECTS CONCEPT BARS HUMBLE ARNOLD ASSOCIATES, KITCHEN DESIGN FIREFLY LIGHTING DESIGN FRENCH GROUP, CONTRACTORS

Peter Hancock of Pride of Britain Hotels considers what constitutes true luxury in hotels Our industry round table discussion provides sound advice on choosing the best front of house staff uniforms Restaurant Public Relations expert, Jori White, looks back over two decades of restaurant growth Fiona Thompson, Richmond’s Principal, discusses how the hotel market has developed and where it might lead in the future Stacy Shoemaker Rauen, Editor in Chief of America’s leading hospitality design title, HD Magazine, looks at the game-changers of hotel design

REGULARS

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 LAUNCH PAD

52

 DESIGN EVENTS

58

 EDITOR’S CHOICE

Including San Carlo, Restaurant Story, Inko Nito, Hans’ Bar, 20 Stories & the Grand Café designjunction EquipHotel Restaurant & Bar Design Show Products and services

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LAUNCH PAD [ new openings + refits ]

San Carlo

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n 1992 Carlo Distefano opened his first eponymous restaurant in Temple Street, Birmingham. Now joined by two generations of the Distefano family, the San Carlo group of award-winning contemporary Italian restaurants has grown to become a £60 million independent restaurant empire which currently numbers 20 authentic Italian restaurants across the UK, from Covent Garden, Piccadilly and Knightsbridge Green in London to Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Leeds and Leicester, along with one in Bangkok and one in Qatar. Flagship sites include Signor Sassi Knightsbridge and Cicchetti Piccadilly.

They have now opened a new and sophisticated eponymously named eatery in what must be one of London’s most expensive new districts; St James’s Market. This area of St James’s has had an association with fine foods and luxury for over 300 years and the new development, nestled between the Haymarket and Regent Street, is already home to fashion houses, flagship shopping brands, art galleries and new restaurants including Aquavit, Ikoyi, Duck and Waffle Local and Anzu. St James’s Market is part of a £1.5billion regeneration programme across Regent Street and St James’s,

being carried out by The Crown Estate.

Having taken up residence in early June, the 130-cover San Carlo has one of the world’s most celebrated Italian chefs at the helm. Alberico Penati’s illustrious career has seen him work at some of the most renowned establishments, among them Ristorante Carpaccio, the first Italian restaurant in France to win a Michelin star; Harry’s Bar at Annabel’s; Alberico at Aspinalls and private members’ club, 5 Hertford Street, in Mayfair. Using only the finest Italian produce, be it veal from Tuscany, beef from Piemonte or tomatoes from Sicily, Alberico’s menus include seasonal choices served alongside classic dishes.

The interiors are impressive. San Carlo’s two intimate spaces feature interiors that have been many months in design and creation. Specially commissioned master craftsmen have used only the very finest materials, from honed Arabescato marble, cut from specially selected blocks, and steamed beech with a high gloss lacquered finish, more usually found on board superyachts.

Rare stones such as brown Collemandina marble and Crema Marfil, one of the most highly valued marbles in the world, have been combined to create a truly stunning floor. The design team has also incorporated over 600 brass rosettes,

handmade by one of the UK’s most soughtafter artisan metal workers. Such attention to detail carries through to the bespoke furniture created in Italy and fabrics and wall coverings

by Christian Lacroix, together with some of Italy’s finest leather suppliers.

All in all San Carlo is a high end, sophisticated restaurant, best appreciated by those who don’t need to look at the price list when choosing. Ideal for a classic and comfortable dining experience.

San Carlo, 2 Regent Street, St James’s, London SW1. www.sancarlo.co.uk GS Magazine 9

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LAUNCH PAD [ new openings + refits ] INKO NITO

B

illed as an “Unconventional Japanese Robatayaki” and with a logo that looks like a neon Casper the Ghost, Inko Nito has landed in Soho. Rainer Becker of Zuma Restaurants is the man behind this new venture. The hugely successful Zuma and Roka restaurants can be found in major cities across the globe so we can safely assume that this baby sister will be something special in terms of cuisine. This is actually the second Inko Nito, the first opened in Los Angeles, and both are receiving rave reviews. The interiors are designed for relaxed dining. There’s a coolness and calming atmosphere, largely due to the abundant use of natural materials like reclaimed wood and stone and a very clever seating arrangement: the seats throughout are at differing heights so wherever you’re seated, you have a view of the central robata grill to watch the skilled chefs at work.

INKO NITO, 55 Broadwick Street, London W1. Tel: +44 (0)20 3959 2650 www.inkonitorestaurant.com

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Restaurant Story

hef Tom Sellers launched Restaurant Story in Tooley Street, London, SE1, in April 2013 and the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star within five months of opening, it’s that good. The restaurant was closed for several weeks in the spring for an extensive interior renovation. Having reopened, it is not just the interiors that are new but also a new menu concept. Diners are no longer given a menu upon arrival, instead each table is treated individually, creating their own bespoke ‘story’. Much of the food and beverage service is performed in the dining room in front of guests, either from a drinks trolley or tableside food preparation. The interior refurbishment, carried out by architects Raven Collective and contractors The French Group, has, has focused on the ‘improvement and maturation’ of the dining room, with the addition of a feature ceiling installation of swallows taking flight, by Michelle McKinney. More textured materials and colour has been incorporated including the introduction of tablecloths, more luxurious curved seating and glazed window panels to bring warmth into the room. Commenting on the refurbishment, Tom Sellers noted: “It is important that the physical space within Story reflects the way that my team and my style of cooking have developed over the years. I was very fortunate, but very young, when Story first opened, and I’m excited to look to the future and bring an entirely different experience to our guests.”

Restaurant Story, 199 Tooley Street, London SE1 Tel: +44 (0)20 7183 2117 www.restaurantstory.co.uk GS Magazine 11

LAUNCH PAD [ new openings + refits ]

Hans’ Bar & Grill

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ans’ Bar & Grill, a new neighbourhood restaurant in 11 Cadogan Gardens hotel, in Chelsea’s Pavilion Road, has opened for business and features a striking, contemporary interiors scheme created by designers Goddard Littlefair.

Hans’ Bar & Grill was named in honour of Cadogan family ascendant Sir Hans Sloane, onetime physician to the royal family and President of The Royal Society, as well a celebrated natural historian, whose incredible collection of specimens and artefacts led to the founding of The British Museum. Both London’s Sloane Square and Sloane Street were named in his honour.

The new 106-cover restaurant encompasses 18 covers within the café-bar area, directly inside the Pavilion Road entrance; 46 covers in a covered courtyard area, forming part of the main restaurant, plus a further 42 covers in the dining area of the main hotel building. A further private dining space, ‘The Curio’, inspired by Sloane’s love of adventure and discovery, can seat a further 16 guests and is located directly opposite the internal restaurant entrance.

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The first café-bar space is located within a converted former mews garage on Pavilion Road, where it sits alongside other converted garages to either side to form a new suite of upmarket, independent boutique retailers, from barbers and cheesemongers to specialist purveyors of wine and bread. Architectural works on this, as well as the courtyard refurbishment, were carried out by ReardonSmith Architects.

The bright and airy café-bar space has a clean and contemporary feel with a monochrome colourway, along with interesting, textured finishes, such as white slatted timber wall cladding and an original, exposed, yellow-stock brick wall to the left, plus white tiling behind the bar, where vertically stack-bonded tiles create a great hand-crafted feel. The bespoke feature bar front is in split-faced stone from Stone Republic, with a natural, honed grey basalt bar top from Natural Stone Projects providing a clean contrast.

The furniture in this area is in butchers block oak and includes bespoke banquettes upholstered in pre-aged tan leather, designed by Goddard Littlefair, manufactured by Craftwood and located along the left-hand, exposed-brick

LAUNCH PAD [ new openings + refits ] Signage The Pavilion Road entrance features glazing to either side and a black-painted timber surround. Goddard Littlefair created all signage for the venue, applying new branding by Doodle, which includes fascia and projecting signs, as well as wayfinding, menu A-boards and external menu boxes. Further graphic elements, such as takeaway bags and cups for daytime coffee and grab’n’go orders, are also by Doodle. The signage creates a discreet balance between the hotel’s traditional heritage positioning and the more contemporary styling of the restaurant.

wall. Cadogan family portraits, specially created for the space by artist Louise Seabrook, also line the left-hand brick wall. Hints of brass in this area - used, for example, as frame-lining within the bespoke glass and black-finish metal screens - link the space to the restaurant beyond, where brass is much more predominant, proportionally inverting the initial relationship of brass and black metal in this space.

The ceiling is exposed and painted light grey, with architectural lighting on tracks, whilst feature lighting includes five industrial-feel brass wall lights from Istanbul-based Topos Workshop along the left-side brick wall, plus seven Nordlux Strap Pendant lights over the bar, which hang on leather straps.

The flooring directly surrounding the bar is in a patterned ceramic tile from Royal Mosa in a bespoke mix of four different but complementary tones, ranging from cream through to chocolate, whilst the main flooring, also used on the stairs and in the former courtyard area, is a cobble grey FSC-certified brushed oak from the Solid Wood Flooring Company. Full-height glass and metal screens in black steel and brass, situated to either side of the steps leading down to the former courtyard area, provide drama and smooth the transition to the next part of the space.

The first, courtyard section of the restaurant is filled with natural light, thanks to two largescale feature rooflights. A subtle nature theme extends into the main restaurant area and café bar, where small pots feature throughout on the waiter stations and along the back bar.

The restaurant has a contemporary-classic feel, with traditional wood panelling to the walls in a fresh and light grey paint finish (alternating

with antiqued bevelled glass panels), plus skirting and a dado rail, as well as restored fireplaces, linking it in feel to the overall hotel, which Goddard Littlefair has also revamped.

This space features a furniture mix of dark green banquettes with a fluted leather finish, whilst all loose furniture, similarly bespoke-made for the project, is in grey leather or else a mix of mohair and leather in light green or dusky orange, with dark timber frames.

Approximately half of the restaurant space beyond the courtyard is an area that can be separated off, via curtains in a striking House of Hackney floral fabric, for private hire. This 22-cover space hosts a striking, illuminated

wall display of 300 wine bottles and is in a moodier dark green colourway than the rest of the restaurant, specially-designed to set off the display, with green walls, a green fireplace and green banquette chairs, with a pop of orange for contrast in the form of a number of orangeupholstered mohair chairs with leather backs and bases.

Bespoke, shallow brushed brass chandeliers add glamour, with one situated in the wine room and the other in the rear restaurant section that follows and completes the scheme. The rear section is also the indoor restaurant entrance area for guests coming from the hotel side.

Outside of the main restaurant and directly opposite is the 16-cover Curio space, with another space alongside, The Curio Lounge, which can be used for breakfast overspill or for a further 10 covers.

Hans’ Bar & Grill, 164 Pavilion Road, London, SW1X 0BP Tel: +44 (0)20 7730 7000 www.hansbarandgrill.com

GS Magazine 13

LAUNCH PAD [ new openings + refits ]

20STORIES 2

0 Stories, opened this spring as D&D London’s first restaurant in Manchester - located on the nineteenth floor of No1 Spinningfields, with the restaurant, bar and terrace, being billed as a ‘garden in the sky’.

The concept for 20 Stories was designed by New York based architecture and interior design firm CetraRuddy, with DesignLSM being chosen by D&D London to work in partnership as Executive Architects. The design draws on Manchester’s industrial and agricultural past while embracing the restaurant’s unique site. ‘The garden in the sky’ concept conveys a glamorous and sophisticated ambience, merging with art elements, native materials and handcrafted textiles to create a feeling of warmth and authenticity.

The restaurant offers a variety of distinct indoor settings including the main restaurant, a private dining room, a cocktail bar, and a more 14 GS Magazine

LAUNCH PAD [ new openings + refits ] Lighting by into Lighting Design Consultants Working closely with the client D&D London, CetraRuddy the interior designers and the UK architectural implementation team DesignLSM, into have created a sophisticated layered lighting scheme that enhances the architecture of the space, highlights the palette of materials throughout and ensures that views from the glass facades are uninterrupted. The lighting design works in harmony with the interiors design to deliver an opulent and stylish space unique to Manchester.

casual brasserie and grill. The bar serves as a centre-piece for 20 Stories, with the dramatic form of its shimmering, illuminated canopy referencing “a grand specimen tree”.

Throughout the space, a selection of local textiles and natural materials such as oak timber flooring are combined with a modern, sophisticated palette of metals.

Outside, an expansive terrace and rooftop garden offers 360-degree views and a series of intimate, all-weather gathering spaces. An al fresco fireplace is set amid a lush installation of native plants and specimen silver birch trees lit with dramatic lighting. Reinforcing the connection to nature and sky, an installation

by British sculptor Jon Bickley depicts a flock of ascending birds and creates a focal point for the garden. An undulating concrete bar

echoes the form of the indoors bar, framing a dynamic indoor-outdoor atmosphere set against the backdrop of Manchester’s skyline.

Headed up by Architectural & Project Director Simon Spiteri, DesignLSM were tasked with implementing the concept – balancing the need to protect key elements of design whilst ensuring product and material changes, technical management and delivery were adhered to.

Collaboration was a key factor with DesignLSM designing and sourcing alternative products and materials, managing all the contractors and working in partnership with both CetraRuddy and D&D London - to create an experiential, immersive environment inspired by being ‘at one with nature‘ and serving as the North West’s ultimate restaurant destination.

20 Stories, No 1 Spinningfields, 1 Hardman Square, Manchester Tel: +44 (0)161 204 3333 www.20stories.co.uk GS Magazine 15

LAUNCH PAD [ new openings + refits ]

Grand Café at the Scotsman

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ne of Edinburgh’s most magnificent Old Town venues has re-opened to the public as the Grand Café at the Scotsman following a six month restoration.

Inspired by the ‘Grand Cafés’ of Europe, the new North Bridge venue promises a welcoming, relaxed drinking and dining experience to suit all tastes and occasions, juxtaposing a menu of modern food and drink with the authentic charm of its interior, which dates back to 1905.

The Scotsman Hotel is a classic. Named for the ground-breaking national newspaper who took up residence in these beautiful Baroque buildings, The Scotsman of today is a thoroughly modern luxury hotel which retains many original features, including luxurious floor to ceiling wood panelled rooms, grandiose marble staircase and stained glass windows. Set across several floors, many of our character bedrooms offer truly unrivalled views of Edinburgh Castle, The Mound, Carlton Hill and The Princes Street Gardens.

Set within the Scotsman’s former advertising hall, the spectacular double height space seats 150 covers across its ground floor and balcony.

The room is filled with light, character and 16 GS Magazine

beautiful period features.

Original walnut wood panelling, marble pillars and ornate cornicing have been carefully brought back to life by interior specialist Jim Hamilton of Graven Images, and mixed with elegant new furnishings and accessories to create a stylish but informal ambience.

Head Bartender w has created a delectable drinks menu which nods to the great European bar traditions - reinvented with modern Scottish craft spirits and creative serves. Highlights include Grand Café versions of cocktail classics, vintage champagnes, silver punch bowls, plus gin and whisky ‘flights’ – a tasting experience designed to showcase Scotland’s finest homegrown spirits.

Whilst the Grand Café brings the buzz of a vibrant modern café bar during the day, it also stays open until 3am every night, transforming into the perfect late night drinking and dining spot in the city. Live piano music is played on the balcony baby grand, with in-house pianists taking requests into the small hours.

Grand Café The Scotsman Hotel. 20 North Bridge, Edinburgh Tel: +44 (0)131 556 5565 www.grandcafeedinburgh.co.uk

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the treehouses at

The Fish Hotel

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he Fish Hotel is part of the Farncombe Estate in the Cotswolds. Farncombe also includes the award-winning Dormy House and Foxhill Manor, which you pass as you drive along the private road that snakes through the woodland on its way to the Fish Hotel. And whilst Dormy House has every right to call itself a hotel in the true sense of the word, both Foxhill Manor and The Fish don’t quite fit with that description. Foxhill, for example, has no reception or restaurant.

The idea is that guests can book a room, rooms or the entire property and eat whatever they fancy, when they fancy and where they fancy within the house. There are no hotel ‘rules’, no reception, no off-limit kitchen. It’s just a beautiful eight suite manor house with several charming lounges, an outdoor terrace and a small manicured lawn with views across the village of Broadway and the Cotswold hills beyond. Totally private and totally relaxing.

Within reason, the kitchen will prepare and cook anything – if it’s not in store, they’ll source ingredients from the other hotels or beyond – and guests are free to help themselves to drinks from the small lounge bar. There’s a level of discrete hospitality at Foxhill that has great appeal. Guests return time and time again.

18 GS Magazine

on the Farncombe Estate

The Outdoor Life From time to time I have to remind myself how lucky I am to have this job. It provides me with an occasional lifestyle that very few could afford. Five star luxury and Michelin star-rated dining. It has also afforded me bragging rights amongst my friends and colleagues, who confess to a degree of envy when I tell them which hotels I’m planning to review. And whilst the opportunity to stay in a treehouse was one I leapt at, I was surprised by the number of friends who wanted to know every detail, including accommodation costs and directions to the venue. There’s obviously something desirable about outdoor living. A re-connection with nature. Glamping has grown in popularity in recent years for this very reason. It’s different, it’s fun and it’s (usually) more affordable than five star accommodation.

The Fish is a very different concept. It has a central building that was once a training centre.

From the outside it resembles a long wooden clad barn, complete with corrugated roof.

Inside the space is divided into interconnecting spaces, which include a newly refurbished restaurant, a large bar, lounges and meeting rooms. It’s warm – there are several ski chalettype fires – and the owner’s Danish heritage is evident in the ‘hygge’ design that fuses neutral interiors, cosy textiles and clean lines.

Surrounding this, largely hidden within the woodlands are a number of small cottages, a coach house, a farm house, several shepherds’ huts and three tree houses that make up the hotel’s accommodation.

The treehouses are a recent addition, they are accessed via a steep woodland path from

the hotel’s car park that is lit at night. The three ‘houses’ are perfectly built and cleverly designed, with much credit due to the hotel’s favoured young designer, Hannah of Hannah Lohan Interiors. Each house has a different interior look although the general design concept is the same. Hannah was keen to use natural materials for the inside and has opted for wood panel walls and polished wooden floors. This sounds like the obvious choice but in fact these structures can be found abroad with wall to wall carpets and plastered walls.

The houses are spacious, each has a fully functioning tiled bathroom that wouldn’t be out of place in any 4 star hotel and a smaller room with bunk beds for family stays. The main space has a large double bed with wardrobe and cupboard space to one side and a lounge area to the other with built in banquets, underseat storage and shelving behind. The beds, made by Mattison, are as comfortable as you’ll find. Perfect for snuggling under the thick downy quilt and listening to the sounds of the night. Outside of each house is a large wooden decking area built around the main trunk of the supporting tree, complete with outdoor dining furniture, a comfy hammock and twin wooden bath tubs. Relaxing in the tubs by candlelight, with hot water up to your neck, sipping chilled champagne and watching the night sky through

the canopy of the trees is a wonderfully romantic and memorable experience. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.

The Fish Hotel, Farncombe Estate, Broadway WR12 7LJ. Tel: +44 (0)1386 858000 www.thefishhotel.co.uk GS Magazine 19

The Painswick

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ainswick is a small Gloucestershire town just north of Stroud on the Cotswold Way. It’s surrounded by charming little sleepy villages like Sheepscombe, Brookthorpe, Slad and Edge. It’s best known for the Parish Church’s famous yew trees and the local Rococo gardens and is often referred to as the Queen of the Cotswolds, most likely due to its wonderful buildings of pale grey limestone, they make it quite enchanting. Little happens in Painswick nowadays apart from their bi-annual Arts Festival but it was once a thriving town made prosperous through the wool trade from the 15th to the 19th century. At its peak it had as many as 30 working mills producing superfine broadcloth.

Off the main high street the town is a maze of steep and narrow streets and it’s here that tourists will stumble upon any number of small art galleries and boutique shops. There are no garish signs or shopfronts, the town is preserved to look pretty much how it would have done hundreds of years ago. A charming and pretty 20 GS Magazine

What’s in a name?

In 1121AD This thriving Saxon Village was headed by the Lord of the Manor, Pain Fitzjohn. Famed for their farming skills, Pain and his fellow Saxons had turned their Iron Age fort into something worth marking on the map and thus, it seemed only sensible that it take on the name Painswyke (Wyke being the Saxon name for village). Once the area had become prosperous as a result of the wool trade, the name ‘Cotswolds’ was adopted – ‘Cots’ meaning the enclosure that sheep were kept in and ‘Wolds’ meaning bare hills.

several top restaurants including Gary Rhodes at Rhodes 24 as Senior Sous Chef, as well as Head Chef at the Michelin starred Wild Honey with Anthony Demetre. Jamie also gained experience working at the world-renowned Qualia Resort on Hamilton Island, Australia and for Waitrose Cookery school, creating recipes and teaching classes. Jamie has now put his culinary stamp on the menus at The Painswick, taking inspiration for his new dishes from the changing seasons.

Jane Austin sort of place.

The Painswick hotel occupies the former vicarage, known as Prospect House and subsequently operated as a guest house, known as Gwynfa House and then a hotel called Cranham Woods Hotel. Before becoming a part of the Calcot Collection as The Painswick it was, for a short time, Cotswolds 88, a sort of anything goes bolthole for Londoners looking to party at weekends.

Built in the late 18th century it was extended in 1902 with several ornate refinements, additions included a library, a private chapel, a schoolroom and in the grounds a scallop shaped folly, allegedly designed to amplify the voice of Reverend William Henry Seddon when preaching. It is thought that the money to extend the house came from Francis Isobel Seddon whose maiden name was Perrins (of Worcester Sauce fame).

Today, The Painswick is the perfect retreat.

Think roaring fireplaces, wellies to borrow and delicious feasts awaiting after a day’s country rambling. The house has all the squashy sofas, roll-top baths, and eaves bedrooms to give it plenty of character. And the views across

the Slad valley are magnificent. The interiors have been curated by Calcot’s Design Director, Nicky Farquhar, and anyone who has visited Calcot Manor, Barnsley House or even their Northumbrian outpost, Lord Crewe Arms, will know what to expect; extreme style and comfort with occasional hints of humour in the most unexpected places. Hotels should add humour, it shows that they’re fun, don’t take themselves too seriously and above all it can create a channel of communication between guests and staff.

The Painswick is described as a restaurant with 16 individually designed rooms and not as a hotel. Which means it’s only fair to add a word or two about the restaurant itself. A comfortable space occupying what was the vicarage’s schoolroom. What elevates the restaurant is the quality of food and for this we must credit head chef, Jamie McCallum, who arrived at the Painswick last August.

Jamie has created all new menus, including new lunch and dinner menus as well as a selection of three course feasting menus, with sea bream carpaccio, rack of Cotswolds lamb and strawberry Eton mess all featuring on the list.

Prior to joining The Painswick, Jamie worked at

The Painswick, Kemps Lane, Painswick, Gloucestershire. Tel: +44 (0)1452 813 688 www.thepainswick.co.uk

GS Magazine 21

The Principal London I believe that hotel companies have a responsibility to the towns and cities in which they operate. This extends beyond their environmental and local employment responsibilities. I’m referring to their properties. Old or new, they should provide a positive aesthetic to their immediate location. If anything their physical presence should enhance the area. PRINCIPAL Hotels do this. They improve, they restore, they reignite and occasionally reimagine the properties they run as hotels. The Principal London, formerly the Hotel Russell, is a prime example.

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n order to bring this property up to scratch Principal have invested more than £85 million, much of that has been in restoration and refurbishment. The existing exterior is now restored to its former glory and for the interiors they have employed the services of top London designers Tara Bernard & Partners and Russell Sage Studio who have added their considerable skills, expertise and style to provide elegant, contemporary spaces whilst respecting the original and beautiful features of the property.

Londoners will already know this building, it’s a Grade II* listed property designed by 22 GS Magazine

Charles Fitzroy Doll (whose elaborate styling became his trademark; it’s believed the phrase “dolled up” was coined in his honour) and occupies the eastern flank of Russell Square in London’s literary heart, Bloomsbury. Travellers heading into the West End from North London will recognise the hotel for its imposing Rennaissance revival ‘thé-au-lait’ terracotta façade. Nothing else in the vicinity draws the attention quite like this building. It’s a London icon.

Once inside the restored entrance lobby visitors are ‘greeted’ by four iconic British Queens – Elizabeth I, Mary II, Anne and Victoria – guarding the entrance. It’s museum like, but as you walk through the public spaces you gain a sense that Principal London is in fact a thoroughly modern hotel.

Guests can enjoy a range of dining and entertaining options. At the heart of The Principal London is the Palm Court, a ‘living room’ for Londoners and hotel guests alike.

Burr & Co., a coffeehouse, will be open for breakfast and throughout the day, whilst Fitz’s bar is the perfect backdrop for glamorous evening drinks.

Neptune restaurant, in partnership with Brett Redman and Margaret Crow, will appeal to foodies and fashionistas alike; quirky and full of theatre. It’s a lively, colourful

space without a hint of the stuffiness often associated with London hotel dining. Redman is a prolific Australian chef who has made waves on these shores with a number of successful small restaurants in London including Elliot’s in Borough and a second Jidori Japanese restaurant in Covent Garden. His first working collaboration with Texan born stylist, Margaret Crow, was at the highly rated Hackney gastropub, The Richmond, which the pair decided to close in 2017 so they could focus their energies on Neptune. Principal were keen to bring in a smaller, independent restaurateur to run this space, but one who had a growing reputation. It’s a brave move; big London hotels have usually looked to the more established names like Koffman or Ramsay to partner but here Principal have opted for a more youthful, vibrant representation. Redman and Crow fit the bill perfectly and have settled into the space well. Neptune is a light-filled, high-ceilinged, apricot coloured 100 seater restaurant with an additional 30 seater oyster bar.

The hotel’s impressive events spaces are well-equipped for both business and leisure.

From the 450 capacity ballroom which has been lovingly restored and is set to become one of the most desirable private spaces in London, to the eight additional meeting and events spaces ranging in capacity from six to 90, each room

big London hotels usually look to the more established names like Koffman or Ramsay to partner but here Principal have opted for a more youthful, vibrant representation

has been finished to the highest of standards and incorporates the latest AV technology, supported by the company’s innovative Smart Space meetings concept.

There are 334 bedrooms and suites, all of which have been individually designed by Tara Bernerd & Partners, and at the time of our visit, all were either occupied or unavailable.

This is a shame but it says something about the popularity of the Principal brand. And judging by the workmanship, attention to detail and sheer beauty of the ground floor public spaces it’s a safe bet to assume that the bedrooms will be comfortable and stylish.

This hotel restoration is helping to reinvigorate Russell Square. The façade hasn’t changed, it was always striking, but it has been brought back to life and now it shines like a newly polished copper coin. It is a perfect location for tourists and weekend visitors; walking distance to the British Museum, the British Library, Oxford Street and Covent Garden and with a tube station on its doorstep any part of London is easily accessible. And as a flagship for a growing hotel brand, it is something to be very proud of.

The Principal London, 1 Russell Square, London, WC1. Tel: +44 (0) 20 7520 1800 www.theprincipalhotel.com GS Magazine 23

designjunction 20—23/09/2018 Oxo–Doon Street–Riverside South Bank, London SE1 Trade Tickets: free in advance / £16 from 1 September 2018 Book now → thedesignjunction.co.uk

The Cream of the Industry So, what would the team at GS do if we won the Lottery? Build the perfect hotel of course. Here we’ve cherry picked a small number of the companies who we would use if we were to create and launch our own fantasy 5 star luxury hotel. These are the companies who can realise the vision of an operator or designer and deliver. We couldn’t agree on a single interior designer (there are just too many good ones) but we did agree that it should be the designer’s job to select all interior furniture & furnishings, colour schemes, art and so on. Why else appoint an expert?

The Cream of the Industry

ReardonSmith Architects Editor’s comment From a journalist’s point of view the hotel industry is great to work in. There is something very warm and open about the people who work within hospitality and this makes it easy to get the information needed to create stories. It’s a generosity of spirit, one which has been shown time and time again by the good people at ReardonSmith Architects. Whenever we have needed industry comment, an expert to join a seminar panel or just sound advice on architecture ReardonSmith have come up trumps. Not only are they known as Europe’s leading hotel architects, they’re also known as one of the best companies to work for.

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eardonSmith Architects is internationally recognised for its hotel and resort work. In London alone, the practice has a roll call of 31 completed and existing hospitality projects, from grand hotels to glass towers and boutique gems, while overseas the company has master planned new destinations, built new hotels and restored old palaces.

The firm’s achievement stems from a profound understanding of hotels as an asset, an operation and as a guest experience. It has an enviable reputation for winning planning consent for sensitive developments and, when not acting as Lead Architect, for collaborating with fellow professionals to ensure the design can be fully implemented on site.

Currently, in London, ReardonSmith is acting as hotel specialist architect on the conversion of the former American Embassy to a Rosewood hotel, on the new Wanda Vista Hotel for the One Nine Elms development and on a new luxury hotel for Cadogan Estates.

Adare Manor ReardonSmith led the design team in the major redevelopment of Adare Manor, Co Limerick’s world-famous hotel and golf resort, completed earlier this year.

The natural, built and heritage assets were at the heart of the design vision as was the creation of a contemporary luxury guest experience. Now, following the restoration of the original gothicstyle manor house, the addition of a new guestroom and banqueting 26 GS Magazine

The Cream of the Industry

Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane The Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane originally opened as Inn on the Park in 1970. Move on the best part of four decades and the building was in need of a comprehensive overhaul to facilitate a major up-grading of all services. This enabled the

wing and other ancillary buildings as well as the enhancement of the estate grounds, Adare is odds-on favourite to host the 2026 Ryder Cup. The Beaumont Hotel The Beaumont hotel feels as if “it’s always been there”, although in fact it is the conversion of an Art Deco garage, completed in 2014. ReardonSmith worked with restaurateurs, Corbin & King, from the initial competition stages to realise the vision of a unique and intimate hotel redolent

with the style of a fine and very comfortable 1920s establishment.

Public art was integral to the scheme and Antony Gormley was commissioned to create ROOM, the huge sculpture crouching on one wing of the building which has become a Mayfair landmark and, inside, forms the bedroom of an extraordinary suite.

Porto Montenegro Porto Montenegro in the Bay of Kotor is the benchmark for new coastal resort developments in Europe. Visionary and

transformational, the project involved the conversion of a decommissioned naval base into a super yacht marina destination and a bustling town, master planned by ReardonSmith, on Montenegro’s beautiful Adriatic coastline. The design of a new Regent hotel, several parcels of apartments for sale, retail, restaurants and bars, their streetscapes and their boardwalks, all became part of the firm’s ongoing work over several years with the latest phase completing in 2015.

re-planning and redesign of virtually every part of the hotel.

ReardonSmith were the lead architects with responsibility for architectural planning and design, interior design detailing and onsite design compliance. From the quality of materials used to superb crafted finishes, beautiful customdesigned lighting to outstanding acoustics, this was an opportunity to enshrine the exceptional brand standards of Four Seasons.

Hans’ Bar & Grill London has a new “village high street” - Pavilion Road in Chelsea – and, having completed a refurbishment of 11 Cadogan Gardens, one of SW1’s most beloved hotels, ReardonSmith was called back in to open up the back of the building to Pavilion Road. In a significant architectural intervention, the practice has created Hans Bar & Grill which incorporates the existing hotel restaurant, a former outdoor courtyard and a retail unit on Pavilion Road. As a result, not only does the hotel now enjoy an exciting and relevant restaurant & bar offering, its new façade harmoniously integrates the hotel into the retail community street scene that is transforming the area.

E: info@reardonsmith.com T: 020 7378 6006 W: reardonsmith.com GS Magazine 27

The Cream of the Industry

Concept Bars Editor’s comment When it comes to providing expertise coupled with practical, common sense advice and a superb finished product Concept Bars are second to none. Concept are my choice for a variety of reasons, they have great knowledge and skill but no ego, making them a designer’s favourite. For them it’s the challenge of taking someone else’s design idea and making it work on a practical level. Time and time again Concept deliver incredible and beautiful bars.

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oncept are acknowledged as leading pure bar specialists. They have nearly thirty years of trading experience and are the company behind many of the UK’s most iconic bars. There reputation for quality has led them to work for some of the best architects, designers and operators across the hospitality platform, in hotels, pubs, clubs and restaurants. Sometimes as bar consultants, more often as specialist suppliers and installers and occasionally as full fit-out contractors for entire bars.

Concept can supply all the equipment needed to complete a working bar and have been long associated with the world’s leading brands. They are also specialists in building bespoke bar refrigeration cabinets, wine

28 GS Magazine

displays, wine cabinets and wine tasting rooms.

Bar at Home House One statement bar that has stood the test of time is the Zaha Hadid designed Bar at Home House in London, a fantastic glass fibre and steel curved bar completed with Concept’s partners at AM Structures. This ‘work of art’ is still beautiful and continues to attract gasps of admiration, even though it’s ten years since it was installed. Working with designers who strive to create unusual oneoff structures has its challenges.

Here one of the biggest challenges Concept faced was to convince the design team that their original design of a continuous and totally curved structure really did need at least one flat surface to work operationally.

The Bombay Sapphire Distillery Another project that will become

a defining one was Concept’s work with Thomas Heatherwick’s Heatherwick Studio for Bacardi at The Bombay Sapphire Distillery at Laverstoke. The bars are similar in style to a previous project that Concept completed, also for Bacardi, at Vinopolis near London Bridge. The striking bars are concrete encased in a blue baked enamel with all the working

elements beneath in steel and totally bespoke, manufactured to the highest specification in Concept’s Yorkshire-based factory.

The Distillery, housed within Laverstoke Mill, a converted brewery, is now a hugely popular visitor attraction.

Artesian Bar at The Langham Concept are known for their work producing great Hotel bars and Artesian at the Langham is a case in point. They completed the original scheme to the client’s requirement which has a muchlauded David Collins design.

But the bar operation changed completely under the tutelage of Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale who took the cocktails and bartending to another level and have achieved World’s Best Bar accolades. Concept made a completely new bar to meet the aspirations and operational requirements of these innovators, whilst retaining the original ‘revered’ facade of the bar intact.

Quaglino’s One of the country’s most iconic restaurants is Quaglino’s, designed by Terence Conran.

For several years Quaglino’s was considered the place to go, it was

The Cream of the Industry

a celebrity haunt and never far from the gossip pages. Under the new ownership of D&D the restaurant was given a new lease of life with a fantastic re-design by

Russell Sage, which paid homage to the original and gave it back its sparkle. Concept were tasked with making a 32m fully movable mobile bar as the restaurant’s

centerpiece. The bar was to be leather fronted with underlit onyx bar tops and wrapped in brass.

It was also designed so it could be dismantled and reconfigured into smaller workable bars around the perimeter which could free up the restaurant’s central space for events. This is a feat that Concept are particularly proud of. Concept are D&D’s appointed bar consultants, involved in most of their projects including the Grand Café bar at the German Gymnasium.

Sketch is still seen as an innovator in the London bar and restaurant scene. With a concept of continual change and redesign, it doesn’t stand still. With one exception: the infamous sunken White Space Ship Pod bar, built

by Concept, as a striking white Corian and steel circular bar. The bar continues to serve fantastic cocktails throughout the year

as the spaces around it seem to change with the seasons. It is simply another Iconic bar.

Waeska Bar at The Mandrake And bringing us up to date we shouldn’t fail to mention the bars at the Mandrake Hotel, as shown in so many lifestyle and design magazines in recent months.

Concept designed and built the first floor terrace bar, which was conceived by Manalo & White Architects, and were also responsible for the main Waeska Bar to ensuring it was operationally sound and built to meet the team’s goal of becoming one of the top three bars in London.

T: 01484 852666 E: info@conceptbars.com W: www.conceptbars.com

GS Magazine 29

The Cream of the Industry

Humble Arnold Associates Editor’s comment As mentioned below Humble Arnold Associates did indeed contribute an article way back in 1997. We were looking for expert and professional advice for a feature on commercial kitchen design, asked several people in the industry who we should approach and the overwhelming response was “Ask Humble Arnold, they’re the best.” I am in no doubt that today, twenty one years on, they still are.

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umble Arnold Associates are absolutely delighted to be a part of GS Magazine’s 21st Anniversary edition and we congratulate Stirling Johnstone and his editorial team for delivering inspiring hospitality design features of such a consistently high quality. Always thought provoking, we have certainly been inspired by the variety of projects featured during the magazine’s first 21 years.

Humble Arnold have had their fair share of articles accepted for publication. ‘Optimum Design’ from the June/July 1997 edition tackled the importance of a holistic approach to kitchen and foodservice facilities. It is all in the detail and so many factors contribute to delivering an efficient, ergonomically sound and safe working environment for the kitchen brigade and wider food & beverage team. We continued this theme with ‘Size Matters’ in Autumn 2001.

Humble Arnold Associates (HAA) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016 and we can lay claim to being the longest established Foodservice Design Consultancy in Europe. Its current

principals have been working together for over 40 years and we have developed an excellent team, including our co-director, project consultants, technical assistants, BIM/Revit CAD operators and admin team. Our head office is situated in Codicote, Hertfordshire, a twenty five minute commute into London.

We also have a small office in Johannesburg, which is helping to support our projects in Africa, the Middle East and islands within

the Indian Ocean.

One of the keys to our success is our truly international project experience, having worked within the Europe, Africa and Middle East geographical spread, and beyond, since the company’s formation in 1966. The thrill of travel to far off places and the obvious variations in cuisine and related cooking techniques 30 GS Magazine

has truly educated the HAA consultant team and we of course continue to learn. It has also determined why many of the very best global Hotel and food service operators put their trust in our ability to deliver innovative and technically considered design solutions within new construction and refurbishment projects.

It goes without saying that we

The Cream of the Industry

embrace a close, collaborative approach with interior designers, to ensure a fully co-ordinated design solution in respect of show kitchens, café and bar serveries.

The majority of our project assignments are within the hotel, restaurant, business & industry, leisure and transport sectors.

Current and recent projects include: Hotels Hotel Coste, 1 Sloane Gardens The Standard Hotel, London Edwardian Leicester Square Mama Shelter Shoreditch Hyatt Great Scotland Yard Adare Manor, County Limerick Peninsula, Istanbul Four Seasons Astir Palace, Greece Restaurants Hide (see images) Japan House KOKO London Roka Aldwych Jean-Georges Dubai La Petite Maison Istanbul Corporate Headquarters US Technology and Internet Company, Pancras Square Which? Regents Park Nomura, I Swan Lane BNP Paribas EY (various sites) Financial Times

Testimonials ‘I find a large percentage of kitchen designers really don’t have much idea, but Stephen (Arnold) is very professional, is open to feedback and I enjoyed working with him.’

(Paul Downing, Marriott International) ‘The kitchen looks superb and might well be one of the best Indian Restaurant kitchens in the entire London region’.

(Cyrus Todiwala OBE, Mr Todiwala’s Kitchen) ‘Being a very specialized style of cooking, bringing Spice Market to London needed expertise in both equipment and space planning.

Humble Arnold brought both of these to the table to help us create and execute Spice Market London.’

(Daniel Del Vecchio, Culinary Concepts) ‘Innovative and efficient with an outstanding delivery’ (Jeremy Lindley, Tesco Stores Limited) ‘Regulations and best practices are ever changing, and Humble Arnold are the effective mentoring service’.

(Alison Stanton, Carluccio’s) E: enquiries@humblearnold.com T: 01438 821444 W: humblearnold.com GS Magazine 31

The Cream of the Industry

Firefly Lighting Design Editor’s comment The original Hakkasan restaurant opened in a basement space in Hanway Place in London in 2001. For some time it was my favourite restaurant. Owner Alan Yau is a restaurant genius and his interiors are brilliant. What sets them apart and gives them the wow-factor is their dramatic lighting effects and for these, we have Firefly Lighting to thank.

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lounge clientele, Cathay knew that the lounges needed to provide what their guests wanted, which was to relax and refresh. The lighting played a major part in the homely, comfortable and sophisticated atmosphere.

Cathay Pacific Lounges, Worldwide Firefly worked with designer Isle Crawford on the new lounge designs for Cathay. This was exciting as, after assessing their

Hakkasan Group Having worked with Alan Yau before starting Firefly, the owners knew both what was expected and where Yau was taking the brand when expanding it around the World.

Firefly recently completed their Ling Ling in the Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech, where they were asked to provide a solution that was undeniably Hakkasan, but also reminded customers of the location. They chose to create patterns of light, both by using traditional Moroccan pendants, and from more modern architectural techniques, such as exterior projectors to the exterior parasols. Firefly are currently working on the new Hakkasan at the Palm, Dubai.

irefly Lighting Design is an awardwinning lighting consultancy with offices in London and Hong Kong. Since they started in 2003, they’ve strived to give their clients lighting schemes that make their projects look better than they could have imagined.

And they do that because they know that the best design comes from true collaboration between all the parties involved in the design and delivery of the project. They’ve had the pleasure of working with hotel chains such as Hilton, Ritz Carlton, MGM and Mandarin Oriental and restaurants such as Hakkasan and Busaba.

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Linthwaite House Hotel, Lake Windemere A refreshing take on a rural boutique hotel, Firefly were able to create a ‘curated’ feel thanks to a client who loves his art, and provide the required accenting to give a gallery feel, whilst not forgetting that glare, reflection and the breath-taking natural scenery also had to be considered with care. The main hotel building

is soon to be joined by two new woodland suites which will be rural hideaways and the way to the main building will be lit not just by functional lighting but also by accented sculptures which will become mini stages of light at night.

T: 0208 746 2991 E: info@fireflylightingdesign.com W: fireflylightingdesign.com

The Cream of the Industry

French Group Editor’s comment

The Drake & Morgan flagship bar and restaurant in Kings Cross is a favourite with the team at GS. It’s been open a couple of years and is busy virtually every night. Most impressively the interiors look as good as the day it first opened. This is a sign of good workmanship and it’s testament to the contractor, French Group. Their attention to detail and quality is what keeps their projects looking fresh, despite the wear and tear, which is exactly what any restaurant or bar operator requires.

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Greyhound Café rench Group were pleased to be appointed as main contractor for the first Greyhound Cafe in the UK. The fit-out on a busy corner of Fitzrovia is complete and open for business. Celebrating Thai cuisine and culture the restaurant is set over two floors with a palette of monochrome colours.

The interior has an eclectic mix of East meets West with the main bar in a starring role, decorated in individually stylised tiles.

Drake & Morgan French Group were appointed

by Drake & Morgan as main contractor for their Kings Cross venue. They were given full responsibility for the completion of the building duties and general co-ordination of the project, while ensuring that the developments were carried out on time and within budget.

Shown (right) is the basement bar, a solid marble topped bar in dark industrial colours with a giant overhead blackened steel shelving rack.

Restaurant Story Originally opened in 2013 Restaurant Story has been a success story for Tom Sellers.

Now in 2018 the restaurant has been refurbished with Principal Contractor The French Group in conjunction with The Raven Collective architects. There are lots of great restaurants and lots of great stories; this site combines the two with the new interior The French Group have built and installed. Featuring clean lines and complemented by textured materials, the restaurant now benefits from more luxurious curved seating and glazed window panels to bring warmth into the room.

The French Group have been designing, manufacturing and delivering their market leading services for over 45 years. An independent family company founded by their current CEO, Tim French MBE, French Group have developed a reputation for acting as Principal Contractor for restaurants and commercial fitout’s.

The company has extensive experience, a customer-focused attitude, flexibility and an impressive ability to create all their joinery in-house.

E: mail@frenchgroup.co.uk T: 01825 723688 W: thefrenchgroup.co.uk

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Defining luxury

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f you are determined to provide the best and most memorable experience for your hotel or restaurant’s guests then at some point you will doubtless consider luxury. Is the service that you and your hardworking staff provide luxurious? Do your guests leave with a sense of calm and wellbeing? Are they satiated and if so will they become your ambassadors? According to Peter Hancock, of Pride of Britain Hotels, it is possible to transform a good hotel into a luxurious one. But first you need to understand what luxury really means.

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Gravetye Manor

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erhaps our best known connoisseur of luxury remains the incomparable Winston Churchill, whose ‘sybaritic lifestyle’ has featured in countless books, articles and indeed movies.

Alongside his extraordinary achievements, he imbibed heroically too. His secretary is known to have said “Mr Churchill is easily satisfied with the best”. His stated priorities in terms of luxury were copious hot baths and cold champagne, among many other indulgences, but the one upon which he most relied was the team of staff who somehow managed to keep up with his relentless work rate.

So luxury, a dreadfully overused and abused word already, means different things to different people. For a town dweller, the open countryside must make a welcome change.

For someone with a tiring physical job, the opportunity to sit idly is a true luxury. To many,

great food is worth travelling considerable distances to enjoy. We all have our own ideas about luxury, even when talking about hotels.

My own prejudices have been formed by a 40 year career in the hotel industry which includes 18 to date with a wonderful marketing group called Pride of Britain Hotels whose slogan is ‘The Art of Great Hospitality’. Here I shall attempt to define what transforms a good hotel into a luxurious one, under five headings in ascending order of importance.

5. Grandeur There are times when it is desirable or even necessary to show off. This could be to impress a business associate or a potential spouse.

Whatever the motive, nothing shouts success better than rolling up at the entrance to a grand hotel bearing a famous name. The uniformed doormen, the fresh flowers, the

gleaming mirrors and the sheer size of the place all conspire to create a feeling of wealth and extravagance.

4. Choice To be able to select from a range of options is in itself a luxury for most of us. Bath or shower; breakfast in bed or in the dining room; an early lunch, a late lunch, no lunch; curtains thick enough to block out daylight should a mid-afternoon sleep be desired; a hundred gins vying for your attention; Sancerre or Champers; Burgundy or New World; the suite with the piano or the one with a balcony; the one with both! Luxury hotels make it possible to obtain almost any (legal) route to pleasure and can adapt instantly to their clients’ whims.

3. Comfort To go beyond the good and into the realms of

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Calcot Manor Spa

The Goring Hotel

Bovey Castle Hotel

luxury we must consider all the senses. Thus, everything you see, smell, hear, taste and touch are important. Beautiful surroundings cost a considerable amount to provide, as does superb food. It is quite simple, though, to give your guests access to lovely music or quality sheets.

A key element in luxurious accommodation is having lots of space, including wardrobe space, and something close to total silence for a good night’s sleep.

2. Ease Why struggle to open the door or pop that cork when someone else can do it for you? A luxury lifestyle has no place in it for washing and ironing or lugging the heavy cases, let alone clearing away dirty dishes. With enough money virtually all of life’s drudgery can be delegated 36 GS Magazine

to others. Bertie Wooster, the creation of PG Wodehouse, was rich enough to employ the inimitable Jeeves who did everything for him, including most of the thinking required. In real life a decent concierge can act as a substitute personal assistant, booking flights or theatre tickets and much more…effortlessly decadent.

Service Nothing matters more than service at a luxury hotel. Let’s face it, their guests have just about all the other trappings at home: their favourite food and wines, pleasant views, immaculate furnishings and so on. What very few of them can match, unless they are members of a prominent royal family I suppose, is a vast team of professionals striving night and day to give of their best.

Don’t ask me how they do it, but these extraordinary people remember and use guests’ names instinctively. The welcome is genuine.

You are made to feel like the most important person in the building…and so is everyone else.

So next time you visit a top British hotel and stare out of your suite at the lovely countryside, with perhaps a glass of something expensive in one hand, remember what a privilege it is to buy a slice of this luxury living even if it’s only for a day or two. These are the ‘sunlit uplands’ Churchill promised a terrorised nation in 1940.

How lucky we are to enjoy them today.

We are grateful to Peter Hancock, Chief Executive of Pride of Britain Hotels, a collection of never more than 50 independent luxury hotels. www.prideofbritainhotels.com

Uniforms

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hen you’re choosing and buying clothing and uniforms for your front of house staff what should your main considerations be? We invited a panel of industry experts to give their answers to some of the key questions. Our experts are: Dominic Green, Sales Director, Dennys Brands Adrian Hewitt, Managing Director, Burlington Uniforms Debbie Leon, Managing Director, Fashionizer Paul Walker, Managing Director, Walker Slater (WS Uniforms) GS: Are uniforms in hospitality becoming a dated concept?

Adrian Hewitt (AH): No, far from it. Organisations like staff to wear uniform and staff like to wear it. Customers like to see staff in uniform because they are recognisable as staff, which is a vital aspect of communication; i.e. you know you are communicating with the right person.

Dominic Green (DG): Definitely not, although many small establishments such as pubs and small restaurants are adopting a more relaxed look, using their own garments, or teaming them with a single uniform item to bring them all together. Nearly every other large hospitality business will still have uniform throughout.

Making the right impression

Debbie Leon (DL): Although uniforms may have become more casual over recent years, reflecting the changes in contemporary lifestyles, the fundamental reasoning for having a uniform still remains the same. It is important for hotels to differentiate themselves and uniforms have always been and will continue to play an important role in defining a hotels brand and values long into the future. Their role in achieving consistency of standards and allowing guests to easily distinguish staff is too important for that need to die out.

Paul Walker (PW): Having a large team in different departments wearing the same grey or black suit is, I think, very dated. Hotels are looking for something unique and fitting to their property. Smart casual is more approachable and friendly. It encourages guests to really engage yet it’s important that the uniform is recognisable as staff uniform, not guest wear.

GS: What are the key things to consider when choosing a uniform?

DG: Primarily, the job role of the wearer, i.e. it must be fit for purpose, whether it comes in co-ordinating male and female styles, how long will the supplier keep the range in stock, the available size range, how long do you want it to last and therefore how many items will you need per person?

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AH: Provide uniform which clearly identifies the wearer as a member of staff of the organisation. Make them recognisable and to appear approachable. Choose uniform that portrays the organisation’s image, for example by trimming with the house colours.

DL: Consider the overall style and concept that 38 GS Magazine

you want to achieve. At Fashionizer we consider everything from fabrics, fabric treatment, style and structure to ensure all our uniforms are fit for purpose. At the heart of our company ethos is an understanding of the need for a fabric that delivers maximum performance for the right environment. You also need to consider how will your brand, brand colours and logo feature? And what is your budget? For example, do you have a rapid staff turnover? If so, think about how much you want to spend on the uniforms and will you have the resources and storage to recycle them. Remember that buying retail is considered a staff benefit by HMRC and when given the opportunity they will impose a 25%tax retroactively.

PW: It is very important that the look and quality of the uniforms you choose reflect your brand values so that you tell a coherent story to your visitors. Of course work wear has to be functional and durable as well as stylish. This is something we have done successfully with a number of projects in Edinburgh, London and Paris. We have partnerships with a large and varying number of artisan makers, which allows us to make tailoring, utilitarian work wear and shirts.

GS: Are there any absolute no-nos?

DG: Not really, tastes are always subjective and the customer is always right! Again, practicality is critical, if you have a physical job function

such a security guard, then using fine lightweight, or slim-fit tailoring is unlikely to be suitable.

PW: Looking to create something too fussy or fashion lead can quickly look tired and dated, it’s also tricky for a team as some may feel really uncomfortable. At Walker Slater we’ve

Uniforms size 8. For example, the ladies Virgin Atlantic uniform looks great on a small frame, but it’s not as good if you have a large bust, which is further accentuated with lots of ruffles. A part of our process we like to run wearer trials to ensure all garments fit all body shapes and are suited to the job in hand.

AH: Do not put staff in uniform that is too formal for the occasion. For example, if you are hosting a garden party where the dress code for guests is smart casual do not dress staff in dinner suits. Let them wear black trousers and a polo shirt.

often created looks with mixed fibre cloths, for example 60% wool, 40% polyester. This retains a classic and tweed look which many of our clients come to us for, but the man-made fibre addition means that the garments are more durable for work and for regular cleaning.

DL: Do not make an uncomfortable uniform!

Uniform wearers will likely be doing active

work and they do not want to be wearing a uniform that is inflexible, tight or scratchy. An uncomfortable uniform will affect staff morale and happiness so it is important they are comfortable and happy in what they are wearing, in order to perform to the best of their potential.

Another big no-no, a mistake commonly made, is assuming that all your female staff are a

GS: Where do you think people get it wrong?

DL: When buyers have no knowledge of uniform design and manufacture and do not take advice from the experts. Instead, they make decision based on their own personal preferences and taste.

DG: Generally doing it themselves and shopping on the high street. Understanding what the clothes need to do, and balancing design with practicality are areas that we specialise in and can give best advice for. Designers with no corporate clothing background often sell a look that is either impractical or difficult to make.

PW: Making anything too tight and fitted can be wrong as teams have so much variety in

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Uniforms body shape and need clothes that are climate friendly to their environments. Unless you have a very specific property, our design team would always recommend staying with something quietly classical and not straying too far from classic shapes which can be tailored to flatter everyone.

GS: Are there certain colours to avoid and if so, why?

AH: No, none!

PW: It really depends on the property, really light colours they are likely to stain easily and might require more maintenance which when running a larger and busy team can be difficult. People usually come to Walker Slater for tweed and artisan looks, unless you’re running a shooting lodge we would usually direct customers away from greens and bold checks as although beautiful they can be overpowering in the wrong environment.

DG: The old mantra of ‘blue and green should not be seen without a colour in-between’ no longer stands! There really are no hard and fast rules on colours, all projects have different settings and requirements. We will always advise on potential issues with colour schemes if we think something suggested will not work.

DL: I don’t think there are any specific colours to avoid, however, it is very important to select colours in context. For example, bright orange could be considered as somewhat garish however, when used by Easy Jet in the context of their brand it helps define the company’s framework and has become intrinsically linked to the Easy Jet brand. This is why it’s so important to think about brand positioning, logo and brand colours at the start of the uniform making process.

GS: How can you make a uniform stand out?

DG: Making a uniform that contrasts with the interior, rather than matching it, helps it to be

more noticeable. Also, using fabrics with different textures in the same uniform, along with pops of colour, is a good way to help you stand out from the crowd.

DL: Uniforms need to have a presence in their

own environment, whether that be blending into its surroundings such as hotel staff or standing out and being noticeable such as a doorman. Either way, they must be presentable, look smart and well fitting.

AH: Choose uniform that is well cut. Trim them with the house colours and, if possible, choose trimming that contrasts well with the background colour.

PW: Using a fabric which works well with the property’s interior but doesn’t match with it is usually a good start. Walker Slater created bespoke workwear waistcoats in cotton and wool mix tweed for Radisson Collection Edinburgh and these were a great success. We styled them with cotton Oxford shirts and quality navy chinos. This look fitted with the modern vibe of the hotel and had a nod to Scotland with the cloth we chose.

GS: Do high street fashions and trends influence style in staff uniforms?

DG: Yes, a good supplier should be looking at what is “in fashion” and trying to incorporate it into their ranges. However, unlike the high street, changing every season isn’t an option,

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trend of casualisation has filtered through to the hospitality industry and uniforms will continue to look less formal. However, with the growing competition between brands, uniforms also need to become more distinctive and individual. Brexit, among other things, has made recruitment an increased challenge in the hospitality industry with 18% of hospitality managers finding recruiting new staff more difficult. Therefore, retention is becoming more and more important. Staff expectations are higher and people do not want to wear uncomfortable clothing. If staff are comfortable and happy in what they wear then they are more likely to achieve their best potential and stay working at the company.

as we need to offer continuity and ensure the ranges that we offer are available for a minimum of three years.

DL: Yes most definitely. An awareness of fashionable trends and style are an important part of keeping uniform designs current and relevant. Fashionizer often look at fashion forward trends for inspiration and new ideas. For example, jumpsuits have become a wardrobe staple amongst the fashion elite and were even permitted at Ascot last year, we are introducing a jumpsuit into our new Hotel Uniform Shop collection that can be used in both Housekeeping and Food & Beverage. Sustainability is a big issue on the high street too so this outfit is made from recycled water bottle fabric.

AH: Indirectly yes. We are always carrying out market research and some of our concepts are inspired by observing high street trends.

PW: I’m unsure if the high street does, but fashion in general is very much a central influence for all aspects of hotel properties and their designs. Hotels, as with every lifestyle business, need to remain relevant and keep up to date with the market, never more so than now as it has become incredibly competitive.

GS: What changes will we see in the future?

PW: Hotels are largely looking to find local identities even if they are belonging to a big group. Walker Slater have worked with lots of the bigger groups to help create site specific uniforms to allow for individuality amongst the cluster. Moving away from larger stock supported pieces and for something more bespoke really is the key to helping the guests engage more with their surroundings – it’s a real conversation starter.

DG: I think we are going to see more environmentally friendly and sustainable fabrics being used. The industry is being pressured, and rightly so, to work on using ‘Better Cotton’, recycled polyesters along with things like bamboo and hemp. Sustainable traceable wool production is also becoming important.

AH: I agree. More uniform will be made from recyclable material. And contain fabric that is part recycled.

DL: Today we are seeing a change in contemporary living which is reflected in both our work and leisure dress code, people are becoming more casual and less formal. This growing

GS: What has been your favourite uniform the one you’re most proud of, and why?

DL: There are many! If I had to choose I would say The Four Seasons Dubai Bell Boy uniform which has beautiful, intricate and distinctive embroidery. This uniform made a big impact when we launched it and had a lot of positive press coverage. I would also like to highlight The Ned knitwear. This is the first time we have done knitwear and it has been very successful which was noted by the London Evening Standard, much to our delight.

DG: The two recent projects we are most proud of are the opening of the Intercontinental at O2 in London, and the major rebrand of all the UK’s De Vere hotels. Both projects required considerable design content as we were briefed with providing uniform for every member of the respective teams. It’s fair to say that we and both customers were delighted with finished look.

PW: The Radisson Group uniform for their flagship property (G&V Hotel) at the top of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh was an interesting project. It combined working with a great interior design team at Graven Images and a forward thinking Brand Director, enabling a reach to unchartered territory using cotton, cashmere and wool fabric. It’s durable as well as eye catching this fabric was styled as an agricultural gilet style waistcoat with either plus fours or Scandinavian look canvas chinos and produced a very stylish result.

AH: I like all the uniforms we’ve made, and for different reasons, so I don’t think I could choose just one.

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21 Years of the London Restaurant Scene

By Jori White

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rriving in London in the early 90s it would be fair to say I wasn’t exactly blown away by the local restaurant scene. Sure, there were a handful of legendary places around - La Tante Claire and Chez Nico among them - but these were certainly not places the average Brit would make a bee-line for.

Fast forward a couple of decades and the city has undergone a culinary metamorphosis.

Not only does it now boast over 70 Michelin star restaurants (there were just 19 in 1997) - making it number six in the world rankings - but most importantly many of these are accessible to the general public, with some, such as Fitzrovia’s The Ninth, offering set lunches for just £20 per head.

Among the first to take the stuffiness out of fine dining was Ollie Dabbous. Now the co-owner of the amazing Hide on Piccadilly, his eponymous restaurant caused a sensation when it opened in February 2012. Diners flocked to enjoy Dabbous’ deceptively simple fare served in an equally pared down setting. A lifetime away from the starched white tablecloths and bone china of many fine dining establishments of yesteryear.

One of my first big projects was working alongside Marco Pierre White in 1998 on the launch of Mirabelle. A drop dead gorgeous space designed by the late great David Collins, complete with ceramics by Pablo Picasso, it was a joy to work on. It was also my first introduction to what would become another phenomenon of the last two decades, the celebrity chef.

If the early 90s could be defined as the age of the Interior Designers, with everyone fixated on makeover shows and the antics of Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen, the latter part of the decade - and into the 21st century - would see us all become fixated on chefs.

From a fresh faced young Jamie Oliver seducing viewers with his Mockney accent on The Naked Chef to Gordon Ramsay

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turning the air blue, they not only changed our attitude towards food but to dining out.

Fame brought them rich rewards in the shape of books, merchandise and of course restaurants. London in particular was awash with their eateries. You couldn’t move without tripping over a Jamie’s Italian or Carluccio’s.

Fast forward a decade and even though some of these original empires have begun to show signs of wear and tear, a new guard of celebrity chefs – headed up by the likes of Luke

Thomas – are keeping the flag flying.

So much for the personalities who have helped define the London dining scene over the last 21 years, but what about the trends.

It was back in the 1990s when British chefs first began to champion local produce from places like Daylesford Farms. The mass take-up of organic ingredients - and methods - was a slow burner, but gradually diners too began to want to know the source of the food they were eating. In 2008 Acorn House launched as London’s first truly eco-friendly training restaurant, described by The Times as “the most important restaurant to open in London in the past 200 years.” Today you would be hard pushed to find even a half decent restaurant in the capital that didn’t declare all its ingredients were organic, locally sourced and seasonal.

The last two decades have also seen diners become much more daring when it comes to their food. As recently as the early 90s even olives were considered a bit of a delicacy; now

thanks to the advent of worldwide travel, more disposable income and the mass availability of what were once considered to be rare and exotic delicacies, restaurateurs have responded to an increased demand with a host of new food trends, be it small plates – championed

by Russell Norman’s Polpo – or fusion cuisine.

Who would have thought back in 1997 that we’d all be tucking into Japanese/Italian delicacies at Aiko? Or for that matter enjoying a

glass of champagne paired with our hot dogs at Bubbledogs!

This continued search for something different also led to other modern day culinary phenomena such as pop ups and supper clubs.

Pubs meanwhile are no longer purveyors of tired sausage rolls but in the case of The Harwood Arms proud recipients of a Michelin star. And the ‘street food evolution’, pioneered by the likes of KERB, is now an established part of the fabric of London in turn spawning favourites such as Lupita, Dishoon and Masala Zone.

Undoubtedly one of the biggest changes to affect the London restaurant scene in the last 21 years has been social media. Those with a large social media presence can now make - or sometimes break - the reputation of a restaurant, bar or pub in an instant.

With 47% of millennials now saying that they Instagram while they eat, it’s no wonder many restaurateurs are taking this into account when designing their menus and interiors.

About Jori White Since launching her agency in 1995, Jori White has worked with scores of restaurants, Zuma and The Cinnamon Club included. More recently she launched Ollie Dabbous’ Hide, whilst other high-profile F&B clients have included Novikov Restaurant & Bar, May Fair Kitchen, M restaurants, Hush and Brasserie Blanc. Jori White PR has also been retained by a host of leading travel and luxury lifestyle brands, in the UK and globally, The Mandrake, Mr & Mrs Smith, Ferrari, Hasselblad and Westfield Shopping Centres among them.

For the last two years PR Week’s UK Power Book has named Jori as one of the top five most influential players in the hospitality field. She has also featured in the inaugural Luxury Power 30, a new initiative launched

by PR Week and the Luxury Communications Council (LCC).

So, what does the future hold for London and its restaurants? Undoubtedly Brexit continues to cast a shadow over the industry but there’s much to be optimistic about.

Foreign investment is unprecedented, with London chosen as the first overseas port of call for a host of global players, from Arkady Novikov, whose Novikov Restaurant & Bar is now a Mayfair institution, to India’s Massive Restaurants who will launch Farzi Café in Haymarket later this summer. I for one can’t wait to see how the next 21 years in the world’s most exciting food capital pan out!

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Richmond International

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s GS Magazine celebrate its 21st anniversary, Richmond International (RI) can trace their origins back to 1966 and have been designing luxury hotels for more than fifty years. Here we catch up with RI’s Principal, Fiona Thompson

GS: Were Richmond the first designers to focus in hospitality projects?

FT: We were certainly one of the first. Of course, now there are plenty. But we were one of the first in the world to specialise in hotel design.

GS: What led Richmond into the Luxury end of the hospitality sector?

FT: I’m not sure, I’ve been here for 26 years now and they were always involved in luxury design. I think the company’s first client was Max Joseph. Fifty years ago, in Europe where most of our work came from they didn’t really have two, three or four-star hotels. They didn’t have the diversity, so most of our work was naturally within the luxury sector.

GS: Which projects do you consider as 44 GS Magazine

being pivotal in your business’s success?

FT: There have been those that got us noticed and that in turn led to us getting more work.

For example, The Peninsula in Hong Kong, which opened in 1994. That was key to getting us known in that part of the world. The Gresham Palace in Budapest. It won lots of awards and we got lots of projects from it. And the Langham in Chicago helped to open the American market for us. Closer to home, the Langham in London, we worked on it first time around when it was converted and we’re still working on it now. It’s helped us build a strong relationship with the Langham brand. And more recently the Beaumont Hotel for King and Corbin. It’s been amazing how many people stateside have been impressed that we worked on that. And then, going back in time, working on The Dorchester and The Lanesborough in the 1980’s was very important for us. They were game-changers, they changed the London hotel scene at that point.

GS: Which projects are you most proud of to date?

FT: I love some of the ones our junior staff work on as it’s great to see them mature as designers.

I’m very proud of the Langham in Budapest

and what’s been lovely about that is that we’ve been able to revisit it as an ongoing project. The same applies to quite a few of our clients, like the Langham and the Four Seasons, we tend to go back and work on projects we were involved with ten or twenty years ago, so we play a part in their story.

GS: What do you see as the company’s core strengths?

FT: We have some great designers and we have a great depth of experience. We know what’s going on around the world in terms of design, but we also have great practical experience, so we know how to design ergonomically. And whilst we always aim to make an impression with the look of a hotel, we’re equally concerned about quality and how long it will last. Hotels are very expensive to build, and they have to be relevant for a long time. So, our strengths are having a good creative edge coupled with a fundamental understanding of what hotels are all about.

GS: Where do you recruit staff?

FT: Everywhere. We use agencies, we stay in contact with universities and every year we take on at least one graduate. We take interns

Designers work long hours to achieve what they do so they must have the passion for it

on during their middle years at universities and quite often they’ll return when they’ve been back and finished their degrees. We do take in students for their summer months, but we also take in juniors who develop within the company and we’re always keen to speak with experienced designers, so we can bring in new talent.

GS: What are the key things you look for in new staff?

FT: Well we can teach skills, to a degree, once they’re here so initially we’re looking for the right attitude and for people with a genuine love of design. It’s hard work. Designers work long hours to achieve what they do so they must have the passion for it.

GS. Has technology in hotels affected how you approach design?

FT: Technology has changed the whole world of hotel keeping. Hoteliers can have so much more information and intelligence about their guests now. For us as designers we’re able to integrate everything in a better way, certainly in the past ten years. Even though things have become more complicated technology-wise, the interfaces are simpler for guests so that’s a good thing. And when we’re designing new hotels we’re able to integrate technology to make them more future-proofed. So even if the technology is not quite ready now, we know to ensure the relevant cabling and infrastructure is in place. Lighting has become far more

relevant in design and working in different countries we’ve had to learn all the various compliancy codes regarding environmental issues, renewable energy and so on.

the globe they tried to standardise everything.

Hilton for example, wanted to have the same room in every city. This was because they felt that travellers wanted to know exactly what they were getting. Those who were travelling to a city they hadn’t been to before would tend to book a hotel room within a brand they were familiar with. Whether it was a Hilton or a Mandarin or a Four Seasons, that’s what they’d do. The Internet has changed that. There’s been a steady growth in individual, small boutique hotels and through the internet people have access to learning about them and reading the reviews on them. This has meant that the big brands have had to change how they do things.

Now they have to be much more individual and unique because frankly the independents have taken a huge share of the market. Big brands are having to adapt, and this has led to more diversity in design. Hotels have to be more relevant to where they are. They need to be more experiential and authentic. What was once considered dependable is now considered predictable

GS: Has technology improved the design process?

FT: Absolutely. Everything is done by computer now and the same set of drawings are used by the designer, the architects and the client so things are faster and more accurate.

GS: What makes a good supplier?

FT: It’s simple. A good supplier is one who sells a good product at the right price and at the right time. We do use procurement agencies quite a lot and we continuously emphasise the need for consistency. Although the problems tend to arise when suppliers are pressurised to reduce the cost of what they’re supplying. To do that they’re forced to reduce the spec in one way or another which affects quality. It’s not their fault as they’re pushed to find ways to cut costs. I think it’s vital to keep communicating and to be honest about these things.

GS: Do you have favourite suppliers?

FT: We have some who we’re always happy to work with as we’ve developed a relationship and an understanding with them.

GS: What have been the main changes you’ve seen in hospitality design?

FT: Well as the hotel brands developed across

GS: How do you see the hotel industry developing in the future?

FT: I think it’ll become even more diverse and individual than it is now. People have different expectations now and hotels are having to recognise that. Those that don’t will fall behind.

We live in a far more connected world now where people are the driver and hotels and other service providers have to respond to their expectations. Technology will continue to play an important role in new hotel development but exactly how is impossible to say. Ask me in another thirty years! www.richint.com GS Magazine 45

1 Hotel

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Across the pond The face of hospitality is changing in America but who is responsible for those changes and what are they doing? Here Stacy Shoemaker Rauen explains…

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t’s no secret that the hospitality industry has drastically changed in the USA in the last two decades. In fact, some of the greatest innovations have happened in the last decade alone. That’s largely due to the tech-crazed, insta-everything world we live in, creating the most knowledgeable and well-connected travelers to date. As a result, we have come a long way from cookie-cutter properties where guests woke up not knowing if they were in Cincinnati or Los Angeles.

Today, guests want a memorable experience, one that captures the locale in an authentic and unique way, which is easier said than done.

From hotels that double as museums (think 21c Museum Hotels) to luxury camping where people are at one with the land, hotels and transformational moments go hand-in-hand.

Much of that experience starts in the lobby. Once pass-through spaces, independent hoteliers and even big brands are realizing that the lobby should be part of the community, a hub so to speak, for working and hanging out—a nod to the growing co-working movement we see today. The Roman and Williams-designed Ace Hotel in New York can be credited with starting this craze, with its communal table-filled open lobby, surrounded by various F&B outlets. A block

Public Hotel Roof Bar

GS Magazine 47

Across the pond

NoMad Hotel

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Hotel San Jose

Public Hotel Trade Area

Ace Hotel New York

away, the NoMad New York brought back the glamour of hotel fine dining with its namesake restaurant, by chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara of Eleven Madison Park fame, that fills its atrium-topped center.

The duo is growing this concept as the NoMad has extended its reach to Los Angeles and soon, Las Vegas.

As we peer into the future of the industry, it’s important to acknowledge how we got here. Thank iconic hotelier Ian Schrager for the boutique lifestyle movement that came to be in the 1980s. And he, once again, lends his golden touch to his newest brand Public, which opened last summer on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. A collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron, Schrager imagined Public as a mini Manhattan, where guests didn’t have to leave to get a taste of all the city has to offer. With that in mind, his “affordable luxury for all” hotel boasts multiple F&B venues (including a rooftop bar and performing arts venue), a curated retail shop, a co-working-friendly lobby, and even its own park.

In fact, in the last five years, there have been a slew of new hotel brands launched in the U.S., many of them trying to speak to those elusive Millennials, or at least that mindset. It’s less about the frills, and more about places that engage and connect with their customers, are socially responsible, and are tech savvy. That’s definitely true for the influx of microhotels— once a European staple, they’re now making their way to the States—including Pod Hotel, Yotel, and now Ace, which is jumping on the bandwagon with Sister City. Marriott’s solution, the Moxy, includes the new stylish flagship in New York’s Times Square. Designers Yabu Pushelberg envisioned the small rooms— measuring 150 to 350 square feet—as urban camping, with furniture hanging on pegboards, while lobbies come to life with various bar and restaurant options (courtesy of Rockwell Group and the TAO Group), and of course, plenty of hangout space and Instagrammable artinstallation moments.

As travelers become more sophisticated, so does what they want on the road, leading to properties to put a greater emphasis on wellbeing. In fact, according to a Global Wellness Institute report, the wellness tourism industry is expected to be worth more than $800 billion by 2020. Brands like Six Senses are redefining what truly integrated mental and physical soundness means in hospitality; Hilton launched an in-room wellness concept; travel companies are promoting fit-cations; and Delos launched Stay Well rooms, which are charging a premium for healthier new-age amenities (think Vitamin C-infused showers).

One of the many branches of the wellness craze falls under sustainability. And no one brand has cornered the market on this better than 1 Hotels, which has built a successful model thanks to hotel visionary Barry Sternlicht, whose simple idea of “1 hotel to better the world” has led to a platform for GS Magazine 49

Across the pond

NoMad Hotel Library

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1 Hotel 1 Hotel Brooklyn

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

1 Hotel

change. Everything about the hotel is centered on sustainability—from the design to back of house. Wood in the hotel is stamped where it comes from (and door keys are made of wood); thousands of plants live throughout the environs (they employ a person dedicated to keeping them all alive); and the brand’s website features a transparency section where it shares “data that tracks our impact and the stories that drive us to do all the good we can,” which powerfully states that 40 percent of the brand’s guests say what they see at the hotel influences their sustainability practices at home.

Similarly, as a reaction to the tech-infused world we live in, a sense of nostalgia has led to an influx of rehabbed roadside motels, allowing designers to reinterpret retro cool for today. The leader in this niche is hotelier Liz Lambert of Bunkhouse Group, whose thoughtful properties infused with local touches throughout Texas have earned her a cult following. She transformed her first hotel from a seedy 1930s-era motor court into the bungalow-style, 40-room San José. Since then, her motel empire has grown organically with the Hotel Havana in San Antonio and the Austin Motel, which sits next door to her original, the San José, as a new, cherry-colored beacon in the city.

And that’s just a sampling of some of the more recent defining projects. All and all, it is an exciting time in the hospitality industry in the U.S. (and around the world). It’s one of creativity, of innovation, and of providing the guest with the ultimate definition of hospitality— a memorable experience.

We are grateful to the Editor of our American media friends, HD Magazine, for writing this piece for GS Magazine.

Stacy Shoemaker Rauen is Editor in Chief of Hospitality Design magazine and Vice President of Hospitality Design Group.

GS Magazine 51

designjunction 20-23 September 2018

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esignjunction is set to transport to the cultural hub of London’s South Bank with a showcase of worldclass design for the annual London Design Festival in September 2018.

Now in its eighth year, designjunction has firmly established its reputation for transforming some of the most exciting and ambitious locations in London into premier design destinations, attracting 28,000 visitors in 2017. In collaboration with Coin Street Community Builders (CSCB) – a local social enterprise which owns and manages Oxo Tower Wharf, the Doon Street site and the Riverside Walkway – from September 20-23 designjunction will present an exhibition of world class design in this world class location.

The Doon Street site will feature the best in contemporary furniture as well as accessories and materials from leading international design brands alongside a selection of emerging designers. It will also house temporary pop-up shops offering a vast array of products from fashion accessories, homeware pieces, textiles and stationery attracting both retail buyers and design-savvy consumers. The two-floor purpose built super-structure will be the largest and most ambitious build designjunction has ever undertaken.

A few exhibitor highlights include, Broste 52 GS Magazine

Copenhagen, a new brand to designjunction this year, which will bring its Danish design heritage and craftsmanship expertise to London with the new modular Lake sofa, its core collection of upholstered furniture and extensive range of home accessories including a new series of ceramics.

The award-winning designer Bethan Gray will present her latest lighting collection, Victoria. Inspired by her original Victoria tea set, the pieces feature a relief pattern handcarved from Arabescato marble by Italian master craftsmen. The Victoria lighting collection will complement Bethan Gray’s

bespoke bar designed in collaboration with whisky experts The Glenlivet.

New lifestyle brand, Northern will be unveiled at designjunction with several new launches including the Shelter desk, Oasis planter and Case cushion. Born out of Northern Lighting, Northern has now extended its trademark style to furniture pieces and interior accessories bringing fresh vision and Nordic spirit to its new collections.

Leading bathroom brand VitrA will present its new Plural collection conceived by Milanbased American designer Terri Pecora. Inspired by the heritage of communal bathing spaces and rituals, the range introduces the bathroom as a social hub and informal living environment where people meet and reconnect with themselves and their family.

Swedish furniture company Johanson has more than 60 years’ experience in making pure, simple and balanced furniture. The family-run business will showcase its new Norma sofa and armchair collection created in collaboration with designer Färg & Blanche as well as Ester, a new conference chair conceived by designer

Alexander Lervik.

Handmade glass experts, LSA International will present the new AW18 collections, including Bar Culture, a collection of contemporary mouthblown designs for the luxury bar and Whisky Cut, a refined range of tumblers with hand cut decorations.

Renowned for its wood tanning expertise, Gemla is Sweden’s oldest furniture manufacturer based in the small village of Diö and founded in 1861. This year, they will launch two new chairs – Nordic and T13 – both made from certified solid ash and upholstered in vegetable tanned leather.

Following its launch at designjunction 2017, design-led Swiss watch brand Rado and designjunction collaborate once again for the Rado Star Prize UK. The Rado Star Prize UK targets the next generation of young British designers working across interior, industrial and technology design, culminating in an exhibition and awards ceremony this September at the show.

Riverside Walkway will showcase a series of outdoor installation projects, whilst Oxo

Tower Wharf will host major brand activations, exhibitions and experiential events. designjunction will also be joined by the 25 designer-maker stores already located in Oxo Tower Wharf including Innermost, Black & Blum, Bodo Sperlein and many more. www.thedesignjunction.co.uk

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HOTEL & RESTAURANT BUSINESS PLACE

CATERING / DESIGN / WELL-BEING / TECHNOLOGY / SERVICE

DESIGN EQUIPHOTEL TRADE SHOW

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For further information: EquipHotel trade show - Oytun Saritayli +33 (0)1 47 56 51 19 - oytun.saritayli@reedexpo.fr

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Official partners

11-15 November 2018

EquipHotel 2018 EquipHotel 2018: more than a trade show, it’s an experience

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landmark French event for the hospitality business, EquipHotel Paris has been providing unique technical solutions and opportunities to accelerate business growth in the industry for over 50 years. With more than 105,000 professionals, 1600 exhibitors and 133 countries represented, it has become an important playground for developing the latest innovations in the hotel and restaurant sector.

Once a generalist trade show, it is now multi-specialist, providing visitors with an inspirational and interactive experience. Because there is no one, single fashion trend in the hotel and restaurant sector, the show will exclusively showcase multiple trends based around 5 main GS Magazine 55

With over 1,600 French and international exhibitors on show, EquipHotel provides solutions to develop business, build customer loyalty and meet the needs of markets both in France and abroad

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RESTO DES CHEFS VIP LOUNGE BAR

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sectors: Restauration, Design, Well-being, Technology and Services. From furniture and interiors, kitchen equipment and food products, to spas, bathrooms and technology innovations, visitors will have access to a 360° product range. With over 1,600 French and international exhibitors on show, EquipHotel provides solutions to develop business, build customer loyalty and meet the needs of markets both in France and abroad.

This upcoming edition will take the form of multi-faceted inspiration laboratory, to provide a greater experiential experience, with a focus on a stronger than ever Design Hub. Actively supported by the best architects and experts, EquipHotel offers a vibrant stage to new products, innovations and industry trends. Bringing together hotel and restaurant professionals, Equip Hotel aims to offer a 100% immersive design experience through the profusion of styled “labs” created by architects, interior designers, atmospherists and other stylists. The show also gives leading chefs free rein to show off their talents at the cordon bleu restaurant and during cookery contests. This and more, to be experienced in a real-life ephemeral establishment: STUDIO18.

Set up on a new, supersized scale, this space is designed to be inspirational and inclusive, where the visitor-spectator becomes an actor; living an exclusive experience by interacting with the setting presented.

Other brand-new exclusive highlights include Casa de Luz, a motionless journey imagined by Sandrine Alouf & Thierry Virvaire; the Signature Space, with its dreamlike set design signed by Alnoor & Eric Lentulo of Etendart Studio; the Wellness Centre and its spellbinding design by Didier Knoll & Elodie Goddard; the Cozy Lazy and it›s rule-breaking room designed by Fabrice Knoll and also the Interior Design Centre a real, interactive marketplace.

EquipHotel takes place from 11-15th November 2018, at the exhibition space at Porte de Versailles, Paris.

GS Magazine readers can use the code EPE075 for free entry to the event www.equiphotel.com

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25-26 September 2018

The Restaurant & Bar Design show

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he Restaurant & Bar Design show is the UK’s largest and most comprehensive event specifically aimed at restaurant and bar owners, as well as professionals working across the breadth of the design industry. The event takes place on the 25th & 26th of September 2018 at ExCeL, London, so put the dates in your diary and order your free tickets now at www.restaurantdesignshow.co.uk.

In this fast-paced and ever evolving industry, making sure that you stay on top of market trends is key to staying ahead of the curve. If you are looking to set yourself apart from the competition and keep your guests enthralled by your style, then this is the place to be. From lighting and furniture to flooring and al fresco

dining, The Restaurant & Bar Design Show has everything you need to help your business stand out from the crowd.

Boasting a multitude of fantastic features, you can discover over 200 suppliers showcasing the latest tools, techniques and design ideas transforming the future of restaurants and bars, listen to over 120 expert seminars, engage in panel sessions revolving around topical discussions with inspirational industry giants, and so much more!

Better still, once at the show, you can also check out a whole host of interactive displays, our prestigious Innovation Awards, benefit from 1-2-1 business advice and connect with over 4,000 like-minded professionals. There really is no better place to gain the insider knowledge and insight needed to ensure your business stay ahead of the game.

Don’t forget that your free ticket also gives you access to 6 other leading shows, including Restaurant & Takeaway Innovation Expo, Restaurant & Bar Tech Live and Hotel & Spa Tech Live!

Make sure you don’t miss out on the chance to develop and grow your business, register for your complimentary ticket now via www.restaurantdesignshow.co.uk GS Magazine 57

New Catalogue launch from Andy Thornton

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he NEW 400-page Contract Furniture & Lighting catalogue from Andy Thornton is launched into the Hospitality market in August 2018. This exciting new catalogue is a comprehensive source-book of furniture and lighting for design specifiers, restaurateurs, café owners, pub and bar operators, hoteliers, contract caterers etc.

Shop the very latest furniture and lighting designs from Italy’s key manufacturers and specify totally exclusive collections from our very popular Vintage Style collections. We offer a huge range of bar stools, dining side and arm chairs, tables and poseur tables and lounge furniture, plus complementary decorative lighting, to suite all styles of venue.

Request your free copy of the NEW Contract Furniture & Lighting catalogue now.

Tel: 01422 376000 Email: marketing@andythornton.com Web: www.andythornton.com

The Henley Fan Company Ceiling fans that are powerful, reliable, stylish and silent

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he UK’s leading supplier of designer ceiling fans has launched its own design called the Zephyr, taken from the Greek god Zephuros - god of the west wind and spring breezes. It can move a huge amount of air (17,000 m3/h) but with a very gentle and comfortable stirring action of just 65-170 rpm. It deploys the latest, most efficient EMC motors available using just 24 w of power. The Zephyr is perfect for restaurants, bars, halls, large rooms or common areas where a wide coverage is needed. It is silent with no airflow noise and so perfect for large bedrooms that suffer from noisy or dry air conditioning. There are no annoying buzzes, hums or wobbles. Styled on a biplane propeller the Zephyr looks stunning and brings real style to any room.

Tel: +44(0)1256 636509 www.henleyfan.com

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Image of Olympic Studios Private Members Club

GUESTROOM REFURBISHMENT SPECIALISTS

 MARRIOTT COUNTY HALL

THE BRISTOL, WARSAW

MARRIOTT MAIDA VALE

ROYAL LANCASTER

AMBA MARBLE ARCH

ACE SHOREDITCH

EXPECTATION, DEDICATION, REPUTATION

59 GS Magazine

HILTON DOUBLETREE

Airblade™ technology in a tap.

Innovative design in a basin.

With the Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer, hands can be washed and dried at the sink – so no water is dripped on the floor. And by freeing up extra space it enables a more minimalist aesthetic, or additional washroom facilities.

The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer can now be combined with Avante® basins crafted in Corian.®

For more information call: 0113 201 2240 www.washroomsolution.com

To speak to someone at Dyson: 0800 345 7788 www.dyson.co.uk/hand-dryers