Name & Position: Ian Macready, Commercial Director; Voon Wong, Creative Director; and Benson Saw, Product Design Director Company: VW+BS Notable hotel projects: Crockford Suites Hotel, Genting Highlands Malaysia www.vwbs.co.uk 006
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RECEPTION
Check-In The founders of architecture and design firm VW+BS pedal to Scotland’s Outer Hebrides for a rustic Highland fling.
Where are we? Berneray, North Uist in the Outer Hebrides. How did you get here? We took a first-class sleeper carriage from London to Fort William, cycled to Oban, then took the ferry to Uist. Somehow, our luggage was magically spirited here without us having to carry it on the bikes. Who’s at the concierge desk? I am not sure that the Outer Hebrides needs much in the way of a concierge desk but a good weather man would be helpful. And the owner / manager? In Djenne, Mali, there is a Swedish woman who runs her own mud hotel (Djenne Djenno) outside the city walls. She manages to combine good local style, warmth and eccentricity and you cannot ask for more than that. In remote locations you want someone with a bit of character.
white sand beaches. The hotel features white washed stone walls, huge fireplaces, low ceilings, wide windows, dark interiors, rugs and fabrics by Eleanor Pritchard, weathered wooden floors with sheepskin rugs, and a roof light above the bed to admire the night sky. There are hot tubs on the decking outside each room, and, just like a youth hostel, a drying room for boots and wet clothes after a day of walking. The hotel is a refuge from the modern world with only 15 rooms. There are lots of nooks to climb into to read a book while it rains outside, but some good social spaces to make merry with fellow guests after a day of breathing clean air.
3. Richard Osman from TV show Pointless 4. Bradley Wiggins because we’ll need some cycling tips 5. Kristin Scott Thomas for a bit of icy class
Who designed it? 6a Architects, an exciting London practice. Their approach to materials and location would be perfect for a project like this where the textures and the details matter, because the structure will need to be very simple.
Would you like something to drink with that? Dom Ruinart Champagne would be a great place to start.
Is there anything you would like waiting for you in your room on arrival? A hot bath with a view over the beach, a roaring fire and a bottle of 21-year-old Poit Dhubh Gaelic Whisky. Perfect.
What’s the restaurant / bar like? There are a few local characters to keep us in check and down to earth, and a knowledgeable bar man to organise some whisky tastings. The restaurant has a fireplace, obviously, and one long table so that we can all eat together. In the summertime, midges aside, the table is outside overlooking the sea to enjoy the endless light of a northern summer evening.
Describe the hotel building, your room and the experience... The hotel is contemporary but hardly noticeable in the environment, where grassy green rolling fields lead down to beautiful
Who are you dining with this evening? 1. Alex Salmond to discuss (more likely argue) Scottish Independence 2. Lisa Jardine because she knows everything there is to know about the 17th century
Who are you sharing your room with? Our London cycling buddies, so that we can make it a very convivial scene.
Who’s manning the stoves? Tom Aikens. He supports the fishing industry and also understands the need for local and seasonal ingredients. And what’s on the menu? Starter: Smoked venison and smoked salmon Main: Scottish lamb Dessert: Cranachan, a traditional Scottish dessert of raspberries, whisky and cream
MULTIPLE CHOICE SECTION: Early morning alarm call or late check out? Early morning alarm call to get out into the fresh air. Bath, jacuzzi or power shower? Bath in this case to relax the muscles after all the cycling. Full English, continental or something different? We’re in Scotland so it has to be porridge, buttered kippers and toast. Swimming pool, spa or gym? None required – there is the sea and the cycling. Although a massage therapist would be great.
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THE DRAWING BOARD
THE DRAWING BOARD DUBAI // BANGKOK // STUTTGART // BELFAST // BAHAMAS // MELBOURNE
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SEE! COLLECTION
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T H E B E S T F U R N I T U R E TO S U N I N , D I N E O N , O R S I M P LY LO O K AT. . . I N D O O R S O R O U T ® L A S T I N G Q UA L I T Y AC RO S S T H E M O S T CO M P R E H E N S I V E I N S TO C K CO L L E C T I O N WO R L DW I D E A N N E K U P I L L A S , K E Y A C C O U N T S M A N A G E R , N O R T H E R N E U R O P E , ( M ) + 4 4 ( 0 ) 7 5 5 7 9 1 5 2 3 4 , A K U P I L L A S @ JA N U S E T C I E . C O M AT L A N TA
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HOTEL REVIEW
Iniala Beach House Phuket Words: Elly Earls Photography: © Kurt Heck and Matt Thorpe
The ultra-luxury villa hotel on Phuket’s Natai Beach is a masterpiece of design, fusing traditional Thai architecture with contemporary forms created by some of the world’s best designers.
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s the roadside stalls become scarcer and the Atlas Mountains nearer, the manic intensity of Marrakech falls away in waves, giving way to the vast 14-acre estate that houses Fellah Hotel. Here, there is an unexpected luxury. The luxury of simplicity. The luxury of the imperfect. “Ours was a risky approach,” explains owner Redha Moali, the former Geneva-based stockbroker of Algerian descent, “we do not know how the market will react to Fellah.” The hotel comprises 10 large villas housing 69 rooms. Several of the villas have pools and are available for private bookings whilst others are used for the restaurant and bar, spa, and gym, complete with its own boxing ring.
There is also a cultural centre, which has been the driving force behind Moali’s vision. “Culture is a tool to shape our world,” he muses, lounging in the shade of a pavilion beside the hotel’s main swimming pool. Recognising that governments had less money to fund culture after the global economic crisis, Moali took matters into his own hands, creating the Dar al-Ma’mûn art and culture centre around which Hotel Fellah is based. The space is aimed at providing support to emerging artists and promoting Moroccan and African values. “It is a vision sustained by tourism,” explains Moali, “a virtuous relationship between the culture of Dar alMa’mûn and the economy of the hotel.” Fellah is Arabic for ‘farm worker’ and the agrarian connection is immediately apparent in
the small stockyard of donkeys, sheep, chicken and rabbits at the entrance to the walled estate. The surrounding gardens are planted with fruits, vegetables and herbs that are used in the hotel’s restaurants. Versailles-trained horticulturist, Valentine Green, planned the landscaping and delivered a ‘dry’ garden needing little water, which is nevertheless oasis-like. Swards of grass are limited to small carpets but mostly the plants are hardy, drought-tolerant palms, cacti and similar succulents. The lemon, orange and olive trees were all planted as mature trees because there was literally nothing in the field when Moali purchased it. There is some aqueous relief however. Additional to the private pools of the villas and the main swimming pool, there are several
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LIGHTS OF VIENNA
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Allura
Expressive and authentic, beautiful and tactile, the new Allura luxury vinyl tile collection from Forbo launches February 2014. To pre-register to be among the first to see the new collection, simply visit us at www.forbo-flooring.co.uk/alluralaunch creating better environments
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Coming Soon
The Asia Hotel Design Awards Launch Party: Singapore, March 2014 Inaugural Ceremony: Singapore, March 2015 www.asiahoteldesignawards.com
The best hotels specify the best accessories that’s why they’ve been choosing Waterbury bathroom accessories for over 30 years.
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“This historic building proved to be a difficult renovation, EE Smith provided the highest degree of expertise in their role as the Public Space Fit-out Contractor which helped us produce one of the best new hotels in London over the past few years.” Marty Breen. EVP of Cumming, and Program Development Manager for the Edition Program representing Marriott International.
The London Edition
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CHECK-OUT
A life aquatic Imagine being submerged in the tropical turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, watching shoals of reef fish swim by. A new experience at The Manta Resort on Pemba Island – part of the Zanzibar Archipelago off the East coast of Africa – allows guests to do just that from the comfort of their own bed. Conceived by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg, The Underwater Room is a three-storey structure that floats 250m offshore in the Blue Hole, an area teeming with marine life and coral. At sea level, a landing deck clad in local hardwood provides access to the bathroom and living room, while a ladder leads to the rooftop lounge for sunbathing or stargazing. Below the surface, the underwater bedroom offers 360-degree views of the reef and its inhabitants, which are attracted by spotlights beneath each window. Huge shoals of silver bait, squid, garfish, octopuses and a friendly trumpet fish called Nick are just some of the aquatic visitors observed since the room opened in November 2013. This is the second subaquatic project for Genberg, known for his creation of ‘alternative dwellings’. The Utter Inn, a single room hotel that lies three metres below the surface of Lake Mälaren in Västerås, Sweden, opened in June 2000, and the artist has since founded Genberg Underwater Hotels with the express aim of developing the concept and launching more subaquatic rooms around the world. www.underwaterroom.com
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