The Lobby

Happy Campers

After months spent in lockdown, the nation was undoubtedly in need of a break this summer, but for many, it was too soon to book a stay in the city. Thankfully, those clever folk at The Hoxton came to the rescue, opening a Hoxton-style camping experience in rural Oxfordshire.

Set in the grounds of the Grade II-listed Eynsham Hall, Camp Hox ran through August and comprised 12 lotus tents kitted out with a proper bed topped with duvets and pillows, greenery from Patch, and electricity to power a Roberts Radio and coffee-making facilities. Campers were also given access to their own lockable washroom with hot shower and toilet.

Available to book per tent or as a site takeover, ‘Hoxfordshire’ treated guests to breakfast bags each morning, a fridge stocked with goodies, and a bottle of Altano natural wine on arrival, as well as an outdoor pour-your-own Graham’s Port and tonic bar, a BBQ with all the necessary cooking equipment, and a free pot-washing service – meaning no-one had to worry about doing the washing up.

“We knew a lot of our guests were still weary to travel into cities, so we put our heads together and thought, let’s give them all the things they love about The Hoxton in the countryside,” says Sharan Pasricha, founder and CEO of Ennismore. “The project gave everyone the opportunity to escape to the great outdoors for a couple nights, and then spend a night with us in London at one of our three Hoxton hotels whenever they’re ready to hit up the city again.”

Although the camp was located close to Blenheim Palace, Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon, guests were encouraged to explore the surrounding countryside on foot, heading out for a ramble or borrowing one of the Temple Bikes available free-of-charge.

Naturally, deep cleaning took place between each stay, but that wasn’t to take away from the experience, which immersed guests in the great outdoors without compromising on the comforts of a luxury hotel.

© Alex Filz

Italian Pastoral

As part of an ongoing expansion of South Tyrol’s Apfelhotel Torgglerhof, noa* (Network of Architecture) has been working to bring the rural spa hotel in line with the vision of its new generation of owners.

Having won a competition to design a multistage expansion to the existing structure in 2014, noa* has since overseen alterations to the project’s main building, as well as the establishment of a restaurant within an exterior shed and a series of 18 new guestrooms. Now the studio has revealed its latest creation – a dedicated wellness facility designed to harmonise with the surrounding landscape.

Billed as the new centrepiece to the resort, the building housing the spa has no north face; instead it seamlessly blends into a natural green slope so that it is barely visible. To the southside, a glass and steel façade sits beneath a canopy draped in greenery and fragrant jasmine.

The entrance to the spa is through a portal made from reclaimed timber, set within a curved, semi-exposed concrete shell that tucks into the contours of the land. Inside, a central drinking fountain made from natural stone sits alongside a spacious lounge with open fireplace, as well as beauty and massage therapy rooms. An indooroutdoor infinity pool also passes through the green façade, the connecting transition framed with Lucerne metamorphic gneiss rock.

An adults-only area on the upper floor, meanwhile, features a Finnish sauna and cave-like steam bath, as well as a terrace with an outdoor shower. Characterised by curved wooden slats with large windows looking over the apple fields from which the hotel takes its name, the upper floor also offers direct access to the Apfelsauna – an apple-shaped chamber with a curving open staircase leading down to the hotel’s lushly landscaped gardens.

Back to the Drawing Board

Artist Sam Wood honours the signature style of David Collins Studio in a new series of hand-drawn sketches.

In celebration of its 35 th anniversary, David Collins Studio has released a collection of illustrations showcasing the best of its hospitality, residential and retail projects from around the world. Handdrawn by London-based artist Sam Wood, the sketches honour the elegant and timeless signature style of the firm, which was founded by visionary designer David Collins in 1985.

Featured projects include London institutions The Wolseley and The Delauney, as well as The Connaught Bar, designed in 2008 to feature a palette of platinum and pastels grounded by distinctive British racing green and tobacco brown. Also presented in sketch form are Artesian at The Langham, Delaire Graff Estate in South Africa, and The American Bar at Gleneagles, Scotland, following its 2016 refurb.

Since David’s untimely death in 2013, the studio has been guided by founding member and CEO Iain Watson, together with Creative Director Simon Rawlings. “As a designer I am always inspired, challenged, and excited by a unique and special project,” explains Rawlings. “You have to ensure that each opportunity receives its own distinct vision, an idea that can be built as an interior which will forever be iconic, successful and enjoyed by many. By striving for layered perfection, perfect balance, and operational obsession, we ensure that we give each and every interior the time it deserves. This approach has never changed. And never will. The last 35 years has seen us collaborate with a very special group of clients. Those who want to invest in great design, on the understanding it will stay with them. The understanding that doing something really thoughtfully means a lot more effort. 35 years of iconic, timeless creations, and there are plenty more to come.”

Carte Blanche

If you could create a hotel room with very little restriction, what would it look like? That’s the question Amsterdam’s Volkshotel put to ten emerging creatives last summer, as they pitched their proposals for new guestroom designs at the 177-key property in the city’s east district.

The two winning designers were given the opportunity to make their concepts a reality and the results are certainly unique – one taking its inspiration from waste on the streets of the Dutch capital, the other exhibiting a series of intricate woodworking techniques.

Channelling the notion that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, Lost & Found breathes new life into previously discarded items, with designer François Duquesnoy leaving the details of the concept to chance by roaming the streets of Amsterdam on the hunt for furnishings and decorative accessories.

Duquesnoy was inspired by the unanticipated materials and used them to create bespoke features; the bed is made from doors and a coat rack now acts as a lamp. Vibrant red, blue and yellow tones were then added to reflect the street colours where the items were found.

A stay in The Businessman’s Trip is one guests won’t forget either, as almost every surface in the room has been adorned with intricate patterns and textures thanks to designer Arno Hoogland’s woodworking expertise. From the temple bed – a raised platform with a beautifully carved base – guests can marvel at the tiling on the bathtub, which conceals Amsterdam’s coat of arms, or admire views across the Amstel river.

“In my work I like to appeal to the wondrous nature of the user, so that people look at it and think, how was this made?” says Hoogland. And perhaps he’s right, perhaps we have lost touch with the provenance of materials and the value of craft. What both of these guestrooms show is that the future of sustainable design lies in the ability to reduce, reuse and recycle.

With demand at an all-time low, hotels are tapping into the remote working trend by renting guestrooms as private offices.

According to data from STR, Europe’s hotel occupancy was down by a dramatic 73% in June. The seismic loss of appetite for travel caused by Covid-19 has undoubtedly taken its toll on hotels across the globe, but the enforced shift towards remote working could yet play into their hands, with an increasing need for safe, accessible workspaces that offer on-demand flexibility. As such, hotel groups have begun renting rooms as daytime offices for remote workers, helping to recover lost revenue while keeping people a safe distance apart.

Accor – whose recent research found that 29% (5.5 million) of respondents were finding it hard to switch off from work with no separation between home and the office – has launched the Hotel Office concept, enabling its customers to use rooms for work at 250 hotels in the UK and 70 across Northern Europe, with further expansion due over the coming months.

The service can be booked for a single-day or five-day package, with rates typically cheaper than an average overnight stay. Guests can also earn points towards the Accor Live Limitless programme, enjoy the in-room amenities throughout the day and (subject to availability) make use of hotel facilities.

“With millions of people adapting to new ways of working we have been inspired to support this trend by offering a unique office experience, blending the need for quiet dedicated working spaces with all the convenience and amenities of a hotel,” comments James Wheatcroft, Vice President of Marketing, Accor Northern Europe.

Looking to provide a similarly flexible working solution, Mandarin Oriental’s Working from M.O. initiative allows businesspeople to reserve guestrooms between 8am and 6pm daily, with rates up to 50% less than the norm and complimentary access to high-speed WiFi, dining credits, printing facilities and fitness centres. The scheme has been rolled out at almost all of the brand’s city hotels worldwide, including properties in New York, Paris, Geneva, Munich, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore.

Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Wythe Hotel has joined forces with workplace designer Industrious to convert a selection of loft-style guestrooms into private office suites for up to four employees.

Spanning the entire second floor, the spaces are designed to support maximum productivity while delivering personalised hospitality in a safe environment. Each is equipped with a private

WFH: Working From Hotel

outdoor space, Wi-Fi and unlimited digital access to The New York Times, together with printing services, a smart TV, and free coffee and pastries. Contactless check-in also allows for seamlessly safe entry upon arrival.

“The companies that best navigate the future of work are going to be the ones that put choices in their employees’ hands, including the choice of where and how they do their job best. So we’re thrilled to partner with Wythe Hotel to offer more flexible office space that helps meet that demand, and meet it right now,” says Jamie Hodari, cofounder and CEO of Industrious.

And the list goes on, with Rosewood, Zoku and Raffles just a few names among many who are marketing the office-away-from-home-office concept as a means of regaining some of the income lost since the turn of the year.

The hospitality sector couldn’t have predicted the extent to which Covid-19 would slam the brakes on its operations, but what it has shown of late is that by pivoting swiftly, it can look towards the post-pandemic era with promise.

Will designers have to express their flair through a Minimalist lens in a post-Covid world? I

n the early 20 th century following the outbreak of tuberculosis, it is said that Modernist and

Minimalist interior design and architecture spiked in popularity, largely due to the style of building allowing for more spacious interiors, clean lines, and less ‘clutter’. As hotel guests seek a hyperconscious level of cleanliness in the current climate, will they once again show a preference towards this ‘less is more’ approach in their choice of interiors?

Right now, in all walks of life, there has been erasure. Whether this is on the streets, in supermarkets, cafés or hotels, objects have been removed to allow for more space and to make way for a more hygienic and healthy way of living, and designers are being challenged to replace purely decorative items with a cleaner aesthetic to give guests peace of mind.

Eclecticist and maximalist trends have seen decorative items used to excess in some of the most luxurious hospitality projects across the globe. An abundance of objects, however, now risk being seen as simply additional things that gather dust – and crucially germs – and require extra cleaning. Minimalist approaches may come into play, where designers will be forced to eliminate unnecessary items and make selections that have the ability to enhance a guest’s physical and mental wellbeing.

In Asia, The Prince Hotel Hong Kong’s refurbishment plans were revised following Covid-19, after the operator, Marco Polo Hotels, decided the property needed to be more in tune with the inevitable future of the hospitality industry. Subsequently, the new design highlights greater spatial layouts, hard-surface flooring in place of carpets, and a smart use of materials that can be sanitised and cleaned easily.

Designers will look to borrow from the healthcare sector too, sourcing self-cleaning and antimicrobial fabrics that can be used for wall and surface coverings, drapes and bedding, whilst excess cushions and runners could be scrapped altogether. A shift towards hard surface flooring may see the erasure of rugs, deep-pile carpets and porous surfaces, eliminating places for the virus to hide. Manufacturers that already offer smart and hygenic products will no doubt prove popular with hotel designers and operators, and those suppliers that have been able to amend their product lines will similarly benefit.

Coronavirus has forced the hospitality industry to respond as thoroughly and effectively as

Less is More

possible to ensure that the trust of the guest is retained, which has subsequently revised product technologies and interior styles. In a recent #SLEEPER2020 podcast episode hosted by Sleeper’s Editor-at-Large Guy Dittrich, JeanMichel Gathy, Principal Designer at Denniston, elaborated on this further, explaining that: “Because of coronavirus, hotels are going to be simpler, more zen. The design will become paramount. With what we’re experiencing now, interior designers are going to become more important; guests are going to look at the simplicity of a design in order to avoid nasty corners where dust accumulates, where you can’t clean properly. I believe the simplicity of a design will come back into fashion.”