The term “boutique” is rather tired these days. It conjures images of something try-hard, muddled with ridiculous furniture and presided over by a distinctly Celtic Tiger vibe. Far cooler are the “design hotels”, a new breed making their mark on the cities they inhabit and putting the fun and fantasy back into checking in. What is a great getaway without a space you wish you could transport and translate to your own home?
Take the Ham Yard Hotel in London, a perfect example of this new wave. The brainchild of award-winning British designer Kit Kemp, Ham Yard straddles Soho and Piccadilly, a great, big, happy rainbow of a hotel that aims to please the eye. Everything here has been considered as an opportunity to reawaken your inner child – from the Tony Cragg sculpture that greets you at the front entrance, to the rooftop’s vegetable garden (straight from the Chelsea Garden show) and its 91 individually-designed bedrooms and suites, not to mention the 1950s style bowling alley.
“Every room is like a painted canvas,” Kemp says. “It has to tell a story.”
The joy of a design hotel like this, though, is that it never takes itself too seriously. There is no pretence, no stuffy waiters hovering. It is made to be revelled in. Kemp has lent her creative touch to 10 hotels in total, all over London and New York, each one with a different theme but with that same jovial stamp.
In contrast, but in the same innovative vein, comes the Hospital Club, London’s preferred hideaway for the creative and artistic traveller (or those who just wish to mingle with them). Founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and David A Stewart (formerly of Eurythmics), the ethos here is to provide an inspiring visual experience for guests.
Fifteen rooms, designed by Russell Sage Studios, display specially-commissioned artworks by emerging artists such as Kristof Jeney, Rick Guest, Wiktoria Deero. Cosy sofas, thick rugs and a vintage cocktail trolley, that rolls around at 7pm each evening, rule the seven floors.
Guests are invited to record an album, listen to a podcast, mingle, relax and relive the bygone bohemian days of the city. It aims to provide guests an insular haven via its design, and staying here is a personal experience – but never too invasive.
On the more experimental end of the design hotel spectrum lies Milan’s Magna Pars Suites. Homed in a former perfumery and owned by one of Italy’s greatest perfume families, Magna offers guests an olfactory-orientated experience.
The glass building is furnished completely by Milanese artisans and designers, with each suite named after fragrant flowers and plants (gardenia, jasmine, sandalwood). As you make your way through different sections of the hotel, subtle fragrances meet your nose.
The idea is to awaken the senses in guests so they become more aware of smells, and the distinct effect they can have. It is a super high-tech space, slick and modern and minimalist, one that draws a design-mad crowd during the city’s Design Week.
The sole purpose of dedicated hotel site designhotels.com is to help travellers navigate their way around the world via hotels that go above and beyond in their presentation and understanding of design.
More than 290 unique hotels in more than 50 countries across the globe are represented, each deemed worthy either because of the creatively adept people who have dreamt up these spaces or the original experience the hotel’s design provides.
While budget hotels will always have their place, and the more regal old-world hoteliers will claim they do it best, making room in your holiday for a stay in a design hotel is undoubtedly the most exciting way to reclaim a weekend away.
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