CHIC SLEEPS
Chic Sleeps - Luxury Travel Magazine
 | |||||
Chic Sleeps | |||||
| By: Prue Rushton, Issue 32 – Spring 2007 | |||||
| (Schlosshotel – Berlin, Germany; Bulgari Hotel – Milan, Italy; Palazzo Versaci – Gold Coast, Australia; The Pineapple House Hotel – Montego Bay, Jamaica; Tortuga Bay – Dominican Republic, Hispaniola; Byblos Art Hotel – Verona, Italy; Blakes Hotel – London, UK; Gallery Hotel Art – Florence, Italy; Charlton House Hotel – Somerset, UK; Hotel du Petit Moulin – Paris, France; Morrison Hotel – Dublin, Ireland; The G Hotel – Galway, Ireland; The Hotel – Florida, US; K Club – Barbuda, Caribbean; Halekulani Hotel – Waikiki, Hawaii; Ritz Hotel – Paris, France; Royal Windsor Hotel – Brussels, Belgium; Pelican Hotel – Miami Beach, US; Casa Camper – Barcelona, Spain; Sixty Hotel – Riccione, Italy; Cardudcci 76 – Cattolica, Italy; Miro Hotel – Bilbao, Spain; Armani Hotel; Wara Puru; Hotel Missoni; Farifax South Beach Hotel) | |||||
| FROM THE VIVIDE BRIGHT OF VERSACE TO THE CRISP WHITE OF RALPH LAUREN, LUXURY TRAVEL PRESENTS THE TOP DESIGNER HOTEL DESTINATIONS WHERE YOU CAN MATCH THE STYLE OF YOUR OUTFIT WITH A SIGNATURE PLACE TO STAY. | |||||
| In this era of label awareness, it would be easy to be cynical about the growing rush among leaders of the fashion world to design hotels. However, former Hollywood designer darling Todd Oldham has his own compelling theory: fashion designers design rooms that people look good in, as opposed to rooms people litter by being in. Here Luxury Travel Magazine showcases the catwalk style glamour of leading fashion hotels for you to ‘try on’. | |||||
| Schlosshotel, Berlin | |||||
| Chanel ubermeister, Karl Lagerfeld slips into the Germanic grandeur of his homeland to deliver the Schlosshotel suites. There are busts, statues and not a few chandeliers, even in the bathrooms. However, followers of the legendary label will happily recognise the same nipped-in precision that accompanies a Chanel suit. For the full effect from the man dubbed Kaiser Karl, opt for the Kaiser Suite. A regally massive 170sq metres, with two kingsize canopy beds, period oil paintings, silk sofas in the salon and a stunning historic library awaits your royal recline. Schlosshotel: Brahmstrasse, 10, Berlin, +49 30 895 840, www.schlosshotelberlin.com | |||||
| Bulgari Hotel, Milan | |||||
| In truth, do not arrive at this hotel expecting to be dazzled by bling. The design of this hotel more resembles a cream and dark-edged jewellery box from Chanel. Nevertheless, the Bulgari Hotel packs oodles of sophisticated stone and rich wood features into its clean-lined contemporary design. The Bulgari suite offers a Turkish Bihara stone bath as well as a stone block fireplace that spills onto a dark wood terrace. To experience rich in overdrive closer to home, visit the Bulgari Resort in Bali where the 1300sqm Bulgari Villa offers full service and a 20-metre lap pool. Bulgari Hotel: Bulgari Milano, Via Pravata Fratelli Gabba, Milan, +39 02 805 805 1, www.bulgarihotels.com | |||||
| Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast | |||||
| If there is any place on the planet where Donatella’s foray into hotels could have gone horribly wrong it’s the glitz-gilded Gold Coast. Instead the hotel channels vivid Versace into a medley of sophisticated colours tastefully tinged in gold. The signature emblems and Medusa heads are still there – notably on the in-hotel china and cushions, however it’s a more livable luxury that inhabits this dynastic style hotel. Imported sand on the edge of the extraordinary outdoor pool and a Roman bath-style spa offer sumptuous seclusion from those other nearby Worlds – Dream, Movie and Sea. The service is also sublime. Palazzo Versace will open a new hotel in Dubai in 2009 with others to follow in a joint venture between Emirates and the Sunland group. Palazzo Versace: Sea World Drive, Main Beach, Queensland, 07 5509 8000 | |||||
| www.palazzoversace.com.au | |||||
| The Pineapple House Hotel, Montego Bay | |||||
| Ralph Lauren has stuck to polo-style white, with just a few colour hits of pink and blue. You may recognise some of the stripy soft furnishings from his home collection, however Ralph, a cowboy at heart in a Robert Redford kind of way, restrains himself from throwing in some suede fringing and tartan, wherever that fancy came from. Instead the décor of the 36- oceanfront suites that lie inside the Round Hill Jamaica Hotel and Villa compound is as comfortable as cashmere and as cool as a white cotton singlet. The Pineapple House Hotel: Round Hill Hotel, John Pringle Drive, Hanover, Jamaica, + 1 876 956 7050, www.roundhilljamaica.com/accommodations.php | |||||
| Tortuga Bay, Dominican Republic | |||||
| Snap up pieces from Oscar de la Renta’s 2007 resort collection and head for the Tortuga Bay villas overlooking the Caribbean. Make sure you bring a straw hat with fringed edges as the designer has subtly added similar sort of sexy, feathery details to the 15 Villa hotel featuring 50 rooms. However, it’s his clever mix of Euro elegance and resort-like glamour that would happily tempt any of the Cannes set across to these shores. A golf course adds to the many recreation choices that begin simply with sink a ball or swim. Located inside a gated community at Punta Cana, Oscar himself along with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Julio Iglesias also have homes here. Tortuga Bay villas: Puntacana Higuey, Dominican Republic, +809 959 2262, | |||||
| www.puntacana.com | |||||
| Byblos Art Hotel, Verona | |||||
| Considering this label was the 70s brainchild of Gianni Versace, it is perhaps no surprise that its art hotel, also known as Villa Amista, bears the out-there extravagance of Medici meets Warhol and Dali. Don’t be fooled by the sober stone Venetian villa façade and prettily pruned gardens. Inside it’s gold, gold, gold and pop art brights on furniture that looks like it was conceived after a night watching Spaceballs. Challenging but utterly delightful, much like Byblos clothing, this hotel with art gallery, restaurant and spa wants to play with your perceptions. Byblos Art Hotel: Via Cedrare, 78 Corrubbio di Negerine (Verona), +39 045 68 55555, www.byblosarthotel.com | |||||
| Blakes Hotel, London | |||||
| Brit-based designer Anouska Hempel has a hungry palate for high drama whether it be in her couture fashion or her hotel interiors. For those who crave the dark, striped sculptured shapes of her gowns, slink into her first entrée into hotels – Blakes. Each suite plays out like a one-off original design. From gilt-edge glamour through to crisp Provencale clean, the constant is a four-poster bed. For those wanting to extend this experience into another country, try her no-less flamboyant hotel – The Dylan – in Amsterdam. Alternatively you can find sleek and sexy in her white on white eponymous hotel in London, The Hempel. The Blakes Hotel: 33 Roland Gardens, London, +44 20 7370 6701, The Dylan; The Hempel www.blakeshotels.com; www.dylanamsterdam.com; www.the-hempel.co.uk | |||||
| Gallery Hotel Art, Florence | |||||
| The Ferragamo family have made choosing from amongst their six accommodations in Florence both hard and easy. Hard, because they all have been tailor detailed to the last nail – it comes down to choosing between classic vs contemporary; water view vs hill view. Easy, because they’re all within walking distance of each other. Once you’ve settled upon one accommodation, you can luxuriate in the others over drinks and dinner. We found the Penthouse Palazzo Vecchio at Gallery Hotel Art – retaining its billing as Florence’s first contemporary boutique hotel – with its two bathrooms and two terraces overlooking the Duomo and the hills rather hard to pass up. When in Rome, there are 14 suites and a studio inside a townhouse near the Spanish steps to choose from. Gallery Hotel Art: Via Vicolo Dell Oro 5, Florence, Italy, +39 055 2726 4000, | |||||
| www.lungarnohotels.com | |||||
| Charlton House Hotel, Somerset | |||||
| Roger Saul, the founder of Mulberry, understands English country lifestyle well. The translation of his tweedy, hunting-style into this hotel works beautifully. He wanted ‘comfortable, informal splendour’ and that’s what you get in the 25 bedrooms that have each been individually decorated. Adding to this is an award-winning restaurant that derives much of its food from the organic farm on the estate, as well as a spa. Activities like golf, horse riding and even clay pigeon shooting can be arranged but perhaps the best pastime of all here is simply watching the acres of hyper-green grass grow. Charlton House: Shepton Mallet, near Bath, Somerset, +44 (0)1749 342 008, | |||||
| www.charltonhouse.com | |||||
| Hotel du Petit Moulin, Paris | |||||
| In his clothing, Christian Lacroix likes to play with richness and a riot of colour. Thankfully, he found an old boulangerie in the Marais to bring his bohemian bejewelled luxury to hotels. Here 17 individually designed rooms transport you into a world of exotica where you travel between different times and places. Murals and collage are used to brilliant effect. Contemporary and period pieces sit happily beside each other. You can’t help but think Lacroix might have been having alittle romantic giggle as he designed these surrounds, but it’s one you can definitely join in. Hotel du Petit Moulin: 29-31 Rue du Poitou, Paris, +33 1 42 74 1010, www.paris-hotel-petitmoulin.com | |||||
| Morrison Hotel, Dublin | |||||
| It takes a lot of clout to dub yourself ‘the coolest and most luxurious’ hotel in town. Which may explain why some areas of the hotel have been refurbished since John Rocha brought it into being in 1999. However, head for the penthouse to discover an original John Rocha. A signature dark moodiness takes over the room in the dark wood with cream highlight colour scheme. Sleek contemporary furniture allows you plenty of opportunities to take in the panorama view over the River Liffey and Dublin. A dining table for eight means friends and new acquaintances can join in. Morrison Hotel: Ormond Quay, Dublin, +353 1887 2400, www.morrisonhotel.ie | |||||
| The G Hotel, Galway | |||||
| Philip Treacy is renowned for extreme glamour, which is exactly what he manifests in the G Hotel in Galway. As if offloading all his favourite fantasies at once, Treacy travels guests through vivid splashes of eras that range from Versailles to Warhol with objects and furniture in shapes that aren’t dissimilar to what you might want to wear on your head if you’re a true Treacy fan. All the while there are delicate reminders of the heads that this celeb milliner has dressed with delicate portraits of supermodels in hats. His best homage is reserved for the one who launched his career with the Evangelista Suite. Its presidential size seems an ode to the largesse of her beauty. Thankfully, ESPA have also installed themselves in the hotel, so there is plenty of help on standby to prop up one’s own. The G Hotel: Wellpark, Galway, +353 91 865 200, www.theghotel.ie | |||||
| The Hotel, Florida | |||||
| Who can tell what was in the heart and mind of Todd Oldham when he decided to ditch couture and take up interior design. With the redesign of this art deco hotel perched on the edge of Miami Beach, it is perhaps travellers’ gain and the likes of Julia Roberts and Uma Thurman’s loss, both former drapees of Oldham design. Here, Oldham has turned his eye to hand airbrushed tiles, tie-dyed robes and stripes in a delicious range of gelato colours. A similar attention to detail is found in the service where you can customise your stay ahead of time by booking in anything from spa to parasailing to art deco walking tours. The Hotel: 801 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida, + 1 305 531 2222, www.thehotelofsouthbeach.com | |||||
| K Club, Barbuda | |||||
| It’s an interesting thing to see what happens to Italian haute when it is transported to the tropics. Krizia has gone all soft and white with a cool mint stripe for its club here in the Caribbean. The common factor crossing both the design worlds is exclusive. Going light and simple, leaves room for you to become, as they promise, the most pampered Robinson Crusoe. To raise the seclusion factor, they’ve made it a kids-free zone. Book into a 170m2 beachfront suite for two and, frankly, there is little to come between you and the white sand, except luxury. K Club: Barbuda, The West Indies, www.kclubbarbuda.com | |||||
| ONE-OFF ORIGINALS | |||||
| Oozing custom-made exclusivity, these singular suites created by individual designers are the hotel equivalent of a hand-tailored outfit and make for an exceptional stay. | |||||
| Vera Wang Suite, Halekulani Hotel, Waikiki | |||||
| Vera Wang has a particularly refined form of resort wear. Largely black and often structured, it is beautiful, yes, but one can wonder where to wear it. Wang has provided a solution to this with her eponymous suite in the 100-year-old iconic Halekulani Hotel that overhangs the edge of the ocean at Waikiki. Here Wang combines charcoal drapes and dark wood overtones with a delicate interlude of neutrals. Not a snip of tropical rattan is in sight. Adding to the elegance is Wangstyle service with her own perfumes, limousine transport, personally selected movies and a self-styled cocktail suggestion. Halekulani Hotel: 2199 Kalia Road, Honolulu, + 1 808 923 2311, www.halekulani.com | |||||
| Coco Chanel Suite, Ritz Hotel, Paris | |||||
| For 37 years Coco Chanel lived here in the rarefied elegance of this suite overlooking the gardens and Place Vendome. Today, with each piece of furniture and every object carefully restored, you can enter her private style sanctuary. Baroque mirrors and Coromandel lacquers reflect light on the signature quilted padding of the sofas. An exquisite chandelier overhangs it all. Chanel’s eye wasn’t burdened by detail, and here none have been left to chance. Many famous people have left their legacy at the Ritz from the Windsors to Hemmingway. But interestingly of all the suites that have remained devoted to them, none attracts as high a price as that of Chanel. Ritz Hotel: 15 Place Vendome, Paris, +33 1 43 16 3030, www.ritzparis.com | |||||
| Royal Windsor Hotel Grand Place, Brussels | |||||
| You might not be aware of their names, but these ten Belgian celebrated designers bring an exceptional sense of individuality to the stone-faced Royal Windsor Hotel. Each designer was commissioned to translate his or her own vision into the interior of a ‘Fashion Room’. The result is rooms that match a range of moods from the spare minimalism of Jean-Paul Knott to the white futurism to Pascal Kervan’s b&w classic that is somewhat equivalent to slipping into a little black dress. To help maintain the mood, the hotel has put together a fabuous fashion map of Brusselsto allow you to tour the town’s best originals. Enjoy. Royal Windsor Hotel: 5 Rue Duquesnoy, Brussels, +32 2 505 5555, www.royalwindsorbrussels.com | |||||
| DESIGNER DISCOUNTS | |||||
| While not quite at the haute couture end of fashion hotels, this big brand style of accommodation nevertheless wears its own signature appeal. | |||||
| Pelican Hotel, Miami Beach | |||||
| Diesel has gone for all-out originality. Choose from the sedate ‘Executive Fifties’ room to the lurid ‘Best Whorehouse’, or splurge on the Pelican Penthouse, which rather resembles a record label tycoon’s lair. Pelican Hotel: 826 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, Florida, + 1 305 673 3373, www.pelicanhotel.com | |||||
| Casa Camper, Barcelona | |||||
| Camper have bought their slightly Noddy style to this boutique hotel in the heart of Barcelona. The paring with a stripped down Shaker style and bright red feature colour matches the contemporary cool of their shoes. More Le Corbusier’s cabin than lavish luxe, Casa Camper is best suited to those who admire functional simplicity. Casa Camper: Carrer Elisabets 11, Barcelona, +34 933 426 280, www.casacamper.com | |||||
| Sixty Hotel, Riccione | |||||
| LT loathes being ageist, however, if you’ve seen 70s style come around one too many times and if the concept of in-room video chats and web cams leaves you cold, then consider this hotel as one for the offspring. The Miss Sixty group has jetted into the hotel biz and even the hotel’s façade changes with video projections. The rooms feature the work of 30 emerging artists. Sixty Hotel: Via Milano 54, Riccione, Italy, +39 0 541 697 851, www.sixtyhotel.com | |||||
| Carducci 76, Cattolica | |||||
| Alberta Ferretti and her family seem to have been on a mission to bring a smattering of style to this section of the Adriatic, which is her hometown. Not the most glamorous part of the Italian coast, Carducci 76 does its best to up the barometer. The 1920s villa has had its insides primped with a series of suites that range from zen to minimalist African Viale. Hotel Carducci 76: Viale Carducci 76, Cattolica, +39 0 541 954 677, www.carducci76.it | |||||
| Miro Hotel, Bilbao | |||||
| Regarded as the Calvin Klein of Spain, Antonio Miro creates a streamlined, if not entirely plain style inside the Miro. The rooms follow a white with slate carpet theme and just up their size as they rise through the luxury ranks. But it’s the touches of red, citrus and artworks that give away a certain flamboyance that plants it in Spain. Miro Hotel: Alameda Mazarredo 77, Bilbao, +34 94661 1880, www.mirohotelbilbao.Com | |||||
| NEXT SEASON WATCH FOR Armani Hotel – The first Georgio Armani hotel in conjunction with Emaar Hotels and Resorts at Burj Dubai tower will have 175 guestrooms and suites, restaurants and a spa. Opening in 2008. www.armanihotels.com | |||||
| Wara Puru – The latest from Anouska Hempel brings futururistic Aztec style to the Brazilian rainforest and beach with 40 individual pavilions, beach club restaurants and spa. Due to open 2007. | |||||
| www.warapuru.com | |||||
| Hotel Missoni – The Italian gurus of pattern and colour are turning their attention to hotels in a deal with SAS Radisson that will see them open 30 lifestyle hotels around the globe. Watch for their two first offerings in Kuwait and Edinburgh due to open in 2008, www.rezidor.com | |||||
| Fairfax South Beach Hotel – Todd Oldham continues his Miami beat with this hotel that is already offering fractional ownership. It will feature Enoteca Spiaggia an offshoot of the famed Chicago Spiaggia restaurant. Due to open 2007. www.fairfaxsouthbeach.com | |||||
|
