10 stylish hotels to inspire your next renovation
Travel is not just means to broaden your perspective and your sense of self, a way to discover new cultures and people, it’s the best route to some serious #renoinspo too. Claim the world’s chicest hotels’ ideas as your own in your next home overhaul.
The Ham Yard Hotel, London
Each of the 91 rooms at London’s Ham Yard Hotel were individually designed by Kit Kemp, the award-winning queen of modern British style. She doesn’t shy from colour, and her innovative mix of colour, pattern and texture is reminder to move on from beige. Kemp layers patterns and vibrant colours on armchairs and wallpaper. She adds happy plush rugs to every room and fills the walls with bookcases. She jumps eclectically from modern to Renaissance, and yet somehow it works. Her unique style is a reminder to be bold when decorating, to have fun. The Ham Yard Hotel is home to a bowling alley, a communal library and a roof terrace as well, all decked out in Kemp inimitable style.
Aman Tokyo, Tokyo
Aman hotels are known for their remote locations and affinity for expansive natural views. But they turned to the urban landscape in their first city locations, the latest in Aman’s fleet of 26 properties. The centerpiece is the lobby, a cavernous space akin to a Japanese paper lantern perched between floors 33 and 38 of the Otemachi Tower. The 30 metre high installation rises through the building, and its Washi paper walls diffuse light into the lobby by day. Taking fabric from its surrounding environment as do all Aman resorts, the hotel uses paper, stone and wood throughout, and the exquisite timber craftsmanship gives the hotel’s rooms an undeniably Japanese feel. It’s gentle, calming design. The cellar stocking more than 1200 wines could inspire strike envy in those hoping to upgrade their wine cupboard.
Halcyon House, Carabita Beach
Behind the sand dunes of Carabita Beach, a pit stop between the Gold Coast and Byron Bay, sits a coverted 1960s motel they now call Halcyon House. The chic hotel has been cloaked in white stucco and an interior by Anna Spiro turns this from an Australian coast stopover to an international design hotel. Each of the 21 individually designed rooms feature fabric-covered headboards so fun and oversized they become a notable element of each room, never mind the covetable tiles on the balcony, the extraordinary collection of framed original artwork in each room. You want to return just to try out another room and discover its quirky style.
Como The Treasury, Perth
A trio of Perth’s stone and brick public buildings, formerly the state treasury, land titles office and post office, have been connected and restored to form Como The Treasury. If serenity is your mood board theme, take note of the 48 contemporary rooms and suites designed by Kerry Hill. Oversized windows bring light into each room, and blonde wood, pale khaki and white keep the space bright and calm. The rooms may hint at boutique, but the grand proportions of the buildings – the majestic glass skylights and cavernous public space – would have any renovator taking down walls and placing glass wherever possible. There’s a sense of retreat to the whole hotel, but the bathrooms – with free-standing baths and travertine stone floors - are brimming with spa lux.
Sheraton Grand London Park Lane, London
It’s not a newcomer to the English capital but it’s certainly putting on a fresh face. This Art Deco jewel in Mayfair dates back to roaring 1927, but it’s been meticulously overhauled for a new generation. All 303 rooms have been fixed up, but it’s the yellow splashes that catch the eye in the dining room. The sense of fun extends to the walls, too, where black and white illustrated maps add whimsy. This is how to do slightly posh with a bit of a giggle and a wink.
Canaves Oia, Santorini
If oceanfront aesthetic is your thing, look no further than Greece’s iconic white-washed Canaves Oia, a five-star retreat in the heart of Santorini. The cliff-side rooms appear to be carved out of white stone, and are draped with bougainvillea. Turquoise blue pools trace the horizon with their infinity edges. The minimalist rooms are a reminder that not too much is often better than overdone. The rooms ooze luxury and simplicity. Even if you don’t have views stretching over the Mediterranean, you can get some of the look with white paint.
Los Enamorados, Ibiza
The covetable style of owners Pierre and Roze is the result of their scouring the world to find individual pieces, though none of it is fusty and all is oh-so-cool. The good news? You can buy much of it in the little store within the hotel. The bad news? You’ll want to buy it all. The hotel has a bohemian vibe, and each space – both indoor and out – is laden with gorgeous fabrics and textures, from wicker to velvet and jewel-toned accents. The designers embrace colour, and terracotta, wicker, bamboo and bright greens and blues dominate. The 9-room hotel is based in a little bay in Portinatx, perfect for snorkeling and stand-up paddling. Los Enamorados means “in-love”, and whether you’re flying solo or attached, it’s hard not to love everything about this place.
This article was produced for Open Colleges.