Bürgenstock Hotel & Alpine Spa in Switzerland nominated for Best Hotel Design
One of the key ingredients with new hotel launches is the inspiration from some of the most influential designers in the world. When I enter a hotel lobby or suite, and it has a specific wow factor, it is attributed to these talented geniuses.
And now the finalists have been announced for Hospitality Media Group’s 38th annual Gold Key Awards for Excellence in Hospitality Design sponsored by Boutique Design magazine. The Gold Key Awards honors innovative design work in the hospitality industry with only new construction, conversion or renovation work considered for nomination.
Niehku Mountain Villa, Riksgränsen in Sweden nominated for Best Resort Design
This year’s nominees are diverse in nature and span the globe from Costa Rica and Los Cabos to Switzerland and China. From celebrity designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard to tennis superstar Venus Williams, the nominees all possess a unique vision creating some of my favorite properties that I had personally visited last year.
Here is a selection of my favorite categories honoring luxury properties from around the world.
NoMad Los Angeles nominated for Best Lobby Design
BEST LUXURY HOTEL DESIGN
Bürgenstock Hotel & Alpine Spa, Lucerne, Switzerland
Designed by MKV Design in London, the revamped Bürgenstock Resort impresses with a unique contemporary structure and Belle Époque interiors located high above Lake Lucerne. The heritage resort from 1873 was once home to Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren and includes four separate hotels.
The Orient by Isrotel, Jerusalem
Designed by Hirsch Bedner Associates in London, the 243 room retreat in the capital’s historic Germany Colony, opened last year. The sprawling luxury complex includes a popular rooftop pool and two renovated Templar residences at the entrance, part of its efforts to blend into the 19th-century architecture of this historic neighborhood.
Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, California
Designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon Inc. in Chicago, Paris, the hotel opened last summer adjacent to The Beverly Hilton. The 12-story hotel offers up 170 guestrooms, inspired by contemporary Hollywood glamour and clean modern designs of the 1930s and 40s, as well as featuring spectacular views from each guest room with floor to ceiling windows and oversized balconies and terraces.
Designed by Sydell Group in New York, this New York transplant is located in a former bank building in Downtown Los Angeles, and includes one of the city’s most fabulous rooftop pools. The hotel design feels like a moody, sexy city retreat filled with velvet and brocade and the restaurant bathrooms are even built into the former bank vault
Four Seasons Papagayo in Costa Rica nominated for Best Resort Design
BEST LUXURY RESORT DESIGN
westdrift Manhattan Beach, Manhattan Beach, California
Designed by EDG Interior Architecture + Design, Novato, California
Four Seasons Papagayo, Costa Rica
Designed by Meyer Davis New York
The Phoenician, Scottsdale, Arizona
Designed by Parker-Torres Design Inc., Sudbury, Massachusetts and Wimberly Interiors, New York
Niehku Mountain Villa, Riksgränsen, Sweden
Designed by Stylt Trampoli, Gothenburg in Sweden, the location of the hotel on the border between Sweden and Norway is on the site of the legendary Iron Ore Line train line which has been ferrying iron ore for over one-hundred years. Niehku Mountain Villa is built on the site of the line’s old roundhouse, which operated from 1902 to 1923.
Rosewood Baha Mar, Nassau, The Bahamas
Designed by Wimberly Interiors in New York City and Alexander Waterworth Interiors in London, the new hotel is set on the white sand of Nassau’s Cable Beach and includes 237 guestrooms, suites and beachfront villas offering up Bahamian luxury, featuring architecture and interior styling reminiscent of a relaxed island estate.
Rosewood Sanya in China nominated for Best Guestroom and Lobby Design
BEST LUXURY LOBBY DESIGN
Designed by AB Concept in Hong Kong, the resort is located in Haitang Bay, Sanya on Hainan Island. The Rosewood Sanya is the first China resort for the chain, offering 246 oceanfront guestrooms, including 45 with balcony plunge pools. A dramatic 110-meter infinity-edge sky pool on the 13th floor showcases amazing South China Sea views.
The Diplomat Beach Resort, Florida
Designed by LEO A Daly in Dallas, this longtime oceanfront hotel is located in the heart of Hollywood Beach, located between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The recent revamp included the creation of a new lobby where the designers used color to make a big impact. Beachy fabrics, seagrass, and tropical prints helped to bring the outdoors into the lobby. There were sand dunes added near the cabanas, and the designers wanted guests to feel like they were outside.
NoMad, Los Angeles
Designed by Sydell Group in New York; Studio Jacques Garcia in Paris
Hotel Californian, Santa Barbara nominated for Best Suite Design
BEST LUXURY GUESTROOM DESIGN
Rosewood Sanya, China
Designed by AB Concept in Hong Kong
Hotel Californian, Santa Barbara
Designed by the brilliant mind of Martyn Lawrence Bullard in Los Angeles, the Hotel Californian is the new center of the Santa Barbara waterfront with its Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and modern Moorish themed interior décor. Incorporating the façade of the original 1925 Hotel Californian, this 121 room seaside resort features a rooftop pool with coastline views.
NoMad, Los Angeles
Designed by Sydell Group in New York; Studio Jacques Garcia in Paris
Rosewood Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas
Designed by Wimberly Interiors in New York
Designed by Wimberly Interiors in London, this new hotel features 120 guestrooms, including 23 suites with private terraces presenting views of the Astana Park and Ishim River. The hotel’s design takes inspiration from the horsemanship and nomadic culture of Kazakhstan, with a connection to the country’s ancient past. The entry courtyard is inspired by an indigenous yurt and the avant-garde interior includes modern and neo-classical elements with over 400 pieces of contemporary art.
Venus Williams’ V Suite at The Hotel at Midtown, Chicago
BEST HOTEL SUITE DESIGN
Hotel ZaZa Memorial City, Houston, Texas
Designed by Duncan Miller Ullmann in Dallas, Texas, the hotel features 159 rooms spread across 10 floors including its signature Magnificent Seven Suites. The stunning suite roster includes a Beach House, French Connection, Master Plan, Black Gold, Breathless, Asian Beauty, and Passage to India theme.
Hotel Californian, Santa Barbara, California
Designed by Martyn Lawrence Bullard Design, Los Angeles
Hotel Nia, Menlo Park, California
Designed by McCartan, Inc. in New York, this newly opened 11 story hotel is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, and features 250-rooms filled with light, open-air architecture and design. The hotel is modern yet cozy with stunning interiors filled with white and grey marble, reclaimed wood sculptures, oversized fiddle leaf fig trees, and masculine leather couches, the lobby is sleek and contemporary
Four Seasons Papagayo, Costa Rica
Designed by Meyer Davis in New York
The Venus Williams Suite at The Hotel at Midtown, Chicago
Designed by V Starr Interiors in West Palm Beach, head honcho Venus Williams created a suite based on her dream weekend of wellness and tranquility. The design is meant to calm you down and set the tone for rest and relaxation. Her company V Starr used warmer dark tones in the living area to calm your thoughts. In the bedroom, the team used white tones and soft textures to invite rejuvenation and serenity. The one-bedroom suite is all about winding down, from its soothing emerald green, dark gray, and cream color scheme to the minimalistic artwork that lines the walls.
OMNIA Dayclub in Los Cabos nominated for the Cool Award
JUDGES’ SO COOL NOMINEES
MiniMix at The Megaro, London
Designed by Blue Sky Hospitality in London
Casa Calavera, Herringbone, Il Forno di Gio, OMNIA Dayclub, pool bars and SHOREbar at Vidanta Los Cabos; San José del Cabo
Designed by Rockwell Group in New York and AHA Universo, Zapopan, Jalisco
Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge, New York
Designed by Rockwell Group in New York
Downtown Camper by Scandic, Stockholm, Sweden
Designed by Stylt Trampoli, Gothenburg, Sweden
Mini Chef at LEGO®House, Billund, Denmark
Designed by Stylt Trampoli, Gothenburg, Sweden
Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof, Germany
Designed by Sundukovy Sisters, Moscow
The complete list of finalists can be found here.