reception desk new3

Externally the building is a conservative, modernist building in cream cintra stone. The architect had apparently never worked on an hotel before, and as one enters the hotel there are the usual columns coming down through the public areas, bringing incoherence to the space and making any sense of theatre difficult to achieve. The Victorians managed beautiful arching roofs over large spaces, but modern architects and structural engineers seem to think a space full of columns is beautiful – certainly too many hotel entrances are embellished with concrete columns in all their unlovely cylindricality.Two beautiful desks for reception and concierge flank the entrance, but the space then dies into the darkness of a bar between the columns, darkness emphasised by the roof light at the column's flank. The simple purity of the architectural statement seems to overwhelm the interior design with seating contrasting occasionally uncomfortably with the architectural details.Lighting is a major tool in creating the 'wow-factor' for an hotel and here the lighting is not well-handled. Some very nice classical oil paintings in the bar and lobby are not lit and are lost in the space, whilst the bar which appears to have a decorative ceiling is a dark backdrop to the lounge. The result is a space where serpentine seating breaks out from the bar, breaking up a space already broken by columns. Despite quality materials and strongly patterned fabrics, it fails to provide a unity or a heart to the hotel entrance. In the evening, twinkling candles provide a lift but fails to impart an atmosphere.
reception desk
reception desk
reception desk
reception desk

reception desk