High Style, Home-Style

Boutique or bigger, hotels are getting more hospitable

Text: Sheila Kim-Jamet and Elena Kornbluth -- Interior Design, 2/1/2009 12:00:00 AM

Satoshi Seki Architectural Avant-Garde

Project Screen, Kyoto, Japan.

Standout Led by one firm handling the public spaces, a total of 13 contributed—hence a range of aesthetics that embraces both colorful umbrella-inspired pendant fixtures and black scribbled supergraphics.

Photography Jimmy Cohrssen.

Joseph Dirand Architecture andLanda Arquitectos

Project Hotel Habita Monterrey, Mexico.

Standout The eye-catching Indian mirrored mosaic tile behind reception welcomes guests inside, while a stupendous pool lures them out again.

Photography Undine Prohl.

Marcel Wanders Studio

Project Mondrian South Beach Hotel Residences, Miami Beach.

Standout Sleek furniture defers to intricate architecture as a staircase's black laser-cut steel balustrade spirals upward between white plaster columns that resemble giant turned furniture legs.

Photography Courtesy of the Morgans Hotel Group.

Autoban

Project Witt Istanbul.

Standout The tailored tufted sofa, angular oak armchair, and playfully baroque floor lamp—all trademarks of Turkey's buzziest design duo—come home to a converted 1980's office building, now complete with bathrooms and kitchenettes in that ubiquitous striped local marble.

Photography Alï Bekman.

Glamorous Co.

Project W Hong Kong.

Standout The facade's enchanted forest of resin twigs, ashimmer with LEDs, hints at the interior's elaborate detailing, from backlit acid-etched mirrors to whimsical ceiling art.

Photography Nacása & Partners.

Morix

Project Design Hotel Sax, Prague.

Standout Bauhaus gravitas, so common in these parts, makes way for modernism's mod side, a 1950's, '60's, and '70's explosion of juicy colors and Marimekko patterns—with designer names printed on the carpet Czech-style, last name first.

Photography Dusan Martincek.

Philippe Starck

Project SLS Hotel, Los Angeles.

Standout Every public and private space is signature Starck, with groupings of mismatched furniture in the bar and surreal photography in the guest suites.

Photography James Merrell.

Spread photos courtesy of the Morgans Hotel Group.