What is boutique hotel design, and why does it matter?
There are fashion trends in hotel design just as there are in other areas. In the late eighties and through the nineties, that fashion was for clean, stark, minimalist design, particularly in city hotels. This was such a diversion from the traditional way that hotels were put together that it attracted a whole new generation of travellers.
Its easy to confuse the minimalist hotel trend with the boutique hotel trend, but in fact the two are distinct. Boutique hotels are small, individual places, that prize attention to design and detail as well as outstanding service. Survey all the hotels in the world that describe themselves as boutique and only a minority would fall into the minimalist class. The rest are design-led, but with a wide variety of styles that reflect their location, the buildings they occupy and the tastes of their owners.
The beauty of good design
Its often said that good design is timeless. Its also the case that good design can transform an ordinary hotel into a great one. The challenge, and ultimately the skill, is in choosing a design that works both for the owner and for the...