FEATURE: HILTON WORLDWIDE
HILTON ROTTERDAM
“It’s still the mothership and still the focus,” says Gordon Coles of the Hilton core brand. Hilton Rotterdam provides a good example of the Hilton-owned capex renovation projects where the company is using its own funds to effect a significant transformation. An extensive €36m refurbishment by RPW Design, throughout which the hotel has remained in operation, is expected to be completed in 2013 after a three-phase process. RPW Design, has been tasked with revamping the entire property to create a striking new hotel venue. The refurbishment incorporates all 254 guestrooms and suites in accordance with the Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand standards. The comfortable and modern style of the guestrooms will subtly blend local references into the design. By introducing “statement” and decorative pieces of furniture the design team hopes to create a sense of being in one’s own home. The public areas, which are spread over the ground and first floors, will be completely revamped and extended. By re-orientating the principal entrance to the main square at the front of the hotel and adding a new porte-co- chère, a much greater sense of arrival will be created. The bar and restaurant will be one of
the key features of the hotel, re-designed with a separate street entrance. Luxurious, welcoming public areas have been created with a refer- ence to the original classic style of the building. Relocating the Executive Lounge, designed in a library/study style with a contemporary twist, from the first floor to the ground floor will en- sure a more accessible and user-friendly space. An extensive redesign of the function and meet- ings areas on the first floor will create brighter and more spacious rooms, while the reception and corridor areas will be remodelled with new
refreshment stations and break-out spaces. Chris Webb, Director Interior Design Europe Hilton Worldwide, says: “Built in 1960 by one of the foremost contemporary Dutch architects Hugh (Huig) Aart Maaskant, Hilton Rotterdam is considered one of the landmark buildings of this period. The style exemplifies the glamour, sophistication and excitement of the 1960s combined with a sense of place in the city. Almost 50 years on, the aim of the renovation is to give this Grand Lady of Rotterdam a new lease of life.”
feel but there needs to be a consistent level
of delivery, there needs to be a consistent language in terms of clean lines and a modern sensibility.” Says Chris Webb: “We’re really pushing
for every project to have a sense of place and feel a part of the city it’s in. We’re choosing designers in some cases that are more locally experienced. They don’t necessarily have to be based in that city but equally we don’t want to use UK- or London-based designers for everything. If we’re doing a project in eastern Europe then sometimes having a local team makes a lot of sense with language, planning and so on. We’re really expanding the preferred designers list that we have. They don’t need to have a huge portfolio, we’re always looking for new
people – they have to have some experience but on smaller scale projects, some of the smaller firms are more suitable in other ways than some of the big consultants out there.” Although for luxury projects, Webb says Hilton “needs companies with experience – solid major design companies known in the industry.” He adds that they are seeing a lot of breakaways due to the recession with individuals from major design firms setting up on their own. Larry Traxler continues: “We use some
of the capex projects or smaller prototype projects as a testing ground for our relationships with these more local, regional consultants. I’ve just spent the weekend going through some new Brazilian and Argentinean consultants’ portfolios and
036 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2012
WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM
there are a lot of really talented people out there that aren’t getting the notice they should. We try to embrace them. It makes sense financially – we’re not flying them from London to Sao Paolo or from New York to Beijing. Also there is that regional understanding of the essence of each of the different cities within a locality, that an outsider doesn’t really see until they spend a lot of time there... by which time, we may be done with the project.” One Hilton-owned hotel which has proved
a particularly fertile testing ground for new design is the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner. New lobby, guestroom and F&B concepts have recently been showcased at this property which sits just a stone’s throw from the company’s global headquarters.
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