Opinion
kbb Birmingham 2018
How to… design bathrooms for hotels
Rebecca Tucker, director of Suna Interiors in London, explains the principles of designing bathrooms for hotels and how KBB retailers can generate additional profit from this growing sector
have generally adhered to simple principles of neutral décor, comfortable bed and crisp linen to ensure client satisfaction. However, in recent years, the level of expectation
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for both leisure and corporate hotels has progressed. Hotels have the opportunity to add extra value to a stay, differentiate themselves from their competition and exceed the expectations of their guests, ensuring repeat visits and recommendations. The best hotels, across all price points, have embraced personality and individuality. Recognising that a guest is not always looking for a home from home, but an experience, has led many hotels down a much braver route to the forefront of design trends. Identifying your market is crucial and will give you all the pointers about the aesthetic style best suited
he ultimate hotel experience has always been about luxury, indulgence, pampering and high-end design. In the past, everyday hotels
to your audience, whether that be traditional or contemporary, quirky or timeless.
In a bedroom, this quest for the ultimate guest experience has led to bold design decisions, strong colours, feature furniture, one-off pieces, unique wall finishes, quirky personality imbued into beautifully curated rooms. In a bathroom, the same approach can be adopted, while taking into consideration that a hotel bathroom must stand the test of time. Cost, functionality and durability are the mainstays of a hotelier’s approach to bathroom design, but these requirements do not need to compromise personality in a bathroom. Tiling can be selected from lower price brackets
Don’t be afraid of darker or brighter tones. A guest is not looking at their en suite in the same way they look at their bathroom at home. Atmosphere and mood are crucial
and simply laid in an unusual way. For an interesting feature wall, mix colours and finishes of tiles from the same range. Use the more expensive tile in a feature area alongside a neutral, less expensive, field tile. Leave areas of wall untiled so that strong paint colours can start to play a part, alongside a more neutral colour tile. For maintenance and cleaning, a fully tiled bathroom might be more manageable, but the occasional repainting of a wall will ensure that colour can feature strongly in a relatively inexpensive way. Untiled walls also give the opportunity to add character in the form of wall art and prints. Don’t be afraid of darker or brighter tones. A guest is not looking at their en suite in the same way that they might look at their bathroom at home. Atmosphere and mood are crucial – they want to feel a sense of escape from their day-to-day life, they want to feel comfortable and relaxed. Play the practicality card with your WCs, basins and brassware. Go for quality, functionality, durability and ease of use. Ensure that countertop space is plentiful and there is somewhere for a guest to use the bathroom. Make sure it’s obvious how to turn on a tap, and which way is hot and cold on basin and bath mixers and shower thermostats. Ensure lighting controls are easy to use, but also
32 kbbreview kbb Birmingham Special Edition March 2018
kbb Birmingham 2018
Show Special
Above: A bathroom by Suna Interiors in the Hotel Fleming in London’s Mayfair
allow flexibility, so that there is an option for a bright practical light level, as well as a more ambient setting. Add underfloor heating for that subliminal sense of luxury and allow adequate hooks and rails. And don’t miss out on the huge opportunity for your en suite to impress with the main features of any hotel bathroom – the bath and shower. Freestanding baths will always win on first impressions, and an expansive, spacious shower will come a close second. Try not to skimp on space and if you are planning layouts, make sure that the en suite is not compromised just for an extra square metre in the bedroom.
For overnight guests, the bathroom is just as important as the bedroom. Don’t compromise a bedroom for the sake of a huge bathroom, but don’t compromise the other way around either. Allowing the space for a standout copper or roll-top bath, or a spacious double-ended walk-in shower, will ensure guests feel like they’ve walked into the lap of luxury. A successful bathroom design, in conjunction
with a beautiful room, welcoming and memorable communal areas and a high level of customer service, can work wonders for the reputation of a hotel.
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