Leather supplier Alma working with the Crazy Bear boutique hotel takes the leather look to a whole new height

Designers: Jason Hunt and Alma

The Crazy Bear group has opened its boutique hotel in Beaconsfield, offering one of the most original and opulent interiors.

More than 50 different types of leather has been used to create its unique atmosphere, with expert designers from leather supplier Alma working directly with the owner Jason Hunt to achieve the stunning effect.

The 500-year-old former coaching inn has been restored to create 10 individually designed guest rooms, two fine-dining restaurants, private dining rooms and bars, using in total more than 1,000 sq m of fine leathers in a dazzling array of uses. (continue reading…)

A celebrated Art Deco Los Angeles landmark has been refurbished and given additional rooms overlooking the Pacific - the secret of eternal youth?

Interior designer: Marc Smith

Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, California. What an address. And it’s here, perched high on the crumbling bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, that the Hotel Shangri-La sits in all its majestic white splendour. An iconic building since it opened in 1939, the hotel has played host to presidents, movie stars and travellers alike over the years.

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The Torres family offers layers of luxury: crisp, clean style on three levels and an exclusive retreat with its own check-in and private access on the top floor

Architect: Juan de Los Rios
Interior designer: Triade Studio. 

Located on the island famous for its exuberant nightlife, the new Aguas de Ibiza hotel is a refreshingly laid-back affair. The atmosphere of frantic partying ends as soon as you enter the doors to experience an atmosphere of calm, uncomplicated luxury.

This new five-star hotel was six years in the making for seasoned hoteliers the Torres family. Its whitewashed exterior and the 1,000 year-old olive tree marking the entrance speak of an older Mediterranean tradition. Inside, however, the lobby’s powerful steel and stone design and the sunlight streaming in from four open floors projects an image that’s very much of this century.

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It’s Miami nice, the sequel, as Andi Pepper spices up a sixties ‘Art Deco-style’ development

Interior designer: Stephen B Jacobs and Andi Pepper Interior Design

Miami’s South Beach is notable for two reasons. First (and perhaps most importantly), it was the setting for cult series Miami Vice, and second it boasts some outlandish art deco architecture. Gansevoort South, the second hotel in the Gansevoort chain, was, in fact, built in the 1960s in ‘art deco style’ and is part of a mixed-use development including a spa and private residences - all very glamorous. Crockett and Tubbs would have approved.

The rooftop is the main attraction with its 110ft (35m)-long pool, surrounded with coconut palms and cabanas. Served by the Plunge bar and lounge, this area is a child-free zone, but the Bisazza-tiled infinity-edge pool on ground level is open to all, offering ocean views, an oversized whirlpool and outdoor dining.

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Gansevoort South is just one of several hot hotel projects to have been designed by interiors expert Andi Pepper, in partnership with architect and partner Stephen B Jacobs. The pair first collaborated on the Gotham Hotel, New York (now The Peninsula) where she was appointed design director. Pepper set up her own interior design practice in 1982 and with a training in sculpture and painting is constantly in demand. (continue reading…)

Four of the elements of ancient Chinese philosophy, wood, stone, fire and water, are much favoured in the design and furnishing of this golf hotel near the famous Yellow Mountain

Interior designer: Dileonardo International

Huangshan (the literal translation of which means yellow mountain) is an undulating granite range found in eastern China, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. The area’s new golf hotel lies about 71km from the peaks and cleverly mimics their imposing form, drawing on four out of the five elements that are key to traditional Chinese philosophy: wood, stone, fire and water.

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Despina Lykopandis was born in Melbourne, Australia and is of Greek heritage. Following on from a degree in fine arts at the city’s LaTrobe University, Lykopandis studied interior design at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. She started out in retail design before setting up her own company Des_sign Interiors in 1991, when she began working on residential projects. In 2004, having made a name for herself in the industry, she left Melbourne for Hong Kong in 2005, joining Hirsch Bedner and Associates where she was introduced to the world of luxury hotel design. Lykopandis joined DiLeonardo in 2007, and was senior designer on the Huangshan Golf Hotel project.

Have you worked on many projects in China?
Since I arrived in Hong Kong in 2005, I have worked on more than 20 projects, most of which have been five-star brand-name properties.

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