First it was camping and then it was glamping. Now in a former factory in Berlin comes the inspired concept of camping without any of the inconvenience of actually having to be outdoors… Welcome to The Hüttenpalast

Interior Design : Sarah Vollmer & Silke Lorenzen

When people think of caravans, they invariably conjure up childhood memories of cold, damp holidays with older relatives in rather non-glamorous destinations. Invariably in Britain.

But Silke Lorenzen and Sarah Vollmer have changed all that for ever with their unique and funky hotel Hüttenpalast in Berlin. It actually features accommodation options that include caravans and cabins, but indoors.

Hüttenpalast, or Huts at the Palace, is a small hotel in the Neukölln neighbourhood of south Berlin. It came about after the two owners could no longer fit all their friends into their living room, so went on the hunt for a space that would be perfect for entertaining, they say. After falling in love with a former vacuum-cleaner factory with an outdoor courtyard, they decided it would be perfect for transforming into a comfortable little hotel. (continue reading…)

Silke Lorenzen spent her childhood in Asia – Pakistan, the Philippines, China and India. After an odyssey of her own through Germany – from Hessen through Bavaria to Hamburg and Leipzig – she finally settled in Berlin. Although finding city life nowhere near as effortless as in Asia, she has developed a taste for Berlin. Not from a design background, Silke cut her teeth on a variety of diverse jobs until she discovered her talent for organisation. She became an event manager dealing with the most demanding situations. After managing her hundredth event perfectly, she realised that she wanted to organise something that brought joy into her life. With Sarah Vollmer, who has a background in fashion design, created the Hüttenpalast. (continue reading…)

Hotel Indigo makes a Thoroughly contemporary statement through its interiors about modern Liverpool and adds design gestures that also link it to its industrial heritage

Interior design: Denizen Contracts; Carroll Design

The luxury Hotel Indigo with its Marco Pierre White restaurant has opened in the heart of Liverpool’s commercial district. This £15m, 151-bedroom hotel is just minutes from the city’s World Heritage Site.

The design of Hotel Indigo took the local area’s heritage as its theme, reflecting the city’s cotton trade history in the decor of its guest rooms and the use of artwork depicting its location, including images of St Nicholas Church, Edmund Street, the Cotton Exchange and the Liver Birds.     (continue reading…)

Beach meets romance, intrigue and reflection at the hands of New York-based interiors specialist Yabu Pushelberg on a paradise Island in the Maldives

Interior design: Yabu Pushelberg

Guests staying at the Viceroy Maldives Resort will not only marvel at the tropical scenery but also at the interiors. Awardwinning design company Yabu Pushelberg used its innovative talent to transform this resort into one of the most spacious in the Maldives.

The 61villas of this island resort follow the design by New York-based design firm Yabu Pushelberg to provide laid-back luxury to a design-savvy clientele. Carefully crafted interior spaces frame a moment in time to provide an environment of comfort and ease in which, it is promised, one can rejuvenate, rekindle, and reflect.  (continue reading…)

The beachside be playa eschews any reference to its ocean location in opting for stripped-down, simple yet elegant interiors

Architecture and interior Design: Sebastian Sas

The open bathroom areas feature rounded marble sinks with Daniel Rubinetterie taps, which adhere to the simple style applied to the hotel’s interiors, and freestanding semi-sunken hot tubs sit in the corner of every suite next to black canvas or cow-hide print chairs, allowing the occupant to make the most of the views of the beautiful surroundings while drying themselves.

As a nod to the region’s rich history, elaborate, rustic-looking patinated walls decorated with lines of poetry by contemporary Latin American poets are a feature of the suites. Shades of white and pale grey are highlighted with theatrical lighting, including the acrylic base of the bed and hot tub. And amid the rustic simplicity, technology plays its part, with flat-screen TVs, iPod docks and free wireless internet access all offered as standard. (continue reading…)

With a las vegas-inspired wine tower in its soaring atrium and interiors by one of sweden’s leading designers, the radisson blu at stansted airport leaves the rest on the ground, says Pamela Horne

Architecture and Interior Design: Aukett Fitzroy Robinson Architects
Guest room Interior Design: Christian Lundwall

It might seem somewhat incongruous to chose an airport hotel as a favourite, but the Radisson Blu at Stansted ticks the boxes on several fronts.

Not only is it VERY convenient for me in respect of those VERY inconvenient early morning flights out (it’s just a few minutes walk under cover to the airport terminal), but it has been designed to be so much more.

I didn’t expect that as an airport hotel it would have a personality, but it certainly does. There was sculpture in reception, the impossible-to-miss wine tower in the atrium, and unexpected features in the guest room, such as the opaque-glass wardrobe doors and the freestanding bedside lamps, allgenerous design gestures for what could be viewed as a captive audience.

So many airport hotels seem to adopt bare-minimum attitude, but that was not in evidence at all here. The check-in/check-out too was very personal and personable. Obviously a hotel with   rapid churn in guests, it nevertheless treated us like individuals, not part of a great mass of travellers.

Attention to detail was superb at all scales, from the mesh sculptures behind the reception, commissioned from artist David Begbie, to the vast and soaring atrium lobby, where all the public spaces (including three restaurants) are centred, to the individual check-in/check-out booths and to the design touches featured in the guest rooms. (continue reading…)