Marriott Hotels and Resorts are owned by the Marriott International franchise. By the year 2020, Marriott Hotels and Resorts counted up to 582 facilities, around the world. What a huge impact scale! By having implemented various hotels in different countries, the Marriott Hotel’s design principle is to accommodate and integrate each one of them to the culture into which it is being built. In other words, each country’s heritage makes a design motive and inspiration for the hotel. By personalizing every entity, the Marriott Hotels seek individuality and a distinctive architecture in the field.
Between Luxury and Authenticity
Each and every Marriott hotel branch has its own capability of transforming the journey of tourists into a full immersion through the culture hub it offers. It is all about celebrating experiences ranging from architecture to gastronomy.
HBA hospitality (Hirsch Bedner Associates) is a design firm that is charged to create the interior concept for multiple Marriott hotel branches. Indeed, it focuses on the source of innovation and techniques to reach a worldwide level. HBA hospitality are rooted into what they call “signature looks”, creating a symbiosis between luxury and sensitivity.
Following, we will discuss a couple of examples, taken from China and Egypt.
JW Marriott Marquis Shanghai
Based in Shanghai, this JW Marriott hotel was the fourth to be named Marquis after Miami, Dubai, and Doha. The Marquis Shanghai offers a sophisticated experience bringing in comfort and technology.
The design concept was mainly inspired by a river’s flow: its lightness through the rippling of the water delicately. One can even notice the coolness of the used colors, reflecting the blueness of the sky, and changing atmosphere and mood throughout the whole day.
The highlight of this hotel is its lobby, with a 60 meters high ceiling. It is shaped like the letter “A”, with a complete linearity with the atrium’s light beige walls. The light and subtle curves you may notice are directly inspired by the Huangpu River. Not only have the walls, which seem in motion, reflects the delicateness of a river, but also the very organic furniture that is going with the flow.
JW Marriott Hotel Sanya
Located in China, down the Luhuitou Mountain, the JW Marriott Hotel Sanya represents its purest form of high-end tropical gardens, facing an ocean and adjacent to a coral reef. The hotel is constituted out of two towers.
The lounge indicates a “signature Quan Spa”, which combines swimming pools subtly integrated into the landscape. The fauna of the Hainan Island, where this Marriott is located, formed an irreplaceable ally to the designers. Guests will feel the immersive experience into the island’s essence, and peaceful sense of life. The delicate green shades, in symbiosis with water, freshness, and light, make this space an irresistible one to be in.
Saraya Gallery at Cairo Marriott Hotel
This project was a historic renovation of the Saraya Gallery, which housed Princess Eugenie while travelling to the Canal of Suez. She was the wife of Napolean III. This room needed a historical resurrection through the tales of the Ottoman glorious empire.
The main concept was a careful mix between French influences (Napolean III and Princess Eugenie) along with the Ottoman culture. The result turned out to be elegantly sophisticated, offering a comfortable gallery that brings out the wonderfulness of the Saraya Gallery’s rooms.
The main chandelier you may notice in the center of the scenery is directly generated from the Ottoman Empire, offering a lighting game with colors, shades, and patterns. Every single detail could be traced back to traditions and deeply rooted cultures.
Immersive Experience
The Marriott Hotels and Resorts are not only a witness of the country, or the city’s culture, but can also bring along historical artefacts, as we saw in the last example. Tourists will definitely enjoy their immersive stay in the hotel branch, while understanding the deepness of the city’s roots they are visiting. On another hand, taking back the authenticity of a city and offering it back with a high level of sophistication and luxury to the local citizens likely forms a high-end homage.
It is important to note that not only the interior designs are being modulated upon the deeply rooted culture and traditions, but also the dishes, music, scents, small details make the stay an immersive experience.
