Every arrival needs to be an eye-opening pleasure. What IS that art behind front desk? See the image above, a collage, unmistakably of Nelson Mandela, at THE SAXON in Johannesburg.
INTERCONTINENTAL CHICAGO has real-time wall-to-wall videocam of The Windy City. See what the traffic and the weather are like outside. At WALDORF ASTORIA LAS VEGAS the arrival is ‘blinded’ by strong Nevada sun streaming in through ceiling-high windows behind front desk (at PARK HYATT VIENNA the sun streams in behind the arrival so it is the agents, rather than the arrivals, who perhaps cannot see).
Interestingly, while some hotels rotate their artworks around public areas, and possibly even guestrooms, nobody seems to change what hangs behind front desk. Could Girlahead initiate a new trend? Just a thought.
Meanwhile, what will we find behind front desks of future hotels? Since Peter Marino is designing the interiors of THE PENINSULA LONDON, will there be elements of the black leathers this talented guy wears – or perhaps some gold, for the chains that are also part of macho bikers’ gear?
In Pittsburgh, THE JOINERY HOTEK has had its lobby re-imagined by GrizForm Design Architects. There the show is pared-back minimalism, sending a message to encourage guests to connect with one another.
The summing-up is that no front desk and its surrounding lobby should exactly mimic any other (after all there’s only one Nelson Mandela, worldwide).
