[Table and bar stools provide the setting for art at the Ritz Carlton, South Beach’s Bistro One LR. Image courtesy of the Ritz Carlton, South Beach]
Miami hotel amps up the artistic hotel movement
Since its founder, Cesar Ritz, was crowned the “king of hoteliers and hotelier to kings” at the end of the 19th century, the Ritz-Carlton has grown up into a group of 72 hotels all over the world. The chain embodies a legend of luxury and passion—especially a passion for the arts.
Opened in Miami in 2003, the Ritz-Carlton South Beach is not only known for its quality service, Carita Spa, and cuisine crafted artfully by chef Thomas Connell, but also for its fantastic, multimillion dollar art collection, on permanent loan from Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts.
SoCal hotel melds historical tradition with modern design excellence
Located in Del Mar, California, the Del Mar Race Track-adjacent L’Auberge Del Mar has been a hot spot for Hollywood celebrities throughout its long history. It was fitting, then, that designer Barclay Butera—who is known for a highly regarded classical design aesthetic with a contemporary twist—was chosen as creative director for the recent renovation of the historic hotel. An expert in residential interiors and an admirer of the early Hollywood era, Butera has owned several significant homes, including those of Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis and Desi Arnaz, Jr. Of these properties, Butera is certain of one thing: “I felt like I was respecting their era through their homes,” he reveals.
[Rendering of Loftique hotel. Courtesy of Addis English and Associates]
Worldwide hotel brand melds two hot trends–loft living and boutique hotel vacationing–into one
Natalie Addis, successful co-founder of Addis English and Associates and winner of both Hospitality Design magazine’s “Wave of the Future 2007” and Boutique Design magazine’s “Boutique Design 18 2008,” is turning heads around the world with her cutting-edge work. Her latest project, Loftique hotels, encompassing 200 hotels in Europe, and Asia, is meant to be “the hotel of tomorrow” for business travelers, employing experimental design and the latest technology.
[Otto Ernst Wiesenthal, the owner of Hotel Altstadt]
Vienna hotel makes for an exquisite, artful escape
Situated in the heart of picturesque Vienna, Hotel Altstadt provides visitors to the capital city of Austria a respite from the hustle and bustle of the busy city. Otto Ernst Wiesenthal, Art collector needed a gallery for his collection so converted an old patrican house to a boutique hotel. You can even request the room with the Bösendorfer piano.
Written on: Friday, February 20th, 2009 | Filed under:
Hospitality
| Art Chat
[Cast glass and steel sculpture by Trinh Nguyen at Red Rock, Las Vegas. Art selected by Daniel Fine Art Services]
On the job with Evalyn Daniel-Putnam, renowned art consultant
The owners wanted to create something new: a resort and casino, removed both conceptually and physically from the frenetic glitz of the Las Vegas Strip. “There is a difference between extravagance and excess,” reflects Evalyn Daniel-Putnam, the Laguna Beach-based art consultant. Her firm, Daniel Fine Art Services, specializes in creating and installing important collections of contemporary art for corporate clients, including some of the most elegant and exclusive hotels in the world.
[Katsuya Restaurant, Brentwood, CA. Courtesy of Starck]
Checking in with ubiquitous designer Philippe Starck
By Lynn Morgan
He transforms the ordinary. Hundreds of objects we touch, use, and work with every day have been reimagined and redesigned in Philippe Starck’s vision. From the Microsoft optical mouse and the cult-object Alessi juicer to a Tokyo skyscraper, the Paris-born designer-turned-architect is the best-known advocate of New Design, the aesthetic that blurs the distinction between the utilitarian and the artistic.
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