Deeply biblical, the Sea of Galilee, also called Lake Tiberias or the Kinneret in Hebrew, is believed to be where Jesus performed some of his most impressive miracles, including walking on water. Lying within the Jordan Rift Valley – a narrow depression that began to form millions of years ago as the Arabian plate tore away from Africa – the majestic freshwater lake and surrounding region elicits fond memories for London-based Saar Zafrir, who used to visit the area as a child. So when his eponymous studio, Saar Zafrir Design, was enlisted to renovate the iconic 123-room Galei Kinneret Hotel in northern Israel, it was met with an air of affectionate nostalgia.
Dating back to 1946, the Galei Kinneret boasts a rich and storied history. The founder, inspired by a trip she took to the Villa d’Este hotel on Lake Como, fitted it out with Persian rugs and antiques she had procured from all over the world. While its monumental facade has remained intact, its latest reimagining is a world away from the original design with a refined new materials palette consisting of mostly oak, Carrara and natural stone. “Aside from the restaurant, all of the public spaces and rooms are muted because I didn’t want to distract from the view,” Saar says. “The idea for the entrance was to create a beautiful monochromatic ‘corridor’ that leads guests to the Sea of Galilee. For the rooms, we achieved a similar thing through the use of light and natural materials.”
Galei Kinneret Hotel in Israel by Saar Zafrir Design
Keen to retain the spirit of the original hotel which hosted dignitaries, prime ministers and movie stars, the restaurant, named Lotte, was designed to be a drawcard, celebrated with a lively main dining room. Accessible from the lobby, the entry to the restaurant is through an arched timber doorway where guests are met with an explosion of green. “We wanted to create a definition between the hotel and restaurant which is a destination for locals too,” says Saar.
Thick columns rise up from the walls, forming an arced, tunnel-like silhouette lined in emerald and pistachio coloured tiles that splinter and fragment when they reach the ceiling. Saar explains the design was inspired by olive trees. “I wanted to create something like a statue that represented the tree,” he says. “We created a pattern by arranging the tiles, mapping the ceiling and placing them in a kind of a puzzle.”
Outside, multidisciplinary artist and sculptor Gilad Kenan created a giant 7-metre high, 5-metre wide aluminium sculptural tree blooming out from the centre of the circular bar, its immense scale offering shade to patrons as they sit with a drink. In homage to archaeological ruins found on the site that date back to the Roman and Byzantine eras (they are now protected by the Israel Antiquities Authority), sculptor Yuval Lufen recreated the artefacts which were then submerged into glass panes at the base of the hotel’s swimming pool, acting as a reminder to guests of what was once there.
galei-kinneret.com; saarzafrir.com
Aside from the restaurant, all of the public spaces and rooms are muted because I didn’t want to distract from the view.
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While the crisp geometries and clean lines of this villa are ultra-contemporary, the architectural concept is rooted in the traditional Balinese building style of the surrounding rice terraces. Appearing as water-filled steps in the hilly terrain, the graduated fields have been used by locals for centuries to aid in crop cultivation. Similarly, this home in the seaside village of Canggu on Bali’s south coast unfolds across three staggered platforms which, given the gently sloping plot of land, works to great effect.
A minimalist facade with a curved wall clad in cream tiles serves as a slip entrance to the villa and was inspired by the arched ceilings of Sydney’s train tunnels, a feature the Australian owner researched as part of the project. At the top of the site are two bedrooms followed by a decline of fifteen stairs that wrap around the boundary wall, leading to a 180-square-metre open plan living zone (complete with an ice bath) and adjacent master bedroom.
A tropical brutalist villa in Bali open to the elements
Above the central space lies an elevated split-level platform used as an open cinema room, with a projector to screen films directly onto the concrete wall. Below the open-air living area is a small patch of grass – a welcome suntrap – with another bedroom and, beneath that, following the angle of the site, is the swimming pool. A lush tropical garden and small river follows.
Designed to take full advantage of the sloping ground, the pool has a smooth descent with an easy graduation that mimics the sensation of going into the ocean. “There’s no jarring step – you can walk in gently so you feel like you’re in full control and sit with your head out and your body totally submerged in water,” says the owner and self-taught designer, Beau Bruderlin. “It works particularly well for people that don’t necessarily feel that comfortable swimming.”
Given the isolated location, privacy wasn’t a concern for Beau, so he chose to completely expose the house to the elements, incorporating outdoor showers and avoiding solid walls where possible so that a breeze runs all the way through. Responding to the year-round humidity, the villa was designed to withstand the heat by way of natural ventilation rather than artificial cooling. This was achieved by incorporating walls of simple red bricks laid in a hit-and-miss arrangement – often seen in Asian temples – which allows air to flow through the gaps between each brick.
As a surfer who often tracks sand through the house, Beau selected a simple materials palette that would be easy to maintain. “I wanted to use the minimum combination of materials for simplicity and because I am a fan of repetition. The house is mostly pebble wash, red brick and cream tiles. There’s also loads of concrete – I could hose this house down if I needed,” he says.
To temper the harsh geometries and the purposely unfinished rendered walls, massively over-scaled natural pendants grace the ceiling in the living area. Woven in rattan, their shape echoes the silhouette of the tropical Ketapang varigata trees outside. “The trees are so ethereal and ghost-like and the pendants have a similar shape,” says Beau. “They mirror each other.”
The trees are so ethereal and ghost-like and the pendants have a similar shape. They mirror each other.
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For Bruno Moinard, one half of Paris-based interior design agency Moinard Bétaille, hotels have a certain sense of theatre about them. Their presence, something felt and experienced fleetingly, rather than lived in as you would a residential space, is one created by “sets”, with its characters, secrets and individual moments of intrigue creating something truly transformative.
To Claire Bétaille, the other half of the lauded design team, reinvigorating these storied spaces carries a responsibility akin to guardianship – a duty of protecting the true nature of a building for generations to come. “We take over these stories, allowing the hotels to continue to write them,” Claire says. “Never cutting the thread, but rather reviving them by soaking them up, consuming them and listening to the tales that are told.”
A retelling of sorts, Moinard Bétaille’s gentle approach to the renovation of Hotel Cala di Volpe on Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda pays homage to its original architect, the late “sculptor of houses” Jacques Couëlle, with a new narrative that speaks of a storied past while being anchored firmly in the present. Four years in the making, the renovation has warmly embraced the original concept of its maker, staying true to his revelatory surrealist vision initially designed to feel like an ancient Mediterranean fishing village.
Hotel Cala Di Volpe in Sardinia by Moinard Bétaille Agency
Guests to the hotel (now part of Marriott’s Luxury Collection) are still greeted by an extraordinary exterior with its interconnecting terracotta rooftops, turrets, porticoes and terraces – alive with bougainvillea – but are welcomed inside by fully reimagined shared spaces, as well as a host of private luxury suites, guest rooms and in-house restaurants.
“Our ambition was to give this magical place its lustre,” the design duo reveals. “But also find its function in today’s world,” they add – a calling that saw Moinard Bétaille begin the renovation process in the hotel lobby and lounge, retaining the structural elements – rustic beams and grand vaulted ceilings – while revising the lighting, layout and furnishings for a new generation.
Due to the architectural significance of the hotel and its inherent artistry, all the furniture is bespoke, crafted by local artisans and some of Europe’s most esteemed makers. Any original furniture has been repurposed or painted in soft pastels to meet the vision of the new design. Wood, woven fabric and buttery soft leather rest naturally against the stucco walls and textured plaster, while ceilings clad in cane, held tightly by rough-hewn timber beams and trusses, add a richness of atmosphere that encapsulates the magical Mediterranean offering.
The powerful, refuge-like building curves and weaves throughout its expansive waterfront site, with hallways acting as arteries off the beating heart of the hotel’s centre. Throughout, white walls are punctured with both new and original coloured glass artworks – tonal lenses through which the beauty of the coastline is framed, sending waves of tinged light across the rustic surfaces. Windows and doorways in the guest rooms act as organically shaped portals, or invitations to the blue horizon beyond, each as beguiling as the next.
Perhaps where the renovation shines most is in its contemporary interpretation of the hotel’s many dining spaces – Le Grand, The Atrium Bar, Beefbar and The Pool Bar (the hotel is also home to Italy’s only Nobu Matsuhisa). Entirely new fit-outs, worthy of their spectacular setting, grace the rustic terracotta and granite floors, with custom bentwood seating, a 2000-bottle wine cellar and a famous maturation cellar in Beefbar showcasing the luxury on offer.
“We wanted to re-explore this maze, awaken the energies that were hiding there, make this living organism breathe again and reinvent the circulation,” Bruno says of his and Claire’s efforts in Sardinia. “As the work progressed, we reunited the Cala di Volpe in a coherent hotel concept, speaking a single language and writing a single story once again.”
marriott.com; moinard-betaille.com
We wanted to re-explore this maze, awaken the energies that were hiding there, make this living organism breathe again and reinvent the circulation.
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One of the latest establishments to pop-up in the state of Oaxaca, Hotel Terrestre is an architect-composed invitation to discover the southwestern coast of Mexico. But the designer destination is not only a paradise for culture-loving travellers. Intimately situated between the glittering beaches of Puerto Escondido and its impressive mountain ranges, the hotel takes the experience of sustainable tourism to new heights. Relying entirely on solar power, Terrestre encourages its guests to temporarily breakup with technology and reconnect with nature, synchronising their days with the cycle of the sun rather than the demands of wifi networks, blue-lit screens and hand-held devices.
As the newest member of the Grupo Habita family of lifestyle hotels, Terrestre’s sustainable ethos and commitment to providing a “sanctuary of rest and relaxation” makes it an ideal getaway for rejuvenation. Architect Alberto Kalach and his team at Taller de Arquitectura X (known simply as TAX) took the client’s vision for the retreat and translated it into an idyllic contemporary oasis, constructed entirely of locally sourced materials including sand-coloured brick. Furthermore, the property embraces cooling methods achieved through innovative building techniques rather than relying on power hungry air-conditioning.
Hotel Terrestre in Mexico by Alberto Kalach/TAX
The hotel features fourteen villas, a standalone open-air restaurant, communal circular pool for treatments, a long swimming lane, and a striking hexagonal spa that contains a chilled water bathtub, steam, shower and outdoor shower. Each of the villas has its own private pool and is designed around an earthy palette of colours and textures. “Earth, wood, brick and concrete are delicately combined with clay and sand to immerse visitors in a unique spatial experience,” says the hotel team. “[It’s a place] where nature and architecture interact almost seamlessly.”
Custom-designed by celebrated Mexican architect and designer Oscar Hagerman, the furniture at Terrestre further enhances the one-of-a-kind sensorial atmosphere. The interior spaces of the villas merge harmoniously with the outside areas through a series of slatted timber doors and windows that open to lush private gardens and terraces, while also framing breathtaking mountain views or glimpses of the Pacific Ocean.
All the hotel’s amenities were produced by local hands and its spaces are infused with the ancient and mystical scent of copal (a light fragrance derived from the copal tree). Terrestre’s mood is inspired by an intimate dialogue with its natural surroundings – from its overall architectural statement to the smallest detail, the design blends quietly with the site’s seaside landscape. “Thus, water, flora, light, and air become intrinsic elements of Terrestre’s design,” explains the hotel team.
Beyond the stepped brick walls of the hotel, the Puerto Escondido region – one of the jewels in Mexico’s tourism crown – offers an endless array of both natural and cultural wonders for guests to discover. In addition to its pristine beaches (such as Zicatela Beach, renowned for its Mexican Pipeline surf break), Puerto Escondido provides an opportunity to experience the best of Oaxaca’s rich heritage. This includes impressive archeological sites and heart-stopping landscapes, world-famous cuisine, a burgeoning design scene and distinctive handicrafts.
Terrestre is situated alongside cultural spaces such as Casa Wabi, a sprawling compound with a Tadao Ando–designed centre that hosts artist residencies and exhibitions; a ceramic workshop space with a 22-metre-tall chimney designed by Taller de Arquitectura X / Alberto Kalach; and a permanent large-scale outdoor art installation by Mexican artist Bosco Sodi. Nearby are destination restaurants like Kakurega Omakase (also designed by Kalach) and small-batch mezcalerias such as Cobarde. If adventure calls, there are spots for activities including surfing, bird watching, meditating, hiking, horseback riding, luminiscencia experiences and bathing in natural hot springs.
kalach.com; terrestrehotel.com
Relying entirely on solar power, the hotel encourages its guests to temporarily breakup with technology and reconnect with nature.
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Sydney has a new contemporary art gallery. Well, not officially. But with the amount of all-Australian works procured and placed (or painted directly onto the surfaces) throughout the pensive 257-room Ace Hotel – it could easily be mistaken for just that. Located in Surry Hills, in the storied Tyne factory building, the first phase of the David Flack-designed hotel is now open to the public. With three of four drink-and-dine establishments also designed by David and his team at Melbourne-based Flack Studio (KILN by Fiona Lynch Office will open later in the year) there are even more reasons to visit this hip hotel besides simply checking in and bunking the night.
Inspired by the visionary modernist architect Robin Boyd and his 1960s book, The Australian Ugliness, Ace Hotel Sydney tells its story with a palette reflective of the hard-working history of its industrial shell. The use of raw, tactile and moody materials, exampled by off-form concrete walls, locally sourced timber and aged brass, nods to the surrounding neighbourhood. But at the same time, these finishes honour the history-rich site, resulting in a series of comfortable and communal spaces for everyone – not just guests clutching a room key – to enjoy.
Artful lodger: Inside the Ace Hotel Sydney by Flack Studio
The materiality throughout the hotel’s interior speaks to Sydney’s broader natural landscape and its resources: glowing terracotta tiles make an appearance in the guest rooms, local sandstone features on the wall of the ground floor and a delicious red marble staircase leads from the ground floor to the first level. Applied in inventive ways, typically classic materials – think oak, brick, leather, raw concrete, steel and marble – then adopt the important role of merging the historic with the cutting-edge inside the building’s four patinated walls.
Ace Hotel Sydney’s main entrance is on Wentworth Avenue, a thoroughfare connecting the city’s central railway station to the CBD. It’s upon entering from Wentworth Avenue that guests encounter the first striking art installation: the hotel’s reception desk, a commissioned piece by ceramicist James Lemon. Made up of polychromatic glazed brick in recognition of the site’s industrial past, the desk becomes a beacon representing the building’s dynamic new life. Framing the reception desk are works by Sydney-based artist Nell, a favourite of Flack’s, whose pop culture-referencing work is on display with Two Sounds (2011). There’s also a large wall-hung work by multidisciplinary artist Jason Phu, who uses references from traditional ink painting and calligraphy in if the moon farted all the birds would die (2021).
Opposite the front desk sits the hotel’s retail collection; a curation of apparel and gifts designed by the in-house creative team at Atelier Ace. But this is no run-of-the-mill giftshop. Also featured in the ever-rotating offering is a selection of items found inside the guest rooms – a sign of things to come in the upper levels. These shoppable wares include the custom-designed Rega record players and Tivoli radios, Byron-sourced Deiji Studios robes with insignias by artist Jason Phu, Studio Henry Wilson-designed brass wall hooks, a Flack Studio-designed stool, and an Ace signature item: a custom-created blanket, made in collaboration with New Zealand wool-weavers Stansborough and Flack Studio, featuring colours inspired by the landscape paintings of Indigenous Australian artist Albert Namatjira.
Looking in the direction of the main entry, floor-to-ceiling windows peering onto bustling Wentworth Avenue illuminate The Lobby lounge – a common space open to the public, activated by music and art, and a hallmark of the Ace brand. The Lobby’s glass frontage delivers a bright, relaxed feel to the space, which is framed with sandstone walls and lush foliage. Reclaimed earth-toned brickwork, warm terracottas, tans and lush greenery are continued throughout the floor, continuing the efforts to bring to life the evocative colours of the Australian panorama.
The Lobby showcases a marble-topped bar, with stools created especially for the venue lining the service area. The sunken lounge, which rests in the centre of the room, offers a delightful wink to 1970s suburban Australia. Made from an ochre-orange carpet, with pleated tan leather cushions, it invites guests to sink into conversation – martini in-hand. The central lounge of The Lobby is echoed in the design of the guest rooms, with most of the rooms featuring an inviting nook in which visitors can recline or converse. A ceramic piece by out-of-the-box sculptor Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran – another of Flack’s go-tos – watches over the space.
Ascending from the ground floor, the deep ochre-red marble staircase delivers hotel guests to the level-one event quarters. Three event spaces are available on this floor and can be combined to suit any occasion. Framing the staircase to the left is Julia Gutman’s large-scale tapestry, Once More, with Feeling, made from clothing previously owned by the artist and her friends. Upon reaching the level-one landing, guests are greeted with a commissioned painting by the Perth-based artist Joanna Lamb – one from her ongoing series of paintings depicting suburban swimming pools.
Almost all of the furniture and lighting in the hotel is custom-designed by Flack Studio and their collaborators – from the banquette seating in LOAM (sister restaurant to LOAM in Downtown Los Angeles), to the stellar sconces placed throughout the ground floor. Woven in-between the custom works by Flack are iconic modernist designs: lighting by Isamu Noguchi, the Tobia Scarpa “Nuvola” lamp and select vintage chairs scattered throughout the hotel’s interior. In keeping with the building’s design, the materials used by Flack are raw yet refined, with a modern edge: armchairs and stools of oak, accents of green velvet or black leather, marble tabletops and linen lamp shades.
In designing the guest rooms, Flack Studio followed the modernist principle “that everything should have its proper home,” says the team from Atelier Ace. Thus, each detail was carefully considered: from the colour palette of warm ochres, terracottas and sunset orange, designed to envelop guests and offer a counterpoint to the urban environment outside; to the custom-built furniture and joinery, made to nestle into the idiosyncrasies of the heritage building with ease. Then there’s the custom-designed leather accessories in each room, made to house the minibar and amenities, as well as create handy nooks for travellers to store their sundries.
The first 10 floors of the hotel belong to the original building, while eight additional floors have been added above (with architecture by Bates Smart). The custom joinery and furniture give the rooms a residential feel. But the nuances between the old building and the new addition mean rooms are unique in detail and character. In the heritage rooms on the lower levels of the hotel, exposed brickwork is seen, while the newer levels display terrazzo flooring. Some of the rooms have open-air terrace balconies – a result of the vertical tower addition – then others feature charming bay windows overlooking Wentworth Avenue to the east, or oversized steel and glass factory windows facing Foy Lane to the west.
Returning to the hotel’s agenda-setting art program – perhaps Ace Sydney’s most memorable feature – Flack Studio curated an excitingly diverse selection of Australian artists’ works to display throughout the building. Beginning from the front desk, the artists in the collection are at the forefront of contemporary Australian art; a group that shares Ace’s playful creativity in their approach. One highlight includes the unexpected discovery of the ceramic library, inspired by the building’s former life as a ceramic kiln. Here, works by Nabilah Nordin, Scott Duncan, Ben Mazey, Laith McGregor, Kenya Peterson and others come together to time-capsule a moment in Australian ceramic history.
Tony Albert, a First Nations artist whose work incorporates what he calls “Aboriginalia” (kitsch objects adorned with stereotypes of Indigenous Australians) is another must-see, featured on the ground floor with a series of collaborative pieces titled Mid Century Modern. Then there’s Jason Phu’s work, which can be spotted in multiple locations throughout the hotel – his commissioned ink drawings appearing in corridors on various levels, on surfaces amid passageways and even inside the guest rooms, offering up a find-them-all challenge for the young or young-at-heart.
acehotel.com; flackstudio.com.au
Surry Hills has been home to so many culturally important movements and people, and has always been a home for creatives and migrating cultures.
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Named after the street it occupies, the Saint-André des Arts Hotel in Paris lies directly in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a short stroll from the historic Procope restaurant. Once the favoured haunt of brooding artists and musicians, especially during the swinging sixties, the completely rejuvenated hotel is the latest gem in the Hôtels Paris Rive Gauche collection, ready and awaiting a new generation of movers and shakers.
Stepping off the street and passing through the hotel’s original solid-oak entrance doors, guests arrive in a lobby area seemingly preserved through time. Tunes from another era fill the space, resonating from a small record player in the corner. But an emerald-coloured lacquered rattan reception desk offers a glimpse of what’s to come – a daring arrangement of 1960s and ’70s-inspired furniture and fittings, sourced and imagined for the hotel by French designer Chloé Nègre.
Saint-André des Arts Hotel by Studio Chloé Nègre
From there on in, the interiors of Saint-André are a playground for cheerful curves, bold colour and enchanting patterns. Flower-shaped mirrors and table-stands join carefully sculpted timber detailing. Vibrant swirling carpets are illuminated by bulbous lamps decorated with lace-like fabrics. And the bedheads upstairs make a statement in a confident mix of colour gradients and materials.
Here and there, vintage furniture pieces are combined with custom makes. And modern classics make an appearance, too. Including examples by iconic designers from the late 1960s, such as Verner Panton’s ‘Fun’ ceiling and wall lights; Vico Magistretti’s ‘Eclisse’ lamp by Artemide; Henry Massonet’s ‘Tam Tam’ stools; and Anna Castelli Ferrieri’s ‘Componibili’ bedside tables by Kartell, each finished with a burr walnut top.
On the ground floor, to the right of the reception, the intimate salon features retro burgundy and beige floor tiles that immediately set the tone. Four custom armchairs in citrus yellow fabric, a wall-seat in burgundy velvet and a psychedelic 1960s-style mirror immerses guests in the hotel’s new mood. An ambience which the hotel staff describe as feeling “a little pop, a little bohemian, slightly daring but totally timeless”.
To the left is the bar with its celadon green ceramic wall tiles, earmarked by the hotel staff as “the perfect place to relax, delicately hidden from the street by netting on the windows”. Green velvet and leather wall-seats provide the space with a visual accent. As do the bespoke timber chairs that are placed around walnut-topped tables with “flower power” feet – a signature flourish of Chloé’s Paris-based studio.
The centrepiece of the room is a round rattan table (another custom piece by Chloé) that allows guests to share a moment together, seated in the vintage wooden chairs that accompany it. The large yellow tabletop echoes the velvet of the armchairs in the room next door. “This is the perfect place to enjoy breakfast,” the team insist. Towards the back of the room, the granite bar adds elegance to the space, which feels bright yet intimate during the day. In the evening, it offers the ideal hideaway for sipping a pre-dinner cocktail or a nightcap nearer to midnight.
The elevator, decorated with fabric representing artist Jean Cocteau’s work Le Dormeur, is responsible for transporting guests to the hotel’s 28 rooms, spread over four floors. A mezzanine wing offers two additional rooms bringing the total to 30 rooms. Several of these have an extra sofa bed, others interconnect, but “both [types] are perfect for family stays,” the hotel staff say. Room sizes range from a petite 14 square metres to about 29 square metres in the Prestige suites, costing from €179 (A$280) to €710 ($A1115) per night.
While each room at Saint-André has a unique layout (“this is a venerable building with a very Parisian feel,” the team say), each floor offers a different chromatic interpretation of the 1960s and ’70s. The curtains are the surprise stars of the rooms, featuring dreamy colours and alluring patterns that create an overall feeling of harmony. On the third floor, for example, Jim Thompson’s Melusine landscape (on fabric from Pierre Frey) sets the bar high for a joyful material palette to follow.
“You’ll love the original vaulted stone ceilings and zesty colours that give the space its energy,” the hotel team tell their guests. And whether your room has a view of the street and the rooftops of Paris or is one of those nestled under the eaves, both of which are part of the hotel’s resolutely Parisian charm, the team insist that each room is a “new encounter between colour and light, the present and the past”.
From the in-house spa to the charming lodgings, “everything at Saint-André has been designed to revitalise guests, far from the effervescence of the city,” the team say of the hotel’s foundations, now poised to witness a new chapter. A future backdropped by iconic design, glorious colour and the inimitable stylings of Chloé which the hotel staff predict will come with a few surprises. “Expect classics with a twist, touches of humour, arty objects… and a little craziness.”
chloenegre.com; saintandredesarts.com
Once the favoured haunt of brooding artists and musicians, especially during the swinging sixties, the completely rejuvenated hotel is the latest gem in the Hôtels Paris Rive Gauche collection.
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What do destinations such as Kyoto, Seattle, New York and Sydney have in common? Soon enough, they’ll all be home to one of the world’s hippest hotels. The long-awaited Ace Hotel Sydney is poised to swing open its style-studded doors in May of next year, joining a portfolio of ten other boutique hotels, from Palm Springs to Portland, curated specifically for the “people who make cities interesting”.
News of the hotel arrives as many Australians continue to endure lockdowns, while international travel has been a no-go for almost two years. But as the state of New South Wales now moves swiftly to open its borders, and the city of Sydney prepares to once again unfurl its glittering splendours, overseas tourists won’t be the only ones to enjoy a sleepover at the newest Ace. The outpost’s 264 rooms are just as likely to pull a local crowd of design-loving, travel-starved Sydneysiders who are eager to enjoy a staycation in the cultural heart of the city.
Ace Hotel Sydney by Flack Studio
Located in Surry Hills, where money meets a dash of mayhem, Ace Hotel Sydney has hung its hat within the historic Tyne House brick factory – the site of one of Australia’s pioneering ceramic kilns. The project follows the 2020 opening of Asia’s first Ace Hotel, located in Kyoto, the unofficial culture capital of Japan. Featuring interiors by Commune Design, the Japanese outpost resides in a red-brick heritage building from 1926 and a new-build by heavyweight architect Kengo Kuma.
By the time it opens, about two years on from Kyoto, the launch of the Sydney hotel will mark yet another first for Ace – the hospitality group’s debut into the southern hemisphere, made possible through a partnership with Golden Age Group. “We’ve always felt a strong affinity with Australia,” says Brad Wilson, president of the Ace Hotel Group. “Though its culture and character are all its own … its intrepid optimism and renegade spirit resonates with Ace’s roots on the Pacific Coast of America.”
Melbourne-based design outfit Flack Studio, led by founder and director David Flack, was unsurprisingly snagged as the primary design partner for the hotel, forging a creative direction that’s aligned with Ace’s reputation for cultivating cutting-edge experiences. “We love [Australia’s] distinctive brand of modernism, particularly in the use of local organic materials, and were lucky enough to find a perfectly modernist partner in Flack Studio,” Brad says. “David’s eye for colour and space is completely singular – a dream design collaborator for our first hotel in Australia.”
Fuelled by a commitment to creating warm spaces that bring together Australia’s cultural history and Ace’s community-centric approach to hospitality, David says the storied site and its melting pot locale each played a significant role in his studio’s design response. “Surry Hills has been home to so many culturally important movements and people, and has always been a home for creatives and migrating cultures,” he explains. “We wanted to preserve the creative, slightly renegade energy of the space since its origins as one of Australia’s early brickworks.”
Brought to life in the cinematic colours of the Australian landscape, the design of Ace Hotel Sydney superimposes the city’s many eras and evolutions in a contrast of natural textures and tones. Ace’s in-house creative agency, Atelier Ace, explain that Flack Studio cited a number of historical references in this process, including the razor gang wars and underground liquor trade of the 1920s and ’30s, the modernist art boom of the ’60s and the Gay Solidarity Group protests of the ’70s.
“The neighbourhood has long served as home to the most trailblazing and resilient voices of modern Australia – a culture coalesced from Surry Hills’ vibrant migrant communities,” say the Atelier Ace team. “Flack Studio embraced organic materials to create spaces [that are] honest to this history – from the acoustic textural straw walls of the hotel’s guest rooms to the striking ochre red off-form concrete staircase in its lobby.”
As is key at other hotels in the Ace group, an unwavering respect for craftsmanship is woven into the Sydney hotel, with many of the property’s furnishings, artworks and interior flourishes created specifically for the project. The custom furniture, joinery and lighting of the guest rooms was all designed by David and his team, including the textile-adorned window seats that encourage conversation, energised by the eclectic buzz of the streetscape beyond. “Ace Hotel Sydney invites the ready rhythm of Surry Hills inside,” enthuse the Atelier Ace team. “[It will be] an active commons for culture, commerce, art and community.”
Atelier Ace has revealed that Sydney’s Ace Hotel (located at 47-53 Wentworth Avenue, Surry Hills) will also feature a ground-floor restaurant, bar and cafe in the communal lobby, as well as a rooftop restaurant and bar. Would-be guests are invited to make reservations at the hotel from October 1, with rooms available from May 1, 2022.
acehotel.com; flackstudio.com.au
Surry Hills has been home to so many culturally important movements and people, and has always been a home for creatives and migrating cultures.
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Designed by local creative studio Roman and Williams in collaboration with the effervescent Atelier Ace, the 287-room Ace Hotel Brooklyn is set to form a new chapter in the hotel brand’s love affair with New York when it opens to guests from mid-2021. “We’ve been building toward Ace Brooklyn for years,” says Brad Wilson, president of Ace Hotel Group. “The entire city has reimagined itself several times over since we started. That’s exactly the spirit we’ve worked to mirror in every corner of our new home – the inexhaustible ingenuity that stands as the borough’s only constant.”
Situated in Boerum Hill on the cusp of Downtown Brooklyn, the hotel will stand above the tree-lined streets and brownstone residences of Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens, in close proximity to Fort Greene’s vibrant melting pot of art and culture. “We’re lucky enough to have landed at the junction of so many rich and inspiring neighbourhoods,” says Brad. “[We] hope to provide a new and inviting sense of place for our guests and neighbours to call home.”
Ace Hotel Brooklyn by Roman and Williams
Open, spacious and welcoming, the hotel’s design borrows inspiration from Brooklyn’s “complex fabric of communal and creative spaces,” say the designers, and features an animated public lobby and indoor-outdoor portals that ease into the city’s edges. The guest accommodation pairs floor-to-ceiling windows with original artwork by local fibre and textile artists while some of the hotel’s upper-level rooms offer a 360-degree panorama of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty.
Ace Hotel Brooklyn forms the brand’s second-only “from the ground up” build and marks the third design partnership between Atelier Ace and Roman and Williams, following on from Ace Hotel New York and Ace Hotel New Orleans. The facade and interiors at Brooklyn are informed by the sprawling egalitarian promise of the borough, the designers say, from the industrial grit of its shipyards to the neo-expressionist complexity of Basquiat. “We chose to embrace a governing principle of purity and artistic spirit in our architecture and the spaces within,” they add. “We employed a philosophy of primitive modernism holistically across the project. This highly artistic approach drove us to use construction methods and materials with honesty … evident in everything you touch and see.”
acehotel.com; romanandwilliams.com
The Ace Hotel Brooklyn is set to form a new chapter in the hotel brand’s love affair with New York.
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Designed by local creative studio Roman and Williams in collaboration with the effervescent Atelier Ace, the 287-room Ace Hotel Brooklyn is set to form a new chapter in the hotel brand’s love affair with New York when it opens to guests from mid-2021. “We’ve been building toward Ace Brooklyn for years,” says Brad Wilson, president of Ace Hotel Group. “The entire city has reimagined itself several times over since we started. That’s exactly the spirit we’ve worked to mirror in every corner of our new home – the inexhaustible ingenuity that stands as the borough’s only constant.”
In bringing the project to life, the key source of inspiration for the designers was the courtyard house typology of vernacular Chinese architecture. Neri&Hu connected the peaceful interior spaces and the partially enclosed pathways – which lead guests through the hotel – with multiple patios that adopt the essential role of establishing a hierarchy among old and new structures.
Built entirely from reclaimed grey-toned bricks, the walls of the new transition areas offer perspective and frame views of the land and sky, while the various brick-laying techniques, including an open-air ‘lattice’ method of construction, facilitates eye-pleasing light and shadow play throughout the day.
Dotted with contemplative nooks, the lodging hosts only 20 rooms – ranging from 33 to 78 square meters in size – each adorned with natural materials such as dark timbers and stone that echo the earthy palette of the surrounding environment. Viewed from a reclined bathtub position in the bathrooms, the skylight openings offer guests uninterrupted skyward glimpses, increasing the communion with nature.
A selection of the hotel’s many courtyards were transformed into small yet charming gardens, abundant in verdant foliage, while others accommodate shallow reflection pools. A formerly derelict warehouse building was renovated to include a new concrete addition and now houses the hotel’s restaurant, a theatre and an exhibition space. Here, guests are welcome to join cooking classes and dine on organic cuisine at long communal tables that promote a sense of community among travellers. The lakeside pavilion contains four additional guestrooms.
For the designers, blending architecture and landscape was key throughout the process of realising the Tsingpu Yangzhou Retreat, characterised by the firm’s use of rustic yet poetic materiality. In every direction, the hotel’s neatly gridded walls and patchwork of courtyards and passageways intertwine to create a harmonious balance between void and matter, private and public, and sky and earth, placing traditional Chinese architecture on a new path paved with contemporary influences.
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What do destinations such as Kyoto, Seattle, New York and Sydney have in common? Soon enough, they’ll all be home to one of the world’s hippest hotels. The long-awaited Ace Hotel Sydney is poised to swing open its style-studded doors in May of next year, joining a portfolio of ten other boutique hotels, from Palm Springs to Portland, curated specifically for the “people who make cities interesting”.
As with any emerging holiday destination (Japan only overtook Thailand as Australia’s go-to Asian holiday destination in 2014), the reasons why Aussies adore Japan are wide and varied. Its culture and natural beauty is spectacular, the skiing is incredible – as are the onsen! – and the traditional and contemporary cuisines are unbeatable.
Then there’s the downright weird, the whacky and the wonderful. Where else in the world can you dress up as Mario or Luigi and motor through the metropolis in a go-kart? The fashion, art, architecture and design scene is fittingly cutting-edge; the country’s hospitality ranks in the same league.
Dressed in a fusion of American-meets-Japanese sophistication, the much-anticipated Ace Hotel Kyoto opened its doors to an unfamiliar world in mid-2020. Here, Karine Monié revisits the designer destination and shines a spotlight on the charms that place this epic lodging high on our must-visit list when flight paths reopen.
With its 213 rooms, several patios and gardens, event spaces, gallery, coffee place and three restaurants, Ace Hotel Kyoto has the ambition of being a new cultural hub where tradition and modernity blend. Located near the Nishiki Market, Museum of Kyoto and Kyoto Art Center, the first Ace Hotel in Asia occupies a historic red brick building from 1926 – originally designed by Tetsuro Yoshida, one of the most important Japanese modern architects – and a new structure by renowned architect Kengo Kuma.
“The thought was to create a hotel that is connected to Kyoto and open to the surrounding area,” says Kengo. “The proposition was to create a dense garden where communities, as well as the past and the present, are [linked] to this venerable land with its various gardens, which have existed since the Heian period.” The Heian period ran from 794 to 1185 and was a time in Japan’s history when Buddhism, Daoism and other Chinese influences were at their height.
The architect wanted to build a dialogue between the two buildings – the old and the new – and create harmony through the use of louvers and meshes that filter the natural light and wind. The concrete was mixed with iron oxide to give life to a warm colour that could not have been done with paint. The gridded facade system of the new building nods to the traditional architecture of Kyoto, including the machiya houses that are particular to the city.
Kyoto has long been an inspiring place for artists, designers, musicians, film directors and poets. This creative spirit pervades the interior spaces shaped by Atelier Ace in collaboration with Los Angeles-based studio Commune Design around an East-meets-West aesthetic philosophy.
The team worked with local craftsmen and artists to honour this idea of exchange between cultures, contributing to the interplay of nature, art, history and inventiveness at Ace Hotel Kyoto.
The first Ace Hotel was opened in Seattle in 1999. Since then, the dynamic hotel brand has unveiled a number of edgy establishments including the much-Instagrammed Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs, California, and the Shoreditch outpost in London, imagined by Universal Design Studio.
The Ace Hotel Kyoto is welcomed as the tenth hotel in the Ace Hotel Group.
acehotel.com; kkaa.co.jp; communedesign.com
The thought was to create a hotel that is connected to Kyoto and open to the surrounding area.
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What do destinations such as Kyoto, Seattle, New York and Sydney have in common? Soon enough, they’ll all be home to one of the world’s hippest hotels. The long-awaited Ace Hotel Sydney is poised to swing open its style-studded doors in May of next year, joining a portfolio of ten other boutique hotels, from Palm Springs to Portland, curated specifically for the “people who make cities interesting”.
Before The Calile Hotel was conceived, there were a host of interventions across the James Street precinct to rejuvenate sites also owned by the development team, Calile Malouf Investments. The first was James Street Market (2003) designed by Cox Architecture with Ingrid Richards as design and project architect. Richards and Spence then made further enhancements through projects including 19 James Street (2012) and 19 Wandoo Street (2015). The latter proposals set retail tenancies within a framework of colonnades, laneways and immersive gardens, committing to the idea that leisure pursuits – shopping and dining – could be greatly enhanced by place-sensitive urban design strategies.
The Calile Hotel is the culmination of ideas that Richards and Spence has tested and refined during the preceding two decades. The architecture builds on the formal and material language of the rejuvenated precinct and extends its climate-sensitive agenda. Masonry and concrete serve as both construction and finish materials. Gardens are generously deployed. Public and semi-public circulation areas are passively cooled and outdoor territories are made into principle rooms. These approaches embed the architecture in its surrounds, harnessing all the favourable qualities of Brisbane’s subtropical climate and this exquisitely curated leisure precinct.
Street front retail tenancies activate three sides of the hotel at ground levels. Each is afforded a beautifully detailed window box, framed by an arching cadence expressed in white brick. Pedestrians are drawn into the hotel below a signature archway on James Street, separated from the porte cochere, which syphons automobiles from Doggett Street into another vaulted space. Regardless of the approach, the gentle hubbub emanating from the pool deck above invites visitors to the fluid ascent to the podium terrace. Here, mature palms strike a silhouette against Queensland’s dazzling sky, endorsing this terrace as the principal place of gathering, for both the hotel and the city.
Every visual reference and material finish seems poised to trigger the memory of a thousand holidays past.
Every visual reference and material finish seems poised to trigger the memory of a thousand holidays past – sparkling pool, sun-drenched terrace, spritely sun umbrellas and glamorous lounge chairs – encouraging all who enter to unwind, breathe deeply. As Adrian warns: descending onto bustling James Street in a holiday-fuelled daze, wearing nothing but a swimsuit, is a very real threat.
One of the most memorable experiences of The Calile Hotel unfolds in the quiet spaces of the hotel concourse where naturally ventilated corridors service hotel rooms on both sides. As the lift doors open, a picturesque scene of suburban life is framed by a large opening looking out across the neighbourhood.
Warm subtropical air fills the lungs as breezes circulate gently overhead. In this moment, guests are immersed in both climate and place; a warm and sunny Brisbane neighbourhood. Here, as in the suburban surroundings, garden beds and pots cradle tropical plants and sunlight pours in through breeze block walls.
Inside hotel rooms, the visual and material language of the broader enclave is reimagined. The massive brick arches witnessed at street level are brought inside but reduced to the scale of fingertips. Hemispherical finger-pulls carved in timber and etched in brass echo the curved edges of marble-top credenzas and brass-backed night lights. Surfaces deliver tactile and visual impact. Most notable is the cork, which wraps floors and walls and at first glance appears like travertine with its vein-like pigmentation. Beyond delivering tactile and chromatic appeal, the cork surfaces bring a visual and acoustic softening to the interior.
As focus returns to the magnificent clocktower at the street, Ingrid and Adrian make the modest suggestion that its making speaks of the generosity of the owners, Cal and Michael Malouf. That it does. But more than this, it crystallises the collective drive of both owners and architects to engage a private building in the public act of city-making. The generosity of spirit exuded by this building in this city-fringe neighbourhood will profoundly influence the character and expression of this warm-weather city.
thecalilehotel.com; richardsandspence.com
This story was first published in the fourth edition of FOLIO, a magazine by Brickworks. Register now for your free copy.
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What do destinations such as Kyoto, Seattle, New York and Sydney have in common? Soon enough, they’ll all be home to one of the world’s hippest hotels. The long-awaited Ace Hotel Sydney is poised to swing open its style-studded doors in May of next year, joining a portfolio of ten other boutique hotels, from Palm Springs to Portland, curated specifically for the “people who make cities interesting”.
Located toward the pointy end of the map in Israel’s south, the new Six Senses Shaharut hotel by Tel Aviv firm Plesner Architects, founded by Danish architect Ulrik Plesner in the 1970s, is due to open to guests in December. While the highly anticipated opening comes a little later than first planned, the hotel promises to make up for the unexpected lag by providing guests with “uplifting experiences at every turn”.
Intimate in scale, the peaceful desert oasis will host guests in its 60 suites and villas against a backdrop of breathtaking rock and sand formations. Each of the resort’s suites presents guests with private outdoor decks, and the large villas feature relaxed living rooms and individual swimming pools. A generously sized three-bedroom villa also offers guests a spa, steam room and gym.
The quiet Shaharut community where the new Six Senses property is located was once home to the Nabataeans, a nomadic people who travelled this region over 2000 years ago, with their livestock, to wherever they could be sufficiently fed and watered. The Nabataeans are known for being skilled traders in these parts and for the magnificent cliff carvings of Petra in neighbouring Jordan.
Awed by the history and vast natural beauty of the region, the architects say, “the main idea of the hotel is to keep the spirit of the desert”. As such, the organic architecture employs textured limestone, locally excavated flint and thatched roofs in its contemporary reinterpretation of the ancient nomadic structures of the area. “All buildings are located half dug into the land, so we keep the desert skyline clear,” says the architects. “The materials used for the hotel are mostly from the area, the local stone is used for the walls and roofs.”
The design of Six Senses Shaharut aims to synchronise guests with the natural dunescape by maintaining a consistent relationship between indoor and outdoor living experiences. Six Senses says the interiors of the dwellings draw on the spoils of the incense trade route – ancient trails that stretched from Mediterranean ports across the Levant to India and further afield – as the inspiration to create spaces and experiences that reflect the essence of the locale.
The main idea of the hotel is to keep the spirit of the desert.
Throughout the property, the furniture and fittings have been thoughtfully curated to include copper and timber, and natural stonewares hewn by local artisans, ensuring parallels with the colourway of the weathered rock and sand formations that define the site. The interiors are lavished with intricate local textiles, while the internal doors are beautifully crafted from 200-year-old reclaimed teak which was sourced from disused boats, houses and footbridges.
Getting there
The journey to Six Senses Shaharut is part of the storytelling experience as guests travel through the history-rich landscape. The drive from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem takes around three-and-a-half hours or it’s a three-hour drive from Petra in Jordan. Alternatively, guests can book a 50-minute domestic flight from Tel Aviv to the Ramon International Airport (ETM) near Eilat. From there, it is a 45-minute car trip to the resort.
