Check Into Dream

For a design-conscious traveller, staying at a hotel counts as a sensory journey. We pick eight best, each with a unique design story to tell.

The Cocoon Maldives

While there is no dearth of stunning resorts in the Maldives, The Cocoon Maldives is unique, because it’s true to its tagline — First Design Hotel of the Maldives. Featuring 150 rooms, beach villas, overwater villas and suites, the Italian design company, Lago, is behind its design. Daniel Lago has included his signature floating furniture to the resort. Even the restaurants have air tables with glass legs. There is a community table at the centre of this design where travellers can mingle. Wood and ceramic have been extensively used to create a fusion look. Going beyond the ordinary, there is ‘talking furniture’ that interacts with guests with the help of a microchip. And if you fall in love with the design, you can take a slice of it back home. You can buy what you like (such as a piece of furniture) and can be shipped to your home.

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Amanyangyun, Shanghai

After a 15-year conservation initiative that included relocation of a forest and reconstruction of a historic village, Amanyangyun opened its door this year. It was earlier located on the outskirts of Shanghai. So, here is its spectacular story. In the city of Fuzhou, located 700 km from Shanghai, construction of a new reservoir threatened the existence of thousands of camphor trees and dozens of homes dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Fuzhou-born entrepreneur Ma Dadong collaborated with Aman Resorts to save this piece of history. About 10,000 trees, including the 80-tonne Emperor tree, were replanted and 50 antique houses were disassembled stone-by-stone and then rebuilt at the new site. Reborn 27 km southwest of Shanghai, these houses and trees are now what makes the Amanyangyun, a 10-hectare retreat. Kerry Hill Architects have meticulously restored the 50 disassembled antique houses to create 26 ancient dwellings for Amanyangyun. The antique villas feature ornate stone carvings and inscriptions that depict family hopes and histories. These antique villas come with a private pool and jacuzzi each, as well as a courtyard — a signature feature of Chinese buildings of this age. This hotel is a living monument to the natural and human history of Jiangxi.

ITC Kohenur Hyderabad

The latest addition to the homegrown hospitality brand, ITC Kohenur that overlooks the picturesque Durgam Lake, takes design inspiration from the famed Kohinoor diamond. The interiors have a strong reflection of royal era grandeur with the right touch of contemporary aesthetic. Sample this: interplay of soft edges and sharp corners, and jaali pattern that features throughout the property. The rooms and suites follow colour themes of the jewels that the Nizams of Hyderabad were so famous for: sapphire, emerald, turquoise, amber and amethyst. We especially liked the chandelier made with Hyderabadi bangles looking over the pristine white marble lobby. The most stunning element is perhaps the Peacock Bar. It has multi-coloured tekri (glass work) in azure, emerald and golden bronze tones, resembling that of a peacock. A pretty plaster peacock crafted by local artisans welcomes guests to the bar. It is believed that the Kohinoor diamond was once mounted on Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s ornate peacock throne. The hotel’s signature restaurant, Dum Pukht Begum, has arches and columns in gold and crystal. The multi-cuisine restaurant Golconda Pavilion has been painted in the colours of the great boulders of Andhra Pradesh: sandy and golden. The SkyPoint Bar is where a vintage Fiat car is mounted above the bar. What more. The hotel is very close to the IKEA store.

Taj Meghauli, Serai

The resort design and interiors blend beautifully with the wild environs of Chitwan National Park of Nepal. Singapore-based architecture studio eco·id partnered with Taj Safaris to create this 30-room hotel. The interiors have been done up by Jacqui Shapiro from South Africa. Fittings and furnishings are sourced locally with the help of Lehar Srijani, a NGO. The Nepalese paper-framed interior walls of villas and rooms are decorated with murals inspired by the local life. Placemats, tissue holders and baskets woven by local craftswomen and a chandelier made by artisans using 10,000 hand-painted beads are the highlights. The design team has used a lot of turquoise, a traditional Nepalese colour and locally sourced materials such as banana leaf fabrics and silk.

Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, Sorrento

Perched on a cliff, this Amalfi coast hotel has an urban legend attached, according to which Roman Emperor Augustus had his own villa here. As for present day, the hotel’s three 19th century buildings are just above the town harbour, surrounded by lush greenery of a unique Mediterranean garden spread in 20,000 square metres. No two rooms are the same and there are 84 in total. All rooms are sprinkled with antiques collected over the years. The balconies are where you can re-enact scenes from the popular Shakespeare play. As the gateway to one of the most romantic destinations in Europe, Sorrento is known for its lacework boutiques, ceramics and marble intarsia. We are not the first ones to appreciate the old-world charm of this hotel. Marilyn Monroe, Luciano Pavarotti, Sophia Loren and Lucio Dalla have been its patrons.

Shangri-La Shard, London

Shangri-La Shard is London’s first elevated hotel that occupies levels 34 to 52 of the iconic The Shard building designed by Renzo Piano. The design has Oriental influences. Main areas don Oriental motifs, but the colours, textures and materials let the interiors blend with the cityscape view at each turn. The entrance lobby has four artworks, along with the lighting and layering effects such as the shimmering gold-shaded artworks featuring Chinese ink painting. In the rooms, the essence of Chinese art is reinterpreted in a modern and abstract way. Although the design layouts of this 202-room hotel are varied from room to room due to the spire-shaped architectural design, the overall theme remains connected.

The Oberoi Sukhvilas Spa and Resort, Chandigarh

The newest Oberoi property is set amid 8,000 acres of protected natural forest of the Siswan forest range. It is laid in a manner that you get unobstructed view of the green from every corner. The rooms — Kohinoor Villa to royal forest tents — are adorned with traditional design elements inspired by Rajput and Mughal palace architecture. There is intricately carved furniture, thekri mirrorwork, hand-painted frescoes and jharoka (windows) reminiscent of the royal era. The resort houses a 12,000 square feet spa, designed in-house in collaboration with consultant Rosaline Freedman. The tranquil light-filled space is embellished with glass, fire and water features.

Palazzo Versace Hotel, Dubai

Just a stone’s throw from Dubai’s architectural marvel Burj Khalifa, the Versace hotel stands tall, in stature if not height. The no-brainer first, furniture and fabric that adorns the 215-room hotel, is designed and tailor-made by Versace exclusively for this hotel. Reminiscent of a 16th-century Italian palace, it dons the neoclassical design with subtle hints of Arabian architecture. The high ceilings, rooms and suites furnished with Versace Home collection featuring colours such as turquoise, blue, beige, gold and salmon, bathrooms tiled with handcrafted mosaic and Carrara. The hotel restaurants, eight in number, have an al fresco terrace to reflect the heritage of Palazzos.