Hospitality Design - January/February 2014 - 86

perspectives

special feature

destinations

Istanbul

> With one foot in Europe and the other in Asia,
Istanbul has long been a mystical and-despite recent tear gas-filled
protests-relatively safe Middle Eastern destination for travelers keen
on melding ancient Ottoman-era wonders with vivid, modern-day
street life. International hotel brands are eager to set up shop there now,
revitalizing historic waterfront buildings and making a home in residential
neighborhoods.

New Business

Leisure travelers aren't the only ones hightailing it to Istanbul in spades.
In 2012, Le Méridien Etiler opened with bold architecture from locally
based Emre Arolat, contemporary Turkish artwork, and the brand's new
reimagined lobby concept-the Hub-setting a stylish precedent for the
business hotel.
Following Le Méridien's lead is the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel &
Conference Center, which recently arrived in the Şişli district and bills

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itself as the city's largest with 829 guestrooms, 129,000 square feet of
meeting space, and the country's first eforea: spa at Hilton. London-based
GA Design International handled the interiors and Paul Woods, director
of the Budapest office and principal on the project, says the goal was to
avoid Turkish references, a style already present in numerous Istanbul
properties. Instead, the feel of a grand hotel was conjured through the
soaring lobby and a "mildly masculine Ralph Lauren palette of gray and
blue," he notes. Columns, plaster-sculptured surfaces, and limestone floors
with gray marble circular patterns add dramatic touches to the lobby and
reception, while in the guestrooms, "the bathroom is designed to be a
highlight," Woods says. "Black Nero Marquina marble is used on the walls.
Above the bathtub is a Turkish ceramic molded tile to give the impact of a
sculptural wall."

Luxe Turn

In 2016, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts will unveil a 210-room property joined
by branded residences in the Quasar Istanbul complex, a mixed-use
development in Şişli. The initial design concept, according to Nunturat

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January/February 2014 hospitalitydesign.com

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1. Purple and bronze
dominate at Cantonese
eatery Shang Palace
at the Shangri-La
Bosphorus.

2. Taking inspiration
from its location-
housed in a series
of buildings nestled
in the hills of a
neighborhood-the
entry to the Viceroy
Estate at Bebeköy will
have a residential feel.

3. A rendering of the
lobby at the Fairmont,
which will be part of
the Quasar Istanbul
complex.

Robbamrung, interior designer at Wilson Associates' New York office,
is "Turkish cloth with square edges." To create an unexpected look in
which "rough contrasts with polished, simplicity is juxtaposed against
luxury, and the new is made old," Robbamrung says the design team took
inspiration from Eastern and Western fabrics, weaving, and knot patterns.
"Through a process of abstraction and stylization, we then applied them to
architectural materials like wood and marble, forming interesting textures
and innovative patterns to create a bespoke interior. We call it damask
meets Kilim."
The Shangri-La Bosphorus is one of Istanbul's most recent 5-Star
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