With the Common Wealth Games 2010 around the corner, Hotel Samrat in the capital soon will have a new look to its rooms. India Tourism Development Corporation, that owns the hotel, has invited a few Indian fashion designers to redesign its rooms. They include Ashima-Leena, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Raghavendra Rathore, JJ Valaya and Ashish Soni. Each designer will give their assigned six rooms and one suite aesthetic touches matching their design sense.
“The designers will change the overall look of the rooms including bed linen, furniture, lights, carpets and drapes,” says a senior ITDC official. “Leena Singh is coordinating the exercise. This is the first time in the world that a group of designers are giving rooms a different look and feel. There are hotels designed by individual designers, but this concept is happening for the first time in the world.”
Internationally, there are several such hotels designed by world-renowned designers. Giorgio Armani is building his hotels in Milan and Dubai. Petit Moulin Hotel in Paris was designed by Christian Lacroix. In Jamaica, Round the Hill Hotel and Villas was designed by Ralph Lauren, The Beach hotel in Miami has the creative sense of designer Todd Oldham. British designer John Rocha designed clean and straight lines interiors of Dublin’s Morrison Hotel. Vibrant touches of Versace can be seen at the Palazzo Versace Hotels.
Similarly Oscar de la Renta designed the Tortuga Bay Hotel in the Dominican Republic and Bvlgari has its hotels in Milan and Salvatore Ferragamo has its hotels in Florence. Dolce & Gabbana has their Gold Bar concept in Milan as well. Milliner Philip Treacy designed The G Hotel in Ireland.
Out of the 150 rooms of Hotel Samrat, according to the official, more may be made available for other fashion designers as well. “We are a public sector undertaking. If more designers come to us, whose profile and creativity match with the ones we have already finalised, we will only be happy to accommodate them and assign them their sets of rooms for designing.”
Their take
According to Leena Singh of Ashima-Leena, the rooms will be made in the best creative way possible. “For instance, we have already planned to have digital prints on the furniture,” she says. “This is a prestigious project for us as the hotel is turning itself into a boutique hotel.”
‘Nouveau Indian’ feel is what designer Ashish Soni will be giving to his set of rooms. The designer, whose interpretation of India in the most contemporary manner is quite well known, will give rooms “a twist of India with a feel of the west.” Rajesh Pratap Singh says the design aesthtics will depend on various factors. “We have had only one meeting so far and lot more information will have to come before I decide what to do. Surely, it will not be something totally different from my style. ITDC properties are located in the best locations in the city and I am glad that they are now going in for a new, contemporary look.”