The luxury travel market is suddenly being inundated with a new term – “Pop-up”. While the term is common in temporary pop-up seasonal shops, it is also now being applied to hotels. One British company calling itself the “Pop-Up Hotel” specializes in crafting temporary spaces for events and retreats, and other hotel chains are now joining in.
While temporary usually equates to cheap, in the case of the Papaya Playa Project in Mexico, it is anything but. Priced at up to $675 per night, the hotel group Design Hotels has created a pop-up hotel in a series of cabanas and casitas right on the beach at Tulum. Claiming that it offers a luxury “glamping” experience (being a type of glamorous camping) it does promise high thread count sheets, a spa incorporating Mayan shamanism and food from KaterHolzig, better known for its Berlin Bar 25 fame.
Design Hotel Founder Claus Sendlinger also plans to bring famous DJs and musicians to perform on the natural amphitheater on the beach, introduce an on-site designer boutique and offer the luxury traveler perks such as sustainable and organic food-on-the-go.
Not to be outdone, the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas luxury hotel is offering a Pop-Up Wedding Chapel for a short time. There is a choice of ceremonies: the Hitched in a Hurry economy package which includes a photo booth picture and space eraser rings, or the deluxe “Going to the Chapel” package which has a silk flower bouquet, logo tee shirts and party favors.
by Gillian at Luxique
The piece I wrote a couple of weeks ago about luxury hotels becoming design icons has been borne out by work going on at the prestigious Claridge’s Hotel in London.
Claridge’s, known for its Art Deco opulence, hired the fashion legend Diane von Furstenberg (think wrap dress) to revamp 20 suites. It was something of a labour of love because she’s been going there as a guest for 30 years and declares it her favourite hotel in the world.
Time magazine asked her what made a luxury hotel room appealing: “It’s always about comfort. When you come to a hotel room, you want it to be grand, functional and beautiful. But you don’t want things that are not useful. Sometimes you go to hotels and there are all these frames and pictures of people you don’t know and you end up hiding everything in the drawer and then housekeeping come and put it out again.”
Did she think luxury remained relevant in these hard times? “For me the real sense of luxury is space. Luxury is silence. Luxury is nature. What I hate is when people think of luxury just as expensive and useless. Yes, a luxury hotel is expensive. But, God, sometimes it feels so good.”
Of course, we at Luxique are inclined to agree and we can help you book a room or a von Furstenberg-designed suite at Claridge’s.
by Andy Moreton, with acknowledgements to Time magazine
I read this week that luxury hotels are now so stylishly presented that guests want to copy ideas for their own interior design plans.
Amy Popp, of the Four Seasons luxury hotel chain, says it’s not uncommon for guests to fall in love with a chair in the lobby, a duvet cover or something even more outlandish. “One of the most unusual requests we’ve had is for the door going into the executive office … someone wanted to buy the door,” she said.
It’s a fact that luxury hotel chains hire the best interior designers with cutting-edge ideas, so people look to hotels to see what’s fashionable. Each location is styled individually, capturing regional charm.
If you do see something in your luxury hotel that you can’t live without, ask the manager about it. You might be able to do a deal, or he/she could tell you where you could order it. However, many pieces of hotel furniture tend to be custom-made and one-of-a-kind.
The Four Seasons soon cottoned on to the trend and, after receiving multiple requests, began selling a complete bedding package including beds and linens — right down to the pillow.
by Andy Moreton, with acknowledgements to Delaney Seiferling of the Toronto Sun.
