An ironic revisitation of natural allure

For many years hospitality architecture was influenced by banal preconceptions that equated luxury with overblown decorations and a continuous return to models from the past. Even high-level hotel complexes with well designed architectural shells fell into the trap of trivialising the interior architecture with eighteenth and nineteenth century style furnishings, most notably English Chippendale, and a meaningless combination of baroque styles and implausible renaissance inlays. In short, the more prestigious the hotel, the greater was the tendency to display poor taste. It is only in recent years that the trend has been reversed and both major hotel chains and the medium and medium-high level hospitality sector in general have begun to adopt a new vision. These new design concepts are introducing a mixture of styles and cultures that blend modernity and multiethnic traditions. The resultant hotels and resorts have interiors with a strong emotional appeal, distinctive designs that combine the variety of spaces with the added value of a unique language capable of highlighting the quality of the services on offer. The world of hospitality has thus been enriched with eclectic hotels designed to pleasantly impress their guests with novel and chromatically impeccable interiors and technologically advanced materials. The Soave Hotel San Bonifacio, owned by the large international chain Best Western, is one such example, having been radically remodelled and given a totally new layout. Strategically located on a main road between Verona and Vicenza, it is easily accessible from either the Soave or Montebello motorway exits. It has eighty-three rooms furnished in a contemporary style along with a well-equipped meeting room for work groups of up to about eighty people. The hotel remodelling project also involved the construction of an exclusive swimming pool set in a large garden as a place for relaxation and networking. The hotel amenities include a restaurant and a fitness centre. The rooms are all unique and have their own distinctive colour compositions. All spaces feature floor tiles with exclusive decorations from Ergon (Mikado, Alabastro and Brera series). One aspect that has received particular attention is that of lighting design, and a sophisticated play of indirect coloured light creates different atmospheres in each room, customised according to the style of the furnishings. This underscores the fact that interior architecture is a multidisciplinary activity, requiring a design sensibility that combines an architect’s training with the expertise of a lighting designer.