Project Team

design: in design international
builder: Mynt Refurbishments

Suppliers

lighting: Inlite, Globe West,
furniture:
Prototype, Globe West, Lounge Designer Furniture, Casa Mia
fabric:
Warwick, Mokum, Baresque, Wortley, Verve Fabrics, Zepel
carpet: Passo
bench and counter tops:
Laminex, Caesarstone
tiles: Academy Tiles,

A well-kept but rather dated Resort Hotel needing a face lift called upon the expert advice of one of the country’s leading hotel refurbishment interior design team “in design international” to reincarnate the property with a new life.

Director Penny del Castillo took on the budget challenged property and produced a stunning result by cleverly manipulating the interior spaces with minimum structural collateral. Penny says, “We worked our magic to make even the most dominant existing features - floor tiles and balustrading - appear to be part of the new scheme”.

Emu Mini Jerra Table

Material: wicker. Dimensions: 86/86/29. Weight: 9,2 Kg. Resistant to outdoor exposure.

Prototype


The concept theme development was strongly influenced by the tried and true design philosophy that “form follows function” – firstly due to those finishes that financial restrictions and secondly it was critical that this exceptionally busy public space remained practical.  The geographical location and surrounding golf course also played a major part in determining the approach to materials and finishes to achieve the casual yet chic interior.

Smart edgy Screenwood timber battening now envelops the reception area bulkheads and back wall. Along with hiding a multitude of 1980’s sins, it gives a more contemporary architectural ambience to the space while new stone cladding to the check-in counters add sophistication and elegance.

The main brief was to separate the bar from the dining area, and get as many bottoms on seats as possible into the same floor area. The hotel in peak periods turns over literally hundreds of people at high pace for breakfast - yet needs to remain intimate for romantic dinners.

In the massive reception and foyer, a double storey void with a sweeping stair case, large pendant lights draw attention to the existing tongue and groove ceilings that had gone unnoticed and help make sense of the existing black handrails and balustrade that financially were impossible to upgrade.

Penny specifically designed the enormous custom inlaid rug (manufactured by PASSO) to set the scene for the mix of resort style furniture and complement the existing architectural curves of the mezzanine level above. Purposefully incorporating stylised botanical imagery to assist in softening the hard space and reminiscent of the gardens, wall to wall carpet patterns and wall paper.

The Private dining room overlooking the pool features another iconic pendant light to set the scene.

Each new area created had key feature lights to create intimacy and assist in the new zoning of spaces to set the ambience. New light sources were generated from floor to ceiling in the public areas. Low level LED strip lights on metallic gold skirting boards, wall mounted lights on columns, pendant lights a various levels, and recessed down lights.

“My solutions are very practical and budget conscious,” commented Penny del Castillo. “I am a firm believer in working “with” rather than “against” the established elements when it comes to hotel refurbishment that almost always have dollar restrictions. I seek out and identify what absolutely MUST go and what we can make work. In the case of the Mercure… the black balustrading design is certainly not what I would choose from scratch on a new build program. However when I calculate the lineal meters to understand the cost involved in making the change over, it becomes fairly obvious that the job would not be proceeding regardless of how much I stamp my feet and shake my fist. On decoration: my photographer says I use a lot of scatter cushions!”

Restaurant and Bar Carpet

Custom Design, Halmbond Bespoke AP900. 550 gram Filz backing

Passo


One of the challenges Penny needed to meet was keeping the existing carpet and converting the very corporate look into a more resort feel. So she highlighted just the tiniest amount of burnt orange from the carpet by using decoratively trimmed scatter cushions and selected a bedhead fabric reminiscent of a beach deck chair.  All case goods were made in solid timbers, timber veneers and timber look laminates to eliminate any steel or plastics. Wall mounting the TV’s was essential to meet new brand standards so a slim line cabinet with Qld style horizontal groove was introduced to help achieve this.