Wellness Hostel 4000 | Luxury wellness hostel in Switzerland
19-10-2018
At the beginning of October, our colleagues from Van Spronsen & Partners hospitality consultancy, published their sector research ‘De hostel in beeld’ (published only in Dutch). This publication shows that the youth hostel image has been stuck to the hostels for years, it’s now changing partly thanks to the newer, contemporary trendy concepts. Nowadays, hostels also profile themselves partly as hotels, with less large dormitories and more private rooms. This ensures a separation in different types of hostels: the classic youth hostel, budget hostels and boutique, design hostels. A nice example of a hostel where it is not just about the overnight stay is the Wellness Hostel 4000 & Aqua Allalin in Saas Fee, Switzerland. And in 2020 a second Wellness hostel will open in Laax, Wellness hostel 3000 & Aua Grava.
Restaurant Ducasse sur Seine | Haute cuisine, hospitality, culture and technology on the Seine
17-10-2018
Restaurant Ducasse sur Seine; haute cuisine, hospitality, culture and technology on an exclusive cruise ship in the Seine. Since 18 September, the ship sails past the highlights of Paris in 90 minutes, while guests can enjoy a 3 to 5-course menu at top level. We already wrote about the upcoming opening in our ‘trends we spotted’ in August, now we know more!
Eaton Workshop in Washington DC | New, social, creative hotel concept
16-10-2018
Eaton Workshop opened last September in downtown Washington DC and besides hotel rooms they offer their guests an interdisciplinary hotel experience. Eaton Workshop consists of distinct parts: House, Hotel, Media, Wellness and Impact. This hub for change makers, entrepreneurs and creatives is at the cutting edge of culture, media, hospitality, welfare and progressive social change. Leonie van Spronsen stayed in the hotel twice and writes about it below.
Eaton Workshop | Opened with a Human Progress Festival
There are many reasons to become an entrepreneur but one reason that is very hip these days; to make the world a better place. This comes in all shapes and sizes but it often it ends up being more commercial than ethic or quite the opposite: very ethic but not profitable at all! These are not the only two options if you ask Katherine Lo, founder of Eaton Hotels, who started her company to prove you can be a profitable and ethic entrepreneur. Katherine and her team opened their first Eaton houses in Hong Kong and Washington DC in September, in special ways. Eaton Washington DC was officially opened with a “Human Progress Festival”, three days of party in the form of spiritual workshops, themed debates, indie radio, more traditional parties and meditation. Check their Facebookpage for videos of their events.
Loved my stay at the Eaton hotel!
Otherwise the hotel is stunning, hip, cool but a typical hotel however you cannot miss the progressive approach to running a hotel. This hotel has 209 rooms and the lobby features an indie radio station studio, at check-in you receive a healing crystal and the staff is of all backgrounds and languages. Lots of attention for details, like for example you will find a list of amenities you can have brought to your room; things like razor kits, shampoo and oh, the declaration of human rights. Yep – this is not your 13 in a dozen type of hotel. At the wellness you can enjoy new age spa treatments and there is a co-working space in the hotel. As for their food & beverage: they have two restaurants, American Son and Kintsugi, both run by their chef Tim Ma. At American Son you’ll find an American melting pot menu, they use a lot of vegetables and local products. In season some vegetables are even harvest from the rooftop garden of the hotel. At the menu of Kintsugi are third wave coffee, Ayurvedic beverages, and experimental healthy pastries, plus comfortable seating areas and countertops to work from, and a selection of periodicals.
Katherine Lo has next to their other hotel in Hong Kong plans for Eaton hotels in Seattle and San Francisco. I truly hope she will pull this off and prove once and for all that it is possible to have an ethical and profitable business, because I think the world could use that! And if anyone can do it, it would be a girl that was surrounded by the knowledge and wealth of the Langham imperium growing up. I have stayed twice at Eatons by now and really enjoyed it! ^Leonie van Spronsen
Inspiration from Bergen, Norway | Hotel Norge by Scandic
12-10-2018
Hotel Norge in Bergen has been around since 1885 and this summer reopened their new, modern home for travellers with a curious mind. The hotel embraces Bergen’s history and combines it with an international and contemporary lifestyle. Check out the video underneath the article and spot the special features of this hotel such as the giant eternal sun in the lobby which can be seen as the heart of the building, the escalator tunnel, the amfi staircase in café Norge and their own fragrance ‘the escapist’. Inspiration from Bergen in Norway, with a touch of Amsterdam as concrete was involved in the design.
CitizenM bowery hotel | A luxury and cultural experience in downtown New York
4-10-2018
September 27th , the citizenM bowery hotel, full of luxury and cultural experiences, had officially opened its doors. With 300 rooms and a staggering 75m high, it becomes the tallest building in the neighbourhood and the world’s tallest modular hotel. Alongside a living room plaza and carefully curated art, the hotel introduces CoffeeM to the US, and is also topped with cloudM rooftop bar, offering 360 degrees of views over Manhattan.
Hotel Les Roches Rouges | It’s retro
1-10-2018
Located at the French Riviera, well almost above the Mediterranean Sea, in Saint-Raphaël, hotel Les Roches Rouges is heaven for those who love to sleep with the sound of the waves. A contemporary Boutique style hotel with a high dose of retro, reintroducing the shower curtain, simple blue tiles in the shower, retro shower faucets, retro images and many more detail in the design and small gestures that bring back a lot of memories. Like the iron tables at the terrace, the large French oak communal tables, lots of concrete walls and wooden details. And old fashioned cocktails in small bottles in your room. The hotel is very #Instagrammable.
Christmas inspiration 2018
26-9-2018
We are already receiving plenty of newsletters with announcements for Christmas dinners, time for some Christmas inspiration! We have listed some top ideas from (inter)national companies. Do you already gave a ‘Tree Lighting ceremony’? Or do you decorate your Christmas tree already with cutlery or Christmas balls with liquor? Are you tempting your guests to share photos of your restaurant or hotel via Instagram on Christmas, in other words is your company ‘Instagrammable’? Enjoy reading and success with preparing your Christmas dinners!
‘Fauchon Glamour’ at Fauchon L’Hôtel Paris | The hotel for foodies in Paris
18-9-2018
Every foodie who has ever been to Paris knows the Parisian confectioners Fauchon, they’re best known for their delicious and beautifully crafted desserts and pastries. Their ‘Maison de gourmets’ has been around since 1889 and on the first of September this year they launched their first hotel in Paris, member of the Leading Hotels of the World and located at Boulevard Malesherbes. The motto of this 5-star hotel is ‘Fauchon Glamour’ or in short G.L.A.M. In which the ‘G’ stands for Gourmandise (Glam’Hours and even a Bar Gourmet in the room) and the ‘L’ stands for Location, in the center of Paris, a historical building, near theaters and le quartier Saint-Honoré and la place Vendome for shopping. The ‘A’ stands for Attentions, great service and small gestures that make a difference and the ‘M’ stands for Mesdames, delicate and subtle design with a female touch. The famed patisserie announced plans to launch a chain of 20 boutique hotels. The brand plans to expand their hospitality into other locations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas.
Trends we spotted | Week 37
14-9-2018
At hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the smaller trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
This week, amongst others about the new Abba restaurant in London, Mamma Mia! The Party and Starbucks introduced a new drink ‘the Cordusio’ in honour of the opening of Starbucks Reserve Rostary Milan at plaza Cordusio! And a link to a video in which the Subway CEO offers a peek into the future of their stores, also a link to an amusing article with the title: sobbing in the Starbucks. And a link to the New York Oyster Week from 13 September till the 29th, with a Dutch touch!
Pillows Grand Hotel Reylof & restaurant LOF in Ghent | Open after renovation
13-9-2018
Pillows Grand Hotel Reylof, situated at the Hoogstraat in Ghent, will open its doors on the 6th of October. The Louis XIV style townhouse hotel with 157 rooms, bars, an extensive living room, salons (for both business and private meetings) and a spa was completely renovated into a boutique hotel. Modest luxury with soft colors and rich natural materials will determine the atmosphere. Not only the hotel was renovated, the well-known LOF Restaurant has also been completely renewed. Unique is that the restaurant gets the signature of Ron Blaauw – one of the most well-known star chefs in the Netherlands. Blaauw will translate his successful Ron Gastrobar concept for LOF.