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Nestling in the shadow of its towering neighbour, the Burj Dubai, is the latest Arabic-inspired hospitality project proffered by Wilson Associates. Straddling the genres of business hotel and family resort, the hotel perfectly combines the two categories. Surrounded by man-made canals and waterways, the hotel will eventually be linked to the Burj Dubai and Dubai Mall by water taxis, in a similar vein to the Madinat Jumeirah.
It is this detail on the master plan that separates the Palace from other business hotels in the city. Lori Campbell, senior designer, Wilson Associates agrees this is what sets the Palace's suites apart from other guestrooms in Dubai: "The fact that every bedroom in the hotel has a fascinating water view of either the Burj Dubai Lake or The Old Town Island, adds to the ‘resort in a city' feel and is designed to appeal to both business travellers and families."
The corporate amenities in the guestrooms makes it easy to work in the room as the dressing table doubles as a desk contributing to the multi-purpose feel.
The original design brief from the client was to create an upscale resort that mixed Arabic and Western styles and incorporated the modern Moroccan touch. Campbell tells CID how she was inspired by European Morocco, not Kasbah. "The simplicity of the furniture and the clean lines used throughout the hotel is characteristic of contemporary Morocco that is influenced by European trends, which can be seen in details throughout the hotel."
In the Deluxe Suites the wall-coverings are high quality woven imitation linen from Goodridge Global's JM Lynne, while the carpet is called Cartesian from the US-based firm Masland. It is a contemporary interpretation of the tradition Moroccan style rugs popular within the Berber culture of North Africa.
For the lighting Campbell specified fixtures from a selection of manufacturers including Boyd Lighting, Dessin Fournir, IGuzzini and Chelsom UK. The art and accessories were originally specified from a number of sources including Graphis Art and Eastern Fusion Art, with the final order going to Greenart. For the upholstery, a variety of fabric suppliers were used, but the original specification for the curtains was a sumptuous material called Raffles Wilman by Singaporean firm TD Fabrics.
As Wilson Associates has designed over a million guest rooms worldwide its winning formula includes attention to detail in the bathrooms, with an increasing amount of its bathrooms being integrated into the guestrooms. In hotels like the Park Hyatt the bathrooms are extensions of the bedroom by creating a semi-open barrier wall, whereas in the new ski chalets at the Kempinski the bathtubs are open to the rest of space, being essentially in the bedroom. In the Palace, subtler ways of inclusion are implemented, as Campbell explains: "We have installed speakers in the bathroom and if you open the bathroom door the TV is angled so that you can see it in the mirrored wardrobe doors. Not many people know that but it is a deliberate design detail!"
She continues: "We have installed double sinks in each guest room - we always try to have a double sink in our hotel rooms as it is in line with the trends for residential interiors and by duplicating this feel in hotels it makes the guest more comfortable. We also opted for a large bathtub and shower. We felt that in a resort hotel you have more leisure time to relax and so these details are important."
