Jumeirah hires designer for Turkey hotel refit

Jumeirah has appointed designer Anouska Hempel to spearhead the renovation of the 120-year-old Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.

Renowned hotelier and interior designer Hempel will create new concepts for the public areas and two presidential suites of the luxury museum hotel.

Scheduled for completion by mid-2013, the project will aim to enhance the Belle Époque feel of the hotel, Hotelier Middle East reported.

Jumeirah said in a statement that Hempel aims to “display the feminine side of Patisserie de Pera’s Art Nouveau décor while complementing the more masculine characteristics of the hotel’s interior”.

She plans to add pink taffeta, moiré silks, lace curtains, velvet cushions and tiny tables, in silver and cranberry tones to the design of the patisserie.

Each area of the plan will be refurbished over a one-week period. As the project does not involve major construction work, hotel guests will not be impacted by the redesign.

Initially launched in 1892, Pera Palace Hotel, Jumeirah re-opened in 2010 after a refurbishment of the building.

The group said the redesign aims to enhance the hotel’s status among the luxurious grand hotels of the world, where guests can experience the glamour of a bygone era.