Transforming Queen Anne’s Chambers, a former government building, RPW Design has completed the interior designing of all the 256 rooms, 44 luxury suites, an imposing penthouse and public areas of the hotel with decorative lighting, furniture and finishes.
In order to capture the traditions of the hotel’s neighbours in Westminster, the English public areas at ground floor of the hotel have been designed with a welcoming spirit. Local references have been incorporated within the InterContinental Hotel Group’s brand guidelines, which focuses on specific requirements of a property located in the heart of the government district and serving that market.
The marble and mosaic floor of the reception area has been designed with detailed references to the floor at Westminster Abbey. Motifs from St. James’s Park are also used to refer to the design. The hotel also features artworks, which relates to various aspects of British political life in subtle and satirical ways.
Created by the studio Evil Robot Designs who uses re-cycled model toys to create individual art and inspired by Jan Wilson, the sculpture is featured in the principal guest lounge. The concept here is a re-creation of the House of Commons, leaving visitors and guests to decide for themselves who is represented by various characters that are present in this surreal version of the parliamentary chamber.
The hotel’s public rooms are designed to provide the feel of the ‘Westminster Village’. The Blue Boar Bar and Restaurant features a series of public areas, which are designed to provide a feeling of intimacy and privacy with secluded corners for private conversations, and a private drinking room. The restaurant also features dark wood panelling and warm tones, which adds more charm to the surroundings.
Generating a lighter, more feminine mood, the hotel also features Tea Lounge and Emmeline’s, which is named for the 19th Century British political activist and founder of the suffragette movement Emmeline Pankhurst. Soft furnishings in fuchsia and lime have been used to reinforce the separate character of this area.
To provide luxury of a contemporary residential apartment, the guest bedrooms are designed with bright and warm palette of off-white with yellow highlights, lightening and invigorating spaces. Wood panelling in blond colour and contemporary Westminster artwork have also been used extensively in the guest rooms to lay a contemporary touch to the guest rooms.
It took 11 months to complete the interior designing of the project from appointment to the opening of the Inter Continental London Westminster hotel.
