4 Breathtaking Hotels Rooted In Community Connection
From adaptive reuse to new construction, properties in Europe and Central America encourage leisurely connection with local culture.
Unwind At These Hotels With Global Flair
Hilton Paris La Défense by Saguez & Partners
The studio’s first project for the mega brand is housed inside the Center for New Technologies & Industries, built in 1958 by architects Robert Camelot, Jean de Mailly, and Bernard Zehrfuss (with Jean Prouvé contributing to the exterior) in what’s now Europe’s largest business district. But since work and play constantly intermingle post-COVID, public spaces, which have maintained such original elements as the 150-foot-tall concrete vault and reception’s stone flooring, and 153 guest rooms have been imbued with “French 1960’s glamour.” Custom furniture in the lobby, lounge, and Muses restaurant is informed by that by Pierre Paulin and Charlotte Perriand from that era, while Berit Mogensen Lopez’s artworks, the Paris eatery’s bold vinyl mural, and guest-room corridor carpet by Alarwool boast rhythmic patterns and engaging colors.
Hotel Volga in Mexico City by JSa
Drama and vernacular architecture are permanent guests at this Mexico City 49-key property by the local firm. The journey begins in the lobby, where a sculptural stair clad in carbon-steel panels coated in copper automotive paint spirals down to a subterranean speakeasy in the central atrium, a standout U-shaped void that simultaneously pays tribute to the country’s cenotes (cavelike wells), features a large-scale lava, stone, brass, and travertine floorwork by Mexican sculptor and painter Perla Krauze, and rises all the way up eight floors to the rooftop. Along the way is a mezcal tasting bar enveloped in concrete, plus the guest rooms and suites, each with granite, Brazilian bamboo quartzite, or Calacatta marble finishes and balconies facing the atrium.
Ses Sucreres in Menorca, Spain, by Calderon-Folch Studio
Ca Ses Sucreres, the island’s grocery shop where, in the 1940’s, village children would get sweets (the name derives from sucre, Catalan for sugar), has been reenvisioned and expanded—from 4,800 square feet to 9,200, plus another 3,200 of courtyards, with the annexing of two adjoining buildings—into a 12-key boutique hotel in Menorca, Spain, by this firm specializing in passive architecture. Traditional—and local—Menorcan marés, or sandstone, clads the exterior, while interiors skew more brutalist, with a ribbed-slab ceiling of reinforced concrete, its formwork poured in situ, terrazzo flooring, lime stucco walls, and such contemporary furniture as Jacques Deneef’s N701 sofa from Ethnicraft.
The Usual in Rotterdam, Netherlands, by Joi-Design
The new-to-market brand targets travelers who prioritize circularity and ESG principles, this debut 209-key property in Rotterdam, Netherlands, powered entirely by renewable energy from Dutch windmills; finished in materials that are either bio-based, recyclable, made from recycled components, or reusable at end of life; and rife with biophilia. Guest rooms offer three levels of accommodations, from the budget-minded, green-toned Pod, inspired by Japanese capsule hotels, with bunk beds and shared bathrooms, to the terra cotta-colored Cosy, with cork walls and a balcony sleeping loft, to the spacious long-stay Studio with kitchenette and dining area, all with U-shaped details.
link
