Hotel Missoni Kuwait: Review in this month's Sleeper Magazine

11.08.11

Under the creative direction of Rosita Missoni, Graven Images has delivered the interiors for Rezidor’s second Hotel Missoni, a 169-key property bursting with the bold patterns and vibrant colour palette for which the Italian fashion house is known.

Rezidor has a special connection with Kuwait. The Emirate was the setting for the group’s first international hotel outside of Scandinavia and it was here that longstanding President and CEO Kurt Ritter spent the early years of his career as General Manager. So when the opportunity arose to add to Rezidor’s portfolio in the region, Ritter jumped at the chance. “Besides this long term cooperation, the Middle East is a promising development market for Hotel Missoni – people are very receptive towards this unique kind of lifestyle hotel,” he says. “Hotel Missoni Kuwait is our flagship in the region and opens the way to further properties of the brand.”

Spearheaded by Kurt Ritter and Rosita Missoni, co-founder of the Italian fashion and interiors house of the same name, Hotel Missoni made its debut in Edinburgh in 2009. Respecting outline concepts developed by Matteo Thun and the creative direction of Rosita, Glasgow-based Graven Images delivered the ensuing interiors.

Hotel Missoni Kuwait is the group’s second property, and despite the brand’s distinctive appearance, each hotel is seen as unique and an individual expression of Rosita Missoni’s creative vision, taking cues from its environment. According to Rosita, one of the key drivers of Hotel Missoni is in responding to geographical and cultural influences while maintaining Missoni’s unique style. This has resulted in two hotels that are markedly different. “In Edinburgh we decided on black and white patterns and little by little we introduced colour,” says Rosita, whereas Hotel Missoni Kuwait has a colour palette of gold, turquoise and beige married with brightly coloured floral, striped and zigzag patterns.

Hotel Missoni Kuwait forms part of the Symphony Complex, a development of commercial, retail and office space designed by architects Dino Georgiou & Partners. As the superstructure had already been built on site, the hotel’s public areas and guestrooms had to plug in to this footprint.

Working closely with Rosita and client CRC, Graven Images were again invited to deliver the interiors at Hotel Missoni Kuwait, taking on board aesthetic and operational considerations to further develop the design. Says Design Director William Nolan: “The brief was essentially about integration. In a sense, we were facilitating the Missoni vision within Rezidor’s technical standards and the framework of an existing building.

“We had to explore and understand the Missoni design ethos; to understand their use of colour and pattern, their evolution, and their views on how people should live, all of which helped to give us an insight into the values and aspirations that Missoni would express in hotel design,” he continues. “As with every project, we also had to take on board the operational aspects that would be supported by the brand.”

In addition, the design team were required to examine how the hotel would be used by guests. For example, the sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited in Kuwait, hence the absence of the Missoni Bar seen in Edinburgh. Instead, the hotel has gained larger social spaces around which much of the experience revolves, additional dining options in the form of the 18th floor Luna restaurant, and outdoor terraces. Thanks to the region’s warmer climate, leisure facilities have also been extended with an outdoor pool tiled in the signature Missoni stripe, and a 1,500m2 Six Senses Spa. Due to open later this year the spa will feature a range of face and body treatments, and separate gyms, hammams, and changing areas for men and women, each with a sauna and steam room.

Interiors are a reflection of Missoni’s bold personality combined with references to the Arabian Gulf and bespoke features. The double height lobby is flanked by two over-sized mosaic urns decorated in the colour scheme of the property, a feature that has become something of a trademark for Hotel Missoni. Adds Nolan: “The lobby has neutral stone wall and floor claddings as a base, overlaid with highlight features in colour and material; purple fringe chandeliers with 8m drops, walls in purples and orange, gold metalwork and a mosaic-clad water feature in purples and blues.”

Iconic pieces of design, some of which Rosita has in her own home such as Hans J Wegner’s Wishbone Chair, can be found throughout, in addition to pieces by B&B Italia, Gervasoni, Knoll International, and Republic of Fritz Hansen.

The 106 guestrooms, all of which have views of the Arabian Gulf, continue the palette of gold, turquoise and beige seen throughout the property and are accented with bold, emphatic patterning. Each features the latest 32-inch Bang & Olufsen televisions, amenities scented with a Missoni fragrance, and linens from the Missoni Home range. The 63 suites range in size from 75m2 to the 312m2 of the Presidential Suite, which also boasts a 90m2 outdoor terrace.

Adds Nolan: “Standard rooms follow one of two palettes arranged on alternate floor level – the ‘blu’ scheme, with feature highlights in subdued hues of pink, mid-blue and honey-yellow; and the ‘violet’ scheme, with highlights in bolder tones of purple and turquoise.
“There are a further three suite types, each with their own palette; the Missoni Suite in pastel blues and honey; the Grandiosa Suite in greens and violets; and the Maggore Suite in pale green, turquoise and lilac.”
All guestrooms feature white oak floorboards, furniture by Knoll and Artifort, and co-ordinating upholstery, wallcoverings and rugs from the Missoni Home collection manufactured in northern Italy by T&J Vestor. Missoni artwork in the form of framed prints, woven fabric panels, and graphics, specially designed and manufactured for Kuwait, completes the look. Bathrooms are clad in mosaic in shades of green, blue or yellow to respond to the respective room scheme and showcase Italian sanitaryware from Zuchetti and Inda.

Missoni’s Italian roots play a significant role in the hotel’s public areas too. Just as the kitchen lies at the heart of an Italian home, Hotel Missoni’s restaurant Cucina lies at the heart of the property. Its blue encaustic floor tiles and white oak boards complement the graded shades of blue applied to the walls, textured wallpaper, and gold mosaic clad counters. Also inspired by the Italian passion for coffee, Choco Café is designed as a place to unwind. Here, highlights are picked out in burgundy and black Corian and offset in multicoloured upholstery fabrics. Lighting too is a celebration of Italian design, supplied by Artemide, Flos, and Foscarini.

Hotel Missoni’s combination of its international fashion roots, local design influences and Italian style looks set to flourish with a number of properties in the pipeline. So where can we see the next Graven Images-designed Hotel Missoni? According to Nolan: “Currently rising out of a beach in Oman, where we are working in collaboration with Missoni and Michael Graves Architects.”

WORDS: Catherine Martin PHOTOGRAPHY: Courtesy of Hotel Missoni Kuwait