hospitalitystyle.com

(2008 November December) posted on Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:13pm EST
Inventive layouts and careful test-fitting bring heritage hotels’ most outmoded spaces up to today’s guests’ expectations.

By Deborah Lloyd Forrest, ForrestPerkins

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Deborah Lloyd Forrest specializes in putting the grandeur back in grande dames. During her 30-year career, she has preserved, protected and prettified such icons as The Fairmont Empress in Victoria, B.C.; The Fairmont Royal York, Toronto; The Brown Palace, Denver; and The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville.

One of the toughest aspects, says the ForrestPerkins principal, is developing a design with all of the amenities modern luxury travelers demand without losing the context of the historic hotel.

Though splendid public spaces and warrens of guest rooms pose significant hurdles, it's the guest bathrooms in heritage hotels that often stretch designers' creativity to the max. Here Forrest gives expert advice on how to marry the past, present and future to create pampering bath spaces.

 

Guest bathrooms represent some of the biggest challenges in historical renovations or restorations. They vary in size from the nearly palatial to the closet-sized-sometimes in the same hotel. It's up to the designer to find both the concept that will support a maximized rate and the process that will control costs across this spectrum of spaces.

Overall, the most effective way to ensure luxury standards in a historic hotel is to start by gutting the guest floors. That's what we did at The Hermitage, which was closed for 14 months while the guest floors were demolished and replaced with generous new rooms and bathrooms designed to meet the expectations of today's demanding guests.

UPGRADING TO FIVE FIXTURES

Achieving a Mobil Five-Star rating was the primary goal around which every design decision turned. For example, the requirements called for a five-fixture bathroom, so we carefully planned just enough space to accommodate two vanity bowls, a soaking tub, a generous shower and a separate toilet. 

First we laid out several bathroom templates, then test-fitted them into the plan, taking care to center the tub under a window wherever possible. Then, with the bathroom module in place, we could locate the demising walls between guest rooms to achieve the desired 450- square-foot minimum room size. In the end, the focus on adhering to ratings standards paid off: The Hermitage achieved AAA Five Diamond status within nine months of reopening in 2004 and received Mobil Five-Star designation the following year, the only hotel in Tennessee to be so honored.

SHOWERS SAVE SPACE

When space is at a premium, when closing the hotel is not an option or when budget constraints preclude plumbing relocation, consider just replacing the bathtub with a shower. The 3-by-5-foot space taken up by the tub results in a generous shower that allows for a footrest or seat, along with a rain showerhead and a hand-held showerhead.

Adding a glass enclosure effectively increases the apparent size of the bathroom by the 3-foot depth previously hidden by the shower curtain.

In both the Union Station Hotel in Nashville and The Stoneleigh in Dallas, we converted many of the tubs to showers and combined rectangular glazed wall tile with marble countertops and freestanding vanity bases to create a historic sensibility in bathrooms with a decidedly modern feel.

VANITY SIZE

One of the toughest challenges to upgrading existing bathrooms without moving fixtures is the variety of vanity sizes required.  To keep costs in line, we designed freestanding vanities to be made in China and shipped them complete with marble counter tops, vanity bowls and a wood or chrome base. For simplicity, we limited the variances to three lengths, then assigned one of the three sizes to each bathroom. 

Designers have to be mindful of the logistics of installing a pre-made base through tight spaces. In many cases, doors need to be enlarged, since older hotels typically have 2-foot wide doors into bathrooms, closets and toilet rooms-taboo with today's accessibility standards.  

MAKE SMALL SPACES SEEM BIGGER

When the bathrooms are quite small and enlarging them is not an option, it's important to use the highest quality materials, fixtures and fittings. Next, play up the small spaces by using dramatic touches such as brightly painted walls above a tile wainscot, adding whimsical inlays to the vanity apron or designing unusual light fixtures and an oversized mirror frame. For bathrooms with little counter space, we try to include a shelf below the mirror or on each side of the vanity, typically using a simple chrome support with a 5-inch-deep tempered glass shelf. 

Great lighting can overcome a small footprint. Install a halogen down light centered on the vanity bowl and two wall sconces on or flanking the mirror to provide light on the face. Add a decorative fixture in the center of the bathroom or a light in the shower or tub area and a lighted make-up mirror for the best overall lighting in any bathroom. Ensure that the color temperature of the fluorescent light sources balances with the halogen lamps for a flattering warm glow. Provide separate switches for each type of lighting to allow the guest to control the mood.

While added time and cost are often the norm when renovating and restoring a historic hotel, the rewards far outweigh the challenges when you pay attention to the details. Take a creative approach that results in meeting both clients' budgets and guests' expectations to deliver a true luxury experience.