All of the rooms have spectacular views either over the town or across the building site that will be the new marina. The sea is a short walk away and a slit window in most bathrooms allows the view to be enjoyed whilst in the bath. The hotel does have its own pool at first floor level, adjacent to some of the conference space, and served by its own large bar area. Around the pool are orange trees in pots which not only flower but fruit as well, breaking up the ranks of sun loungers and giant umbrellas. Off the plaza that this forms is the small but well equipped gym and workout zone, well placed for the pool to be used in conjunction with the gym in an exercise regime that demands it. Being up high means the area catches any breeze that is going which must be welcome in the summers, although of course the gym is airconditioned. The amount of sunshine this area gets is clearly shown by the large solar electricity generator that is also part of this downtown development area.

Buildings that are architectural statements tend to be challenging for the interior designer, and this one is no exception. When the architectural statement is part of in turn a larger still architectural statement, and the building complements a large conference facility, then the scale itself can also be a part of the challenge. Here an intimacy has been maintained by the designer, and the bedrooms are particularly successful in keeping a stylish and intimate feel. The use of the vignettes of well placed groups of furniture and the visual end stops on corridors and in front of the spectacular views helps to keep this feeling of intimacy as an integral part of the whole approach to the interior design.

For a large chain like Hilton the variety of design approaches they are showing in the one hundred plus projects that are managed in Europe alone every year, sets a challenge in maintaining the corporate standards. On the evidence of the Hiltons we have Reviewed so far (see Innsbruck, Cardiff, and Budapest in our Review archive) the management team is continuing to set the standards in line with the best practice in this very competitive market place.

With hotels moving upmarket all the time, standards never stand still. It will be interesting to see if the rising standard shown in Europe, and evidenced by this hotel, will impact on the insular approach show by chains in the US, where the influence of ‘boutique design’ has woken the sleeping giants to the realisation that the design led approach can work in a chain as effectively as for an individual hotel. The management approach exemplified by the Hilton team (and others) could easily be a forerunner of effective design management anywhere.