Minimalist Interiors Need Not Be Stale, Says These New Design Hotels

Lifestyle, Travel

Minimalist Interiors Need Not Be Stale, Says These New Design Hotels

By Manfred Lu
April 30, 2024

As our taste for hotels skews towards the clean and the basic, these new design hotels in the world’s most visited cities are fighting against the fatigue of minimalism with monumental spatial ambitions. (Picture Above: Regent Hong Kong)

Let’s face it — hotel interiors aren’t as unique as they once were. Each time a city erects a new property, chances are it’s been furnished closely to the hotels one may have already encountered on a previous journey. Whether it may be the minimalist uprising to blame, or the new demographic of younger clients who hold high regard to Japandi-styled spaces, it is worth noting that a lack of character makes it hard for anyone to get attached to these places. But that’s not to say that the new revision of taste can’t offer a jaw-dropping experience.

While clean, basic spaces certainly lack diversity, it’s given way for a new breed of high-end hotels to approach simplicity in a way that only knows how to astounds — all possible thanks to the use of a design vocabulary typically reserved for modern art museum, or even concept spaces of luxury fashion boutiques. Across the globe, these new hotels with their monumental spatial ambitions offer a glimpse into interiors that are infinitely considered as it is unique — and fashionable. Still, despite its widespread adherence on less is more, there’s certainly a lot more to see than what the average kid on the block can offer.

Regent Hong Kong

A hotel that dates back to the 1980s is hardly the place to herald as “modern”. But granted that it had just received a second lease of life, the revival of Regent Hong Kong in 2023 turned heads when its interiors promised a stealthy take on what a high-end, modern Chinese hotel could look like. It was also the background setting for the Louis Vuitton men’s Pre-Fall 2024 show.

Veteran designer Chi Wing Lo — who marks Regent Hong Kong as his largest project to date — was put in charge of creating new gestures for the hotel. They include rhythmic guest rooms mammoth by views of the city or the harbour that comes sheltered by scalloped ceilings — a callback to the sailcloth of Chinese junk ships that once roamed on the city’s piers.

Hotel Hana

On the site of what was once Little Tokyo in Paris, Hotel Hana takes on an unconventional approach to the ever popular Japanese-infused interior style. While we may be familiar with Japandi, the hotel reignites a rare cultural identity of French Japanese style for its spaces — inspired by the romantic sensibilities of the fashion in the city (think Prada ads lensed by Glen Luchford in the 1990s)

The latest property of the Adresses Hotels group had the designs of the hotel conceived by creative director Oliver Leone — whose portfolio is doused in fashion, rather than interiors. Thus landing the result of an eclectic, yet minimal, mix of clashing maximalist ideas throughout its 26 rooms, lobby and restaurant in an oh-so savoir faire attitude.

The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza

This one hits home. It’s tough being the second EDITION in a city that already has a world-renowned one (so well that it has become somewhat of a destination for travellers to the Toranomon district. Designed to be more than mere providers of stately rooms in Tokyo’s fashion district, the Tokyo EDITION, Ginza feels akin to the address of to-die-for parties.

Architect Kengo Kuma returned to craft the sister EDITION property, which resulted in the (now familiar) clean all-ecru rooms and lobbies. With standout venues such as an intimate lounge named the Punch Room, as well as an ultra-contemporary brasserie named Sophie, the newest hotel in Tokyo will soon be the address-to-have for anyone who’s In. After all, The EDITION was brought to life by the mind of New Yorker Ian Schrager who was the creator of cult nightclub Studio 54.

Portrait Milano Hotel — Lungarno Collection

Imagine a hotel owned by Ferragamo that most recently held its fashion show at its courtyards., what would it look like? Sure, there’s a lot of red — the brand’s signature colour — but also the old Italian cinema appeal that has stuck to the brand since its most popular days. Enter Portrait Milano, a top-notch boutique entry with rooms and social spaces that rival the city’s most expensive, and expansive, offerings.

Florence architect Michele Bönan wanted to honour the true classic Italian design — and it shows. It’s audacious and bold, wrapping the rooms in red velvet and walnut. At times, it feels completely ripped out of a 1950s Milanese design rulebook, others a modern take on contemporary Italian interiors that also retains its Romanic inklings.

Further Hotel

There’s a hotel so discreet in Canggu that it feels like a secret you’d have to gatekeep. With beds kept low on wooden floorboards and brick walls that let in waves of geometrical natural light in its rooms, Further Hotel is a design-driven hotel that rules out notions of Bali as home to just Airbnb villas.

Here, think wellness. But not spas or retreat therapy, the kind of wellness soaked in traditionally designed rooms (with an edge) sitting atop the Balinese boutique of skincare brand Oaken Lab and surf label Thomas Surfboards. It’s also thanks to the dozen suites were envisioned by Australian Studio Wenden, who took apart traditional Balinese shapes and textures to create spaces that are intentionally designed to be slow-driven.