KBA and EDC Ltd Break the Mould for InterContinental - PR from KBA:



The stunning new Holiday Inn Aberdeen West is a shining example of how a chain hotel can stretch brand standards in terms of style and design to ensure it truly stands out from the crowd.

Formerly the Westhill Hotel, Aberdeen-based European Development Company Ltd (EDC) purchased the building and teamed up with KBA, the award winning interior design and architecture practice, to break new ground and create a Holiday Inn with a difference.

Gail Thomson, KBA Design Director, comments:

“The brief was to create a stylish and comfortable hotel under the Holiday Inn banner with consideration to the InterContinental brand standards, to increase the room capacity from 50 to 86 rooms, and to provide a variety of public spaces which would operate as destination venues within their own right, harnessing the needs of the local community so that guests and locals alike could consider it as a home from home. To achieve this we adopted a central theme of warmth, which is at the root of the many references to comfort and the home throughout. We decided that at the heart of the home there would be a fire, which has been turned into a stunning feature of the public bar, and we have picked up on this elsewhere with elements such as the reception desk, which glows a beautiful warm red and is an immediate introduction to the warmth of a fire the moment guests arrive.”

The entrance foyer is designed as a main street thoroughfare, thereby allowing each of the main venues to have their own identity separate from the hotel reception. Glazed slots offer views to The Brasserie fine dining restaurant, where a mixture of curvaceous booths and loose tables and chairs provide flexible arrangements for 120 covers. Silk shades hovering over the central area create pockets of atmospheric lighting, and movable semi-sheer vibrant voiles and walnut screens offer the option for private dining. The glowing fire element is alive here, with hovering rafts providing a cosy candle-lit aura within the centre of the restaurant - a real anchor for parties.

The sophisticated Glentaner Lounge features a sumptuous 12m long leather-clad bar surrounded by curvaceous leather booths and walnut tables. Vibrant, specially designed carpets in shades of russet, orange and red form a colourful backdrop to the mixture of seating, all offering views to the landscape. Punches of light help to create pockets of intimate spaces. The lounge features a stage for live performances, and the rich dark oak flooring can be cleared to create a dancing area.

The Balmoral Suite provides a conference and events facility with a unique sound and light system for 250 guests. Numerous giant mirror balls hover above the main floor and beautiful walnut panels integrated with mirror reflect movement onto the perimeter walls. The star-studded ceiling gently pulsates with light from fibre optics, and this carries on through into the bar area, which is capable of being set to whatever mood or event is required. The appropriately-clad granite bar boasts a crowning feature, where glasses hang from the stems above, with glowing frosted glass cube lights between turning them sparkly, and reminiscent of the granite city in the sun after rainfall.

A traditional ambience, reminiscent of a Scottish tavern, has been created in the Scot’s Corner Pub. Cosy glowing bulbs redolent of conventional gas lighting, a timber bar, warming fire, and an eclectic mix of traditional furniture all add to this comfortable environment. Towards the back of the room is a soft carpeted area, containing an eclectic mix of traditional chairs, alongside large comfortable traditional sofas which act as book ends to the focal point – the fire. There is a strong Scottish feel to the room, and pictures of famous Scots, from Robert Burns to John Logie Baird, hang in huge gilt frames.

The upper floors, which house the bedrooms, are identified with different colours and feature glowing timber wall panels that dominate the lobby. The two-toned timber doors to the bedrooms are individually illuminated and the connecting panels lend a sense of the opulence inside. When it is time to rest for the night, there is a choice of three different bedroom types - standard, executive and deluxe. Each elicits sensations of warmth and quality that ooze from elements such as the beautiful Scottish woven blankets and cushions. The fun continues when the lights go down and the bed head glows a fire-like red, creating an unbelievably warm and sexy aura to the whole space.

The hotel also features Health and Fitness facilities, Wi-Fi high-speed access throughout, and ample complimentary car parking.

KBA celebrates its fifth birthday this year. The practice has completed and received awards for a wide and varied range of projects nationally, which span the leisure, retail, commercial and housing sectors, as well as many private commissions. Projects to date include The Albyn, Aberdeen (Theme Award for Best Interior Design 2006); Halo Bar, Edinburgh (Theme Magazine Best Interior Design nominee); Attica Restaurant, London; and Orocco Pier, South Queensferry (Hotel Review Scotland’s Contemporary Scottish Wedding Hotel of the Year 2006, Very Highly Commended in Scotland’s Sexiest Hotel 2006, and Hotel Bar of the Year 2005). KBA is currently working on a number of significant projects in Scotland, the UK and Europe.

Holiday Inn Aberdeen West: PR from KBA 010207




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