New “streamlined” look at two Hilton hotels

23rd February 2011, 2:42pm

The hotels located at Strathclyde Business Park in Bellshill and at Edinburgh Airport have undergone an extensive refit worth £800k. Designers Simon Spiteri and Karen Mitton of Design LSM reveal how they have completely transformed the space to suit both business and social gatherings.

Catering for business travellers, the areas in both hotels have been designed to replicate the feeling of an executive lounge, merging the current restaurant, bar and lounge at each hotel into a single space.  The design incorporates a soft colour palate and subtle lighting styles to create a more relaxing environment. 

Technology and efficiency are also central to the new designs with easy laptop plug in and high-speed wireless, pop up screens, Bluetooth and mobile charging stations.  There will also be flexible meeting spaces with food on offer, including dishes designed to provide a natural energy boost, available throughout the day.

Michael Squire, general manager of Hilton Edinburgh Airport, said: "Our ground floor has been completely re-designed to allow guests, whether working alone or in small groups, to feel part of a larger social space.  We recognise personal space is also very important, and with this setup people can have a level of privacy in an ultimately open environment."

Calum Ross, area general manager of Hilton Worldwide, central Scotland, added: "We are delighted to unveil the new look at Hilton Edinburgh Airport and Hilton Strathclyde.  

"Considering the proximity of Hilton Edinburgh Airport and Hilton Strathclyde to the M8, Scotland's central road corridor for business travellers, we wanted to introduce a concept to both hotels that would fully utilise all food and beverage areas whilst providing productive business spaces for our guests.  It is vital that in the current market we are still investing in our Scottish hotels and adapting the offering to meet the demands of the consumer."  

We dig deeper to find out more about both projects:

What was your aim when designing this place?

In both hotels the aim was to improve the utilisation of space. The areas hadn't been designed to be multifunctional and therefore weren't reaching their full potential during the day. Rather than having designated zones for breakfast, lunch or coffee, the brief by Hilton Worldwide was to create a single multi-purpose executive lounge.

We then came up with a few different ways to create texture and intimacy within the space so it didn't appear too clinical or business-like whilst still appealing to the business market in terms of functionality.

How did you achieve this? For example what furniture/fabric did you use and why? 

A series of division screens were used to create intimacy and we changed the furniture and seating to account for different uses, from low level Chesterfield lounging furniture to higher bar stools for one to one meetings and bench seating around larger tables for presentations. We also played with the lighting – you often find that individuals have different lighting needs and we experimented with low lighting and up-lighting throughout.

What would you describe as the key and unique features?

There is a hand-blown glass feature light in Hilton Strathclyde which is very striking. As a whole though, the projects both have a holistic approach to dining and this is unique in itself. One of my favourite areas is the grown up breakfast bars at both hotels. The areas have been given a feeling of privacy by a pigeon hole display unit so diners don't have to feel bad opting for the bacon roll instead of the fruit salad as they're not exposed to the rest of the room. 

Stage by stage how did you approach this project?

Our brief was to create an airport lounge effect without creating a cold vast environment. We visited both hotels to assess the areas first of all but had a very clear idea of what we wanted to do once we had seen the properties.

Both hotels have considerable ground floor space so we had to consider how to achieve an effective business environment that was also comfortable and relaxing to diners who wanted to socialise in a laid-back atmosphere. We are very end-user focused as an agency and come up with innovative, yet practical ways to create functional spaces. Whilst still keeping the Hilton Worldwide identity in mind we came up with a creative concept and luckily for us, there were very few changes from the conception to completion. 

Where did you get your inspiration from?

We were very much influenced by Scandinavian design which takes a multi-functional approach to living. We also looked at other executive style business lounges and how technology and work areas were incorporated smoothly into these spaces.

What is the size of the venue?

The public spaces we re-designed were 7190sq ft at Hilton Strathclyde and 6027sq ft at Hilton Edinburgh Airport.

Timetable, how long did it take from start to finish?

From start to finish it took six weeks.

What are your plans for the future?
We are currently working on the lounge and lobby area as well as the Homage Patisserie at The Waldorf Hilton in London.

What do you like most about the design of the venue?

The projects were both created for a purpose – to allow the space to be utilised in a completely different way to how it was used before. Both hotels were keen to populate the area and drive revenue and both have fed back that the projects have been incredibly successful. The design completely transformed the conventional use of the space and I think that's quite exciting.

Fit out cost?

The fit out cost was £800k across both hotels.

If you were to change anything on the design, what would it be and why?

Experience is a fantastic thing and has meant that we were able to draw on previous projects to tweak the design of some of our key features to make them more functional. 

In both hotels we have created a multi-function bench with fold down flat screen for presentations; in a previous project we used this design with a high bench with bar stool seating which looked cutting edge but wasn't functional for longer meetings and presentations. We reduced the height and changed the seating for Hilton Strathclyde and Hilton Edinburgh Airport and were much happier with the final design.

Do you think you used the space to the best of your ability?

Both Hilton Worldwide and Design LSM are very happy with the final result. This project was very focused on space and how it was used, and we're delighted that the feedback has been so positive.