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Put your feet up at Hotel Louboutin
IT SHOULD COME as no surprise that Christian Louboutin’s first hotel, in the pretty village of Melides in Portugal, is called Vermelho, which means ‘red’ in Portuguese – after all, the colour has become the designer’s signature hue.
There are flashes of red throughout the hotel too, such as on door and window frames and the lacquered tiles in the bar, but it is just one of many colours that, along with a myriad of striking patterns, hand-painted frescoes and delicate motifs, come together to create a stunning and uplifting design.
The hotel has just 13 bedrooms, each decorated differently. ‘I wanted the hotel to be like a home, a big home certainly but still a place to welcome friends and family,’ the designer tells Grazia. ‘So, no rooms are the same, like in a family house. Each has its own mood, and each piece of art or furniture has been selected for a specific area. It’s important to me that people feel cosy and comfortable but at the same time mesmerised by what’s surrounding them.’
All the bedrooms in the hotel have a different look and feel and include hand-painted details such as frescoes by Greek artist Konstantin Kakanias.
The hotel restaurant’s exterior with ceramic art by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Ducrot.
The stylish pool area, designed by Louis Benech, and Louboutin’s favourite spot for its sense of peace
The interiors reflect Louboutin’s French and Egyptian heritage as well as his love of beautiful pieces. ‘The hotel is an eclectic and maximalist celebration of things and people I love or admire with great attention paid to the details,’ he says. ‘People can come multiple times and still find a detail to look at they didn’t spot previously.
‘Some pieces of furniture have been made to measure but most come from decades of treasure hunts at auction houses from all over the world. I buy everything I like otherwise I fear I’ll regret it. Sometimes, I know exactly where I’ll place it, sometimes it can stay in storage for 10 years until I find the perfect place for it.’ In this hotel, they have found their forever home.
UK HOTELS FOR DESIGN INSPO
1. Whimsical fun
Lewis Carroll is said to have stayed here and this newly revamped hotel – taken over by cool Paris-based hoteliers Experimental Group – merrily channels an Alice In Wonderland spirit with rabbithead door knockers, playing cards printed on to carpet, historic panelling juxtaposed with graphic pattern, four-poster beds swagged in fabric and lots of greenery that brings the outside in.
2. Eclectic chic
The design at Broadwick Soho, the first London hotel to have interiors created by star designer Martin Brudnizki, has been described as ‘Seventies hedonistic disco pop meets your eccentric godmother’s townhouse.’ Opening this autumn, its wonderfully quirky mix includes jewel colours and lavish geometric patterns set against block colour; think dark blue leopard-print wallpaper with glossy midnight blue tiles in the bathroom and, in bedrooms, painterly tasselled wardrobes alongside sculptural headboards.
3. Warm minimalism
On the outside a Palladian manor house; inside, a pared-back interior that’s the equivalent of taking a deep, calming breath. From artist Jonny Gent and chef Florence Knight, the team who created the Sessions Arts Club, Boath House in Nairn, in the Scottish Highlands, features neutral walls, carefully decorated with art, linen sofas and jute rugs, with nary a gilt frame in sight.
WORDS RACHEL LOOS PHOTOS AMBROISE TÉZENAS, CHIARA CADEDDU