JESS MILES Deputy Editor j.miles@forumevents.co.uk
Dramatic, theatrical, setting the scene – terms constantly at risk of overuse by those of us who write about interior design for a living. Yet they endure for a reason: creatives in both disciplines share the same essential task, to create immersive environments that whisk us away from the everyday. Whether on stage or in a hospitality space, design is ultimately about emotion – how a space makes us feel. Guided by narrative, surprise and comfort, escapism and intimacy all play their part. Budgets aside, the crossover is undeniable, with many designers moving fluidly between both worlds.
Fuelled by a passion for both disciplines, designer Shayne Brady is the vision behind a swathe of celebrated restaurants and bars, where drama is seldom in short supply. From Gallery at The Savoy to the forthcoming Waldorf Astoria Admiralty Arch, he discusses the importance of history, narrative and emotional intelligence in shaping spaces that resonate long after the curtain falls (page 34).
From a different vantage point, leaving the aesthetics to the designers, Simon Casson has spent a career shaping how hospitality is experienced. Now CEO of Corinthia Hotels, he reflects on culture, human connection and the leadership required to deliver luxury that feels both personal and enduring (page 46).
Delivering all of the above, 2026 promises an all-star line-up of new hotel openings across the globe. Hot Property 2026 gives a detailed overview of what to look forward to (page 28).
In the meantime, the hotels featured in this issue are very much up and running. Each shaped by a strong sense of place and purpose, Lore Group’s New York debut, Hotel Park Ave NYC, leads with an art-led approach where material and proportion take centre stage (page 52). In Malta, ME Malta rises within the Mercury Towers, balancing history and modernity (page 60), while Mandarin Oriental, Downtown Dubai is conceived as a vertical boulevard where hospitality, culture and commerce converge (page 68).
In Costa Rica, Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, offers secluded ultra-luxury within the biodiversity of Peninsula Papagayo (page 76), followed by One&Only Moonlight Basin in Montana, a design-led alpine escape rooted in its wilderness setting (page 82). Closer to home, Crafted at Powdermills in rural Sussex blends design and experience into authentic luxury (page 90), while Morocco’s Jnane Rumi remains quietly hidden, revealing its magic only once inside (page 96). Finally, as experiential travel tops guest wishlists, Safari operators, Wilderness takes tented luxury seriously, proving that thoughtful accommodation design is as essential as the landscapes that surround it (page 102).
I’ll now leave you to immerse yourself in the following pages – your front-row seat to design, drama and discovery.
Emma Kennedy, Editor
Photography: Anna Stathaki
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MARGAUX LALLY & LUC BERGER
CO-FOUNDERS, LALLY & BERGER
From a chance introduction to one of Paris’s most storied addresses, Margaux Lally and Luc Berger reflect on quiet luxury, craftsmanship and the rare responsibility of reimagining Hôtel Le Meurice.
Recent projects
Restaurant Hôtel Club Hiver, Port la Galère, Théoule-Sur-Mer
Duplex, Sully, Lyon 6, France
Hôtel Meurice 100 guestrooms, Penthouse suite, public corridors
Current projects
Guest House near the Ancient Theatre, Vienne, France
2 Villa’s, Westbay, Doha, Qatar
15 guestrooms Hôtel Meurice, Paris, France
Ahelping hand at the onset of a creative’s career path will always be welcomed. For Margaux Lally and Luc Berger, who graduated from Lyon’s École Supérior d’Architecture
Intérieure in 2013, that outstretched hand belonged to Charles Jouffre, a renowned master upholsterer and tireless promulgator of France’s métiers d’art, who includes New York’s Par Excellence showroom within his burgeoning global footprint.
Having been engaged by Le Meurice hotel, opposite Les Jardins de Tuileries on Paris’s Rue de Rivoli, to work on their Pompadour suite, in 2016 Jouffre introduced the young design duo to the management. The net result of that fortuitous encounter was a commission to redesign all of the hotel’s rooms and suites. At the same time, they founded Lally & Berger, formalising the professional partnership that sits seamlessly alongside their personal one.
Of the 31 hotels in France accorded Palace accreditation, 12 are in Paris. Le Meurice, opened in 1835 and part of the Dorchester Collection since 1997, is the oldest of them all. With a guest list that runs from Queen Victoria to Jay-Z, by way of Pablo Picasso, who held his wedding reception there, and Salvador Dalí, who took a suite for a month every year for thirty years, often accompanied by his pet ocelot, Le Meurice is nothing less than legendary.
Joining me by Zoom from their Lyon studio, I can’t help wondering that if Margaux and Luc appear this youthful now, what did this all look like ten years ago, when, not long out of internships, they were handed the keys to one of hospitality’s holy of holies to reinterpret what is essentially a cultural icon.
I began by enquiring if they undertake this Herculean task alone, and what stage they’re currently at, to which Luc informs me: “Yes, we have other people who work with us, one in Lyon, and one in Paris, and we’ve now renovated 100 out of 160 rooms and suites, including the Belle Etoile suite”. Well, that’s help, though not a huge amount of help, but there seems little appetite for a super-studio overseeing a swathe of employees. The duplex Belle Etoile suite, meanwhile, unveiled to great acclaim in 2019, sits on the 7th-floor rooftop with an expansive terrace and at 620 sqm is one of the largest and most spectacular suites in Paris, commanding unparalleled 360-degree views.
My probing as to when the project might reach its conclusion elicits only laughter accompanied by bemused Gallic shrugs, “We don’t really know, we do it step by step. We have a new phase of rooms and suite renovations this year that will start in January and end in May.” As to whether Le Meurice remains their principal preoccupation, “It’s like 50% of our projects. But actually, we are working on private houses and apartments, currently
HOTEL PARK AVE NYC
NEW YORK, USA
Lore Group’s New York debut lets art, material and proportion do the talking, with a design in dialogue with the city
As a Brit, the novelty of New York is what I imagine London is to Americans. Hard and fast paced, yet endlessly creative and intoxicating. Despite having visited countless times, it’s hard not to fall trap to cliché as anticipation builds – whether catching yourself humming along to Sinatra’s theme song, or strutting down streets as if you’re in Carrie Bradshaw’s stilettos donning that iconic onlyin-New-York tutu fit.
Feet on the ground, the hype is all you’ve built it up to be. Face pressed against the backseat window of a yellow cab, eyes inevitably scale and dip across New York’s varied vista as it flicks past. Tumbling and jagged, yet grand and intricately ornate. It’s a city that rewards confidence, boldness and a certain willingness to be individual – qualities that my destination, Hotel Park Ave NYC, shares with its locale.
Set on Park Avenue South at the edge of NoMad, the hotel occupies a threshold between two worlds – corporate Midtown rubbing shoulders with downtown’s creative churn. That duality
WORDS BY JESS MILES
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES MCDONALD, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED
becomes an anchor for the design, straddling slick finishes with fresh pops of colour and soft silhouettes, whilst also bearing the undoubtable mark of its new hosts.
Acquired by Lore Group only in late 2024, the former Mondrian hotel has been reimagined under the vision of the brand’s Creative Director, Jacu Strauss. With good architectural bones already set up to manage an operation of this calibre, the project focussed on sharpening what already existed and layering in new moments of character and craft.
“With the tight turnaround, our approach focused on editing and elevating what was already in place,” says Strauss. “We were mindful to build on what worked within the existing concept for Hotel Park Ave NYC, while introducing the new elements we felt were needed to give the hotel a fresh and distinctive identity.”
Starting in January 2025, the redesign is being revealed in multiple phases. The first, which launched just three months after, saw a refresh of the 189 guestrooms and gym, as well as an all change for the lobby. The second welcomed nine stand-out suites, as well as new F&B concepts Seed Library, a trendy basement cocktail bar, and ground-level restaurant Park Rose, which, though the only space not designed Strauss, still serves as the perfect spot to watch the world go by over breakfast, lunch or dinner. Last but certainly not least, Golden Child, a rooftop bar, lounge and wraparound terrace will open in spring, promising skyline views and buzzy sundowners in true Lore Group fashion.
On what embodies Lore Group’s signature style, Strauss believes it’s less an aesthetic and more a sentiment. “As with all our projects, the design balances modern luxury with visual storytelling rooted in the local context, striking a careful balance between calm and character,” he says. For Hotel Park Ave NYC, “We really focused on a grounding palette and tactile materials, layering in bold, expressive elements that reflect the personality, history and creative pulse of the NoMad neighbourhood, while always prioritising comfort, intuitive flow and long-term durability.”
The lobby is where this intent becomes immediately legible. Step inside and the eye is instinctively drawn upwards, following the vertical pull of a 12-foot timber sculptural installation that appears to climb infinitely as it reflects back through the mirrored ceiling above. Pebble Jumble, designed by Strauss and commissioned from Jan Hendzel Studio, dominates the space in scale without overwhelming. Crafted from British timbers, smooth ‘pebbles’ in shades of blue and natural wood varieties appear to balance precariously on top of each other. Its presence is warm and grounding – a soft contrast to the city’s usual palette of glass, steel and stone.
For Strauss, the sculpture and bespoke lobby furniture by Jan Hendzel Studio is as much about continuity as it is about creating impactful moments. Having collaborated on several Lore Group projects previously, this first US commission extends a subtle thread across the brand’s locations. “While each of our hotels draws inspiration from its local neighbourhood and history, having our sculptures across multiple properties creates a subtle connection
and suites, while custom coffee tables dressed with an assortment of beautiful Phaidon books encourage guests to spend a little time getting lost in inspiration.
Strauss’ own artworks grace the walls, adding the final touch with abstracted echoes of New York’s architectural cadence. Their geometric shapes and bold blocks of colour are tell-tale Strauss style, representing another subtle design thread across Lore Group properties, as guests can also discover his paintings at One Hundred Shoreditch, Lyle Washington DC, and Riggs Washington DC.
Whilst the suites channel Manhattan loft living, basement level bar Seed Library feels at pace with the beat of the subway – underground and alive with the hum of chatter in one corner, and the clang of cocktails being served up in another. It’s Mr Lyan’s first bar in NYC, having established his ground-breaking ‘no perishables’ approach to mixology across London and within bars at other Lore Group properties – Lyaness at Sea Containers, and the first Seed Library at One Hundred Shoreditch.
“With Seed Library New York, I wanted guests to feel as though
they’d stumbled upon a secret – a space that’s hidden, yet immediately welcoming,” says Strauss. With that, patrons can choose to enter from inside the hotel, or via the more fun route – through a zingy orange, otherwise inconspicuous door down the side street off Park Avenue, leaving you momentarily wondering if you’re in the right place as you follow the noise down a tunnel like staircase.
Inside, the vision was a modern take on a 1970s living room – warm, tactile and nostalgic, with the eclecticism of a space that’s been gathered over time without tipping into pastiche. Layered textures, sunset tones and a relaxed, low-lit atmosphere combine as they do at the London venue, whilst its intimate, historic club setting makes it feel entirely its own.
Rather than presenting everything at once, Hotel Park Ave NYC - is experienced gradually. From public spaces to the suites, to the basement bar below it already offers a reason to slow down a typically fast-paced New York trip. With Golden Child rooftop lounge and bar still to come, there’s no better excuse to return and do it all again. S
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