Boutique Design - June 2016 - 16

the buzz

Spaces for making and buying tunes have joined the on-site offering mix at
some select hotels. W Hotels Worldwide has opened the first W Sound Suite
at its resort in Seminyak, Bali, while Kimpton's The Goodland hotel in Goleta,
California, has teamed with Los Angeles-based VNYL to create an on-site
vinyl record shop.
The on-site recording studio/lounge at W Bali-Seminyak (above, left) is
a partnership between the Starwood Hotels & Resorts' lifestyle brand and
Coca-Cola. The private music studio and writer's room features 600-sq.-ft.
of space. Similar venues are set to open later this year in W locales in Hollywood, Barcelona and Seattle.
"W has a long history of musicians staying, playing and celebrating at
our hotels," says Anthony Ingham, global brand leader, W Hotels Worldwide.
"We know that inspiration can strike at any moment, so the W Sound Suite
is today's tech-savvy version of scribbling lyrics on a cocktail napkin. Bali,
a vibrant and creative hub often called 'the alternative Ibiza', is the perfect
setting for our first music studio, with Hollywood, Barcelona and Seattle to
follow. After all, who can't find inspiration in paradise?"
Elements of the studio's aesthetic, which was created by Josh Held Design,

pay tribute to Coca-Cola, including the subtle integration of the brand's
signature red color within the space and the not-so-subtle rendering of its
famous "I'd like to teach the world to sing" catch phrase from its 1971 "hilltop"
commercial on a wall in the lounge. The suite's main mixing room includes
professional equipment from Native Instruments, Pioneer and Moog, as well
as a private vocal booth overlooking a tropical garden.
The VYNL store, meantime (above, right), was created by LA's design/
build group Ink & Wood as a retail experience that reflects the So-Cal hotel's
retro-Americana style, project participants say.
"The collaboration with VNYL is the evolution of our record program at
the hotel," said Lea Sindija, The Goodland's director of programming. "The
hotel opened with vinyl and record players in every room which guests
really enjoyed, so we wanted to take it a step further to enhance the
guests' stay."
The store-located in a space adjacent to the lobby that formerly housed
a photo booth-features dozens of albums that guests can either borrow
during their stay or buy, as well as listening stations powered by SONOS and
VNYL's online turntable, TRNTBL.

How would you describe
your dream project?
"The next one. Always.
I don't care what it is, I really
don't. Make it a parking garage.
Somebody just asked me to do
a treehouse for their grandson,
and I'd do that. I love making
things. I love to work."
- THE LATE MICHAEL GRAVES, IN
"TWENTY OVER EIGHTY:
CONVERSATIONS ON A LIFETIME IN
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN," BY
AILEEN KWUN AND BRYN SMITH
AND PUBLISHED BY PRINCETON
ARCHITECTURAL PRESS

boutiquedesign.com june 2016

75
The number of new hotels that an official with
the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National
Heritage predicts global chains will open in the
kingdom by 2020. Most of those properties are
expected to fly three- and four-star flags.
SOURCE: ARABIANBUSINESS.COM

COUR TE S Y OF W HOTEL S WORLDWIDE ( W SOUND SUITE); COUR TE S Y OF THE GOODL AND HOTEL ( V YNL);
COUR TE S Y OF PRINCE TON ARCHITEC TUR AL PRE SS (BOOK COVER)

HOTELS TURNING UP THE VOLUME ON IN-HOUSE MUSIC AMENITIES

http://www.ARABIANBUSINESS.COM http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - June 2016

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