Hotel Design

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HOTEL DESIGN PROFILE

A Zen Aesthetic for Business Travellers

by Tom Weinberg

For business travelers who realize that most luxury hotel rooms around the country look pretty much the same, the Westside of Los Angeles offers a few oasis-like alternatives to the usual rut,in some cases combining unique flair in design and decor which manage combine a sleek or even soothing ambience with the wealth of technological conveniences that businesspeople seek.

One Westside example of this successful melding of pleasingly unique atmospherics and modern day amenities is illustrated the Hotel Nikko at Beverly Hills, whose designers have actually incorporated a Zen aesthetic to the makeup of their rooms and meeting areas. A soothing stone fountain emits mist and a stream that winds serenely through a bed of river rocks.

In each room, Shoji screens filter the Los Angeles daylight into the living space. The furnishings and appointments are designed to make the business guest as productive in his or her room as in the office. In fact, Nikko guests can conduct business anywhere on the hotel property, using his or her portable room phone, which can be used to receive or make calls anywhere, even at the outdoor swimming pool

Like other quality hotels in the Los Angeles area, the Nikko at Beverly Hills has worked to develop a unique, stand-apart atmosphere. The goal of the hotel’s designers is to present an integration of the Japanese traditions of unobtrusive hospitality and understated elegance with today’s computer-driven technology. All guestrooms provide a number of easy-to-use technological features to enhance work or relaxation, including the portable room phones mentioned above, full entertainment systems with CD players and VCRs, and bedside telephone which control room lights, temperature and the entertainment system, in addition to accessing private voice mail. The communications terminal can be displayed in six different languages. Each room is also equipped with dedicated modem lines and fax machines. Even the in-room TVs have internet access, which proves the point that classical design need not be hindered by a lack of technological niceties.

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