Westin Hotels New Eco-Friendly Guestrooms Embrace Natural Elements Sheraton Hotels Introduces a Classical Revival Scheme with a Modern Touch and Residential Feel
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., (NYSE:HOT) announced that it is applying its industry leading, design-driven approach to its two largest brands with the debut of new guestroom designs for Westin and Sheraton hotels. The new room schemes, from furniture to textiles, were custom-created by Starwood's in-house Brand Design team led by Erin Hoover, Vice President of Design. With a background in fashion, fine art and industrial design, the team applied key learning's from extensive in-room behavior research which indicated a desire for a greater level of stylish functionality - resulting in design specifically targeted to address some of traveler's biggest pet peeves. The new room designs will be featured in new hotels and renovation projects globally across both brands.
The new Westin and Sheraton guestrooms are highly functional, globally relevant and designed to reflect each brand's distinct personality. Inspired by natural elements and featuring neutral color palettes, natural woods and stone the new Westin rooms bring to life the brand's philosophy of preserving wellness on the road in three dimensions and evoke a sense of balance. The design team used Sheraton's storied history as a global industry icon to serve as inspiration for the brand's new guestrooms, which portray a sense of occasion and heritage by utilizing rich color palettes with pops of accent colors and modern interpretations of classic herringbone, basket-weave and geometric patterns.
Finally! Somewhere to Put the Room Service Tray...
Both new room schemes blend great design with intuitive functionality to provide a welcome solution for many of traveler's top pet peeves. No more crawling on hands and knees to find a free outlet, gone are the luggage racks of yesteryear and finally, somewhere to put the room service tray. Key highlights include:
Custom Westin-designed accent table that folds out to fit a room-service tray or laptop, and folds closed to occupy a smaller space. With a quick flip the multi-use table can serve as a working area for an impromptu laptop session or transform into an intimate table for in-room dining.
Custom Sheraton-designed bedside tables with built-in outlets that face beds, facilitating easy computer and electronics charging use.
Expanded Westin closet includes shelves and the mini bar, freeing valuable room space and reducing clutter.
Westin upholstered bench that can double as a luggage rack and is easily stored under the television console and oversized signature Sheraton armchairs with ottomans stored beneath seats, creating additional living area space.
Sheraton rooms feature an LED nightlight, allowing guests to find their way in an unfamiliar space without turning on the lights and the new Westin rooms incorporate strategically-placed, adjustable LED reading lights in the headboard.
Westin Goes Green - Eco-Friendly Guestrooms Designed to Inspire Balance
Westin's two new room designs - Westin Classic and Westin Modern - stay true to the brand's commitment to wellbeing by incorporating subtle design cues tied to the elements of nature with a hint of modernism. The new rooms also represent a 60% growth in sustainability, utilizing eco-friendly materials such as energy-conserving LED and CFL lights, water conserving low flow plumbing and recycle-able carpet pads, low VOC finishes for casegoods and GreenGuard certified solar shades. With new builds comprising 95% of the hotels in Westin's pipeline, the new room designs will play a pivotal role in reinforcing the brand's identity and wellness strategy. Both new design schemes reflect a simple, refined elegance that provide guests with soothing environment that allows them to relax and be at their best.
Westin Classic takes inspiration from forms of Art Deco. The visual vocabulary is grounded in classicism but modernized through the selection of furniture pieces and color palette. Materials featured in the new room reference those found in natural settings including open grained walnut stained a dark chocolate brown with a satin finish and soft tones inspired by the outdoors.
Westin Modern has a contemporary, timeless sensibility without being trendy. Concise, linear qualities give the modern scheme an architectural feel. The guestroom is softened with organic textures that have subtle patterns and sustainable materials that are neutral in color.
Sheraton New Designs a Modern Interpretation of Timeless Classics with a Residential Feel
For the Sheraton brand's two new designs - Sheraton Revival and Sheraton Heritage - the design team incorporated current fashion and lifestyle trends that highlight heritage and pay homage to the brand's rich, 75 year storied history. The result is a classic design concept that is approachable and refined with a modern twist. The new Sheraton rooms also feature eco-friendly materials including CFL lighting features and low-flow plumbing. Gallery-framed artwork is thoughtfully arranged in vignettes to convey a residential feel. The new Sheraton interiors were designed to be warm and welcoming with a decidedly modern look and feel.
Sheraton Revival is inspired by the Regency Revival of the early 20th century. Furniture profiles have curved corners and textiles have curved interlocking patterns - all of which are complemented by the design's rich color palette of camel and tan with accents of plum and black.
Sheraton Heritage is inspired by the historic Regency period of the late 18th and early 19th century, when Thomas Sheraton created timeless furniture designs that are still used in interiors today. Notched arch details are featured in most furnishings and complemented by geometric patterns in the room's textiles and carpets.
The first Westin hotels to showcase the new room designs will be the Westin Phoenix, which is scheduled to open February 2011; and the Westin Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego, which will complete a full renovation including rooms in early 2011. The first Sheraton hotels to feature the new room design are the Sheraton Red Deer in Alberta Canada and the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center which are scheduled to be renovated in early 2011.
