Conceiving interiors that forge powerful memories has shaped Curioso’s mission since the Chicago- and Mérida, Mexico-based design studio was founded in 2013.
The colorful Vincent suite at the Fidelity Hotel in Cleveland mixes teal hues with floral accents to create a cozy, lived-in experience
For design principal and cofounder Daniel Pierce, the journey to launching Curioso started in Mexico City, where he joined architect Francisco Hanhausen’s practice. Before long, he was dreaming up the Live Aqua resort in Cancun. Entrenched in hospitality from the beginning, Pierce realized early on that the industry is fueled by human connection. Hotels, he learned, are more than just places to stay, but also gathering spaces for the community.
Although managing director and cofounder Nina Grondin kicked off her professional life at a finance company, it was there she discovered that “people draw me in,” she recalls. The search for more impactful work that allowed her to “see, feel, and engage in the fruit of my labor” led Grondin to pivot into design.
Pierce and Grondin met at hospitality design firm the Gettys Group in Chicago, and their like-minded desire to spearhead high-touch and personal projects propelled Curioso’s launch. Each space crafted by the firm “emerges from its context, whether that’s the neighborhood, the building, or the brand,” explains Pierce. “We love taking all those ingredients and making something with our partners that feels special and right for that moment, right for that place. Our work is not stylistically defined.”
Instead, it is born from “a process that is human and collaborative,” adds Grondin, “stemming from a company culture where everyone on our team is an individual. They bring their whole selves to a project, and it shows up in what we create.”
Over the years, Curioso, now nearly 50-people strong, has made an impression on the hospitality world with properties like the elevated all-inclusive Atelier Playa Mujeres resort in Cancun; carbon-positive adaptive-reuse Populus Seattle; and Fidelity Hotel, the transformation of a 103-year-old Neoclassical landmark building in Cleveland.
Atelier Playa Mujeres in Cancun opened in 2020 as an all-inclusive resort that celebrates its location
Alongside the forthcoming Six Senses Grand Bahama and developments in Costa Rica and Mexico, Curioso is currently reimagining the guestroom experience for the historic Addison Mizner-designed Cloister at the Boca Raton, as well as tackling Aparium’s Millwork Hotel, slated to open in Omaha, Nebraska in 2027, and the M. Heller hotel in Greenville, South Carolina, expected to debut in 2028 as part of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection.
Such under-the-radar cities thrill Pierce and Grondin. Take the Harbor Grand Hotel and Marina Grand Resort in New Buffalo, Michigan, where their respective restaurants, the Terrace Room and Bentwood Tavern, serve as community clubhouses. “When people come in and call it their own,” says Pierce, “we know we’ve done our work and created a meaningful place.”
Today, the nearly 50 person firm is split between offices in Chicago (shown) and Mérida, Mexico
Curioso’s Mérida studio
This article originally appeared in HD’s May/June 2026 issue.