Starwood has revealed revamped guestroom designs for Westin and Sheraton hotels. The new room schemes, from furniture to textiles, were custom created by the company’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 learnings from extensive in-room behavior research, which indicated a desire for a greater level of stylish functionality.
The overhauled guestrooms are 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 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 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.
Key elements of the design 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 multiuse table can serve as a working area or a convenient spot 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 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. Meanwhile, the new Westin rooms incorporate strategically placed, adjustable LED reading lights in the headboard.
Westin is going green with use of eco-friendly materials such as LED and CFL lights, low-flow plumbing fixtures, recyclable carpet pads, low-VOC finishes, and solar shades. The brand will have two new design schemes. Inspired by Art Deco forms, Westin Classic will integrate open-grained walnut stained a dark chocolate brown with a satin finish and soft tones reflective of the outdoors. Westin Modern boasts concise, linear qualities that are softened by organic textures with subtle patterns, along with neutral-colored sustainable materials.
For Sheraton’s two new designs, the design team incorporated current fashion and lifestyle trends that highlight heritage. Gallery-framed artwork conveys a residential feel, while CFL lighting and low-flow water fixtures emphasize eco-friendliness. The Regency Revival period of the early 20th century informs the design of Sheraton Revival. Furniture profiles have curved corners and textiles have curved interlocking patterns, all of which are complemented by a rich color palette of camel and tan with accents of plum and black. For Sheraton Heritage, the historic Regency period of the late 1700s and early 1800s inspires the design, including notched arch details in the furnishings and 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 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.
