Tell us about Set Hotels, including the Hotel Café Royal in London, Conservatorium in Amsterdam, and Lutetia in Paris.
We are looking to create the modern grand hotels of our time, where guests feel they belong and always wish to return. We team up with visionary world-leading architects. We rethink heritage properties with a contemporary mindset. Our focus is on properties at the heart of some of Europe’s greatest cities.
What do guests want in a hotel experience today?
Whether it’s something as straightforward as the technology to allow guests to stream their own content, as they would at home, or something more personal, like ensuring a specific nutritional or exercise regime through the specialists at our Akasha Wellness Centers, this is what our guests look for and what we strive to deliver.
How do you respond to guests’ changing needs?
Service is key, and I am passionate about providing a level of training to all our team members that allows an understanding and passion for the environments we’re creating. A room attendant can take a photography class or a doorman a wine appreciation course.
What can we expect from Lutetia’s renovation when it opens next year?
Architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte will bring contemporary design to the hotel while preserving its heritage and unique charm. A patio will be created at the center of the hotel, the 184 rooms and suites will be more spacious, a 7,500-square-foot spa with a large swimming pool will be built, and the famed Lutetia Brasserie will be lovingly restored and renovated to create seating for guests.
What about Hotel Café Royal and Conservatorium?
Hotel Café Royal will see a development of its arrival experience, an expansion of the dining offering, and a restyling of the guestrooms, in collaboration with architect Piero Lissoni, luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli, perfumer Diptyque, and a star chef as yet unannounced. Conservatorium recently celebrated its five-year anniversary, and I am rather fond of the fact the hotel has its own registered tulip, something our guests are very much enamored by.
