In March 2018, the newly rebranded Radisson Hotel Group (formerly Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group) announced the debut of the Radisson Collection, boasting one-of-a-kind, contemporary hotels aimed at lifestyle-conscious travelers. Among these properties is Royal Copenhagen, Space Copenhagen’s modern-day revamp of Danish architect Arne Jacobsen’s storied 1960 hotel for Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS); the circa-1881 Palazzo Montemartini in Rome; London’s May Fair Hotel, dating from 1927; Royal Mile Edinburgh in Scotland, featuring a suite by Glasgow-based Timorous Beasties; and Nofa Resort Riyadh, which, along with Symphony Style in Kuwait and Hormuz Grand in Muscat, Oman, create a robust presence for the brand in the Middle East.
Whether conversions—some had former lives as Radisson Blu properties for instance—or new builds, Radisson Collection hotels are about personalized service, standout dining, and wellness opportunities in prime locations. “They offer luxury to visitors with an aspirational mindset who want to experience the extraordinary,” says Eric De Neef, the Brussels-based executive vice president and global chief commercial officer at Radisson Hotel Group, adding that the collection was a timely way to build on the Radisson name while attracting a wider, experiential-seeking audience.
Each of the iconic properties flaunt different personalities and strong design schemes. “No two hotels are alike,” says De Neef, “but they all share a common thread—properties that can be an experience all by themselves while adding to their surroundings.” He points to the Copenhagen location as one example of the collection’s character, how spending the night in what is considered the world’s original design hotel cannot be replicated elsewhere.
Radisson Hotel Group has more than 1,400 properties in operation and under development across its eight brands, including Radisson, Radisson Blu, the Millennial-driven Radisson Red, Park Inn by Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites, and the affordable design-centric Prizeotel. Sitting at the top of the portfolio is the Radisson Collection, with a plan calling for more than 30 hotels in the next five years. And the company is well on its way to reaching that goal: 20 properties, including one recently acquired in Moscow, were signed within the first year.
“Ultimately, Radisson Hotel Group aims to be one of the three top-of-mind hotel companies in the world. That’s what our five-year operating plan is geared toward achieving, and part of this journey has been the creation of a new global brand architecture on which we now base our growth,” De Neef explains, noting that this restructuring allows for more focus on the booming lifestyle segment. “It’s an important time to be investing in this area, with demand set to grow by roughly 7 percent a year for the next three years.”
Celebrating a destination’s most alluring aspects “is a concept we’ve embedded within Radisson Collection,” says De Neef, as is a holistic, tailor-made approach to service. “The whole collection speaks to a level of quality that, perhaps, guests did not associate with our hotels before.” Here is a glimpse into three of them.
Radisson Collection Strand Stockholm
Radisson Collection Strand Stockholm
This 170-room hotel, planted between Stockholm’s city center and Nybroviken bay, opened in 1912 for the Stockholm Olympics. Last year, Wingårdhs, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based architecture studio, fused the original building and a 1930s-era annex to create a warm, welcoming design overhaul. The former haunt of celebrities like Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo is now awash in oak, walnut, stone, leather, and metal.
“Working in a building that is 100 years old that has been refurbished several times, and not always in the most careful way,” was the biggest challenge of the project, says Leila Atlassi, senior lead architect. But guided by “the rich history of the hotel, its prior guests, and its future,” Wingårdhs has once again found cohesion by embracing pronounced white and black marble flooring, velvet upholstered sofas, and a signature gray palette that winds its way throughout the hotel. An abundance of works by up-and-coming local artists contrast classic pieces of furniture, such as the Swan chair and 2097 chandelier. At the Strand brasserie, floor-to-ceiling arched windows complement a massive lighting installation hanging the length of the restaurant’s soaring atrium that calls to mind the night sky. “We’ve merged Scandinavian aesthetics with an international vibe,” Atlassi points out.
Radisson Collection Old Mill Belgrade
Radisson Collection Old Mill Belgrade
A former 19th-century mill on the banks of the Sava River is now a 230-room hotel designed by Graft. “The idea was to create a new local landmark of hospitality that is attractive for the global traveler, as well as for the people of Belgrade to hang out in,” says Lars Krückeberg, cofounder of the Los Angeles-, Berlin-, and Beijing-based firm along with Wolfram Putz and Thomas Willemeit.
Belgrade translates to “white city,” and the color, as well as location, influenced Graft’s design and materiality decisions. “As we are close to the Sava and Danube rivers, we played with the notion of pebbles, bricks, and crushed stone becoming terrazzo and concrete, and we created a conceptual narrative based on the dialectic of old and new, industrial and handmade, rough and smooth,” explains Putz.
The old mill itself is the biggest source of design inspiration, leading to the incorporation of salvaged granite paving and wrought-iron columns, along with vintage machinery; reclaimed wood, iron, and brick; and natural materials like oak and copper that nod to the site’s past. “The raw atmosphere of the Old Mill’s public spaces gradually transitions into a private and soft environment in the guestrooms,” adds Willemeit. “A concrete structure is left exposed as a reminder of the building’s industrial heritage, but layered with a wall painting that alludes to the history, inviting visitors to engage with the location.”
Radisson Collection Tsinandali Estate, Kakheti, Georgia
Radisson Collection Tsinandali Estate, Kakheti, Georgia
Overlooking the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia’s wine country, this recently opened 141-room hotel comes courtesy of Mexico City and Barcelona firm Septiembre Arquitectura, in collaboration with Munich-based Ingo Maurer and Georgian artist Tamara Kvesitadze. “We wanted to reinforce the link between visitor and place, and we found the clues and hints for the design by diving into the context of Tsinandali,” says Septiembre Arquitectura cofounder Damian Figueras. “We abstracted the elements and created physical emotions.”
Set on a complex consisting of a memorial house, landscaped garden, historical winery, wine cellar, and café, nature is at the forefront of the hotel, with the most bucolic views captured from the rooftop infinity pool. Through different textures, metals, fabrics, and color palettes, guestrooms reference one of the four seasons. Meanwhile, metal flooring and cork walls in the lobby pay homage to winemaking and the estate’s own vineyards. “Covering the wall with cork is a solution that is read in different scales. You first think it is brick, and once you get closer, you realize it is cork,” Figueras points out.
Responsible for both a new-build hotel (which they covered in greenery) and rehabbing original buildings, existing concrete columns were caged with metal mesh and lit to “create the biggest and most spectacular illumination feature,” he adds. “The connection between the 19th and 21st centuries is expressed by a combination of excess and moderation, the fine and minimal with the exuberant and ornamented.”
