Renovating the hotel in its entirety after 25 years was one of the biggest challenges Arroyave faced. Maintaining the architecture, adding life, joy and filling it with contrasts were the axes that marked the designer's work.
"At first the ideas for change scared the owners a lot, but when they started to see the environments they were amazed. We incorporated wood into the door frames, changed a lot of furniture, lamps, skirting boards, added leather, updated colors, textures and shapes," said the designer.
Passing through the carpets
If remodeling a hotel is like dressing a woman, good shoes can never go unnoticed. In this case then, carpets also play a significant role in the process. According to Arroyave, the more elements that are combined in the decoration of a hotel, the better the result. "Carpets play a very important role. A hotel without carpets is like a woman without clothes, so about 80 or 90% of the hotel is carpeted," he explained. To determine the color and the amount of carpets, the designer said he had taken into account the country, the climate and the area where the hotel is located.
Stepping on the Aurola Holiday Inn Hotel is to immediately come into contact with a Caribbean country, as its carpets demonstrate this thanks to the tropical and striking nuances that are combined in them. The designs in which predominated in addition to these tonalities, irregular and organic shapes had their inspiration in the croto, a plant of great vitality, as described by the designer. "We are a tropical country, cheerful and colorful, we must reflect that in our spaces to receive tourists. We always have to sell our style," Arroyave emphasized.
Decoration with high standards
It is clear that selling the style of a warm and welcoming country is not the only priority of this four-star hotel. Belonging to the Holiday Inn chain also leads you to have quality as a fundamental characteristic in its facilities and services. This was stated by Manuel Rodríguez, president of the Aurola Holiday Inn Hotel. "For the choice of carpets we chose the highest standard of decoration of the Intercontinental chain. These are the first carpets of this type installed in Costa Rica," he said.
According to these standards, carpets also have fire retardant, anti-mite and anti-allergic characteristics. Likewise, the lamps, fabrics, paintings, curtains, furniture, marbles and granites destined for the decoration of the hotel went through a rigorous selection and approval of the hotel chain.
Exclusive designs
Choosing who provides the best materials and designs for decoration was not an easy task. At least that's how the designer Arroyave remembers it, who had to travel repeatedly to the United States to carry out this work. Although the carpets used in the remodeling of the hotel did not serve a specific collection, if it had the participation of Durkan Hospitality, carpet manufacturing company that through its supplier in Costa Rica, C.A.C Corporate Alcesa Centroamericana, she was in charge of supplying the carpets for the decoration of the hotel.
"We did not choose any collection, the decorator in our company designed the carpets, therefore our designs are unique and exclusive," explained the president of the hotel. In this regard, Arroyave said that he took details of all durkan's collections and adapted them. "I used for example the edges of one with the medallions of another, I also changed colors. This whole process was like putting together a puzzle," he said.
From expectations to realities
After an investment of approximately three million dollars for the remodeling and training of staff, the president of the Aurola Holiday Inn Hotel said that the expectations raised at the beginning are already realities, as the figures reflect this. An increase in occupancy of more than 15% and an increase in the rate of more than 10 dollars, are the best example of this.
Looked at from below, the hotel also augurs well, as Rodríguez explained. "The carpets we chose are high traffic which allows us to ensure that in ten years they will still be good. However, you have to keep in mind that in the hotel industry usually, carpets must be renovated five or seven years after they have been installed."
The location of the carpets that began in September 2006 and ended in December of the same year mixes two environments in the hotel. The common sites are given a tropical and lively air, while the rooms are endowed with a touch of freshness and tranquility.
According to the president of the hotel, Costa Rica is going through a major tourist boom. "Offering a renewed and new product helps us in the marketing of the country and the satisfaction of our customers, that was also one of the motivations that drove us to make the investment," he concluded.
Leave your comment