Summer is often a time a for sunshine, renewal, and restoration. This month, Luxe Lavs contributors Angela Fairhurst and Natalie Compagno share the best newly designed hotels and their rejuvenated bathrooms. Read on to discover how hotels have added new features to their remodeled bathrooms. You can even discover how one hotel created a wickedly designed suite and bathroom in New Orleans, the city of the saints.
The Marriott Stanton South Beach, Florida
The Marriott Stanton South Beach spent $10 million on the redesign of its guest rooms and bathrooms, which shows they understand the importance of a fantastic hotel lavatory. Less corporate than one would expect, the Marriott Stanton South Beach is much more of a hip boutique hotel with retro-inspired touches. Ideally located in the trendy South of Fifth district on Ocean Drive-and one of the only hotels with a beachfront location-this hotel was ready for a redesign to cater to the sun and sea lovers that flock to Miami. The same design team that recreated Fontainebleau and the 40/40 Club in New York City added the perfect shower feature for sandy beach goers. They designed a hole in the shower that lets you turn on the water from the outside without getting your whole body wet. We think that’s a perfect solution! These new glass showers with rainforest showerheads and hand-held fixtures are sleek and even the all-natural THANN products are innovatively designed. Their motto is a lifestyle of total wellness. We take that to mean a well-balanced life that carries over into well-balanced vacations. At the Marriott Stanton, guests stand on their balconies overlooking both the Miami skyline and the ocean, a great mix of relaxation and nature with nightlife and architecture. After sunbathing on the beach, jump into the shower to rinse off before heading out on the town.
The Saint Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is called many things, including The Big Easy and The Crescent City, but nothing encapsulates the spirit of this mysterious city like the image of The Saint Hotel. The streets whisper ghost stories and voodoo tales while religious hymns are sung during jazz funerals. Besides the Saints football team, New Orleans has a new saint to be proud of. The Saint hotel tucked right off the French Quarter is a perfect mélange of angelic decor and sinful decadence. The newly renovated suites are what tempted us, and the bathrooms in each suite are an ethereal haven for weary revelers. Each suite is named after a saint: Archangel Michael, Gabriel, St. Christopher, Raphael and with pure New Orleans flair, the most darkly ornate of them all is the Archangel Lucifer Suite. The glass enclosed bathrooms are opulent yet chic and the size of most normal hotel rooms. Modern art hangs on the walls and crystal Murano glass chandeliers hang from the ceilings. Niven Morgan is a native Louisianan known for his home décor and scents. He created the scent “Blue” for the Saint, and we love the complimentary full-sized scented bath and body products and room reed diffusers in every room. There is a large changing space inside the Archangel Michael bathroom with thick Niven Morgan custom robes. Floor to ceiling Carrera marble surrounds each bathroom and the deep stand-alone claw foot tubs. The tub in the Lucifer Suite is black, waiting for that perfect devilish mood. New Orleans festivities beckon, but it is hard to leave these truly Luxe Lavs.
The Ritz-Carlton in Rancho Mirage, California
The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage is the first new Ritz-Carlton to open in the U.S. since 2010. With a rare cliff-top setting overlooking views of the Palm Springs Desert valley floor, this stylishly modern construction hotel made our list. Paying homage to Southern California and its mindful desert landscaping, the hotel was designed with soft earth-toned hues, California stacked stone, limestone, woods and coppers highlighting the interiors. Our personal favorite is a special enclosure featuring adjustable wooden shutters above the bathtub, allowing for privacy or, alternatively, throwing the shutters wide open and soaking in stunning panoramas from the outside. The bathrooms are inspired by Asian bath traditions; guests shower prior to getting into a bathtub so as to keep the bath water clean. The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage bathrooms combine a deep soaker tub and an oversized frosted glass shower together within an enclosed shower/bath enclave within the larger bathroom. In the shower area there is a fogless mirror for shaving, and the adjacent tub is provisioned with a pillow and wine caddy. All the bathrooms have 19″³ HD televisions custom-designed into the vanity. As for the amenities, Turkish cotton towels and “Purple Water” by Asprey, developed specifically for Ritz Carlton, add to the ambiance.
The Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, California
The Westin St. Francis, renowned as the “Grand Dame” of San Francisco’s Union Square, has completed a $20 million renovation of the Tower Building. This is the largest renovation of this soaring building since it opened in 1972 as an addition to the historic 1904 Landmark Building. Comprised of 569 guestrooms on 32 floors, the Tower Building is one of the tallest buildings on Union Square and boasts unparalleled views of the San Francisco skyline. For a large hotel, the sensory-rich environment and new design at the hotel offers a respite from the rigors of travel and sets a welcoming tone. Remodeled by the design team at Strategic Hotels & Resorts, the bathrooms are styled much like the guestrooms and corridors, exuding a fusion of contemporary style with the best in modern hotel amenities. In shades of ivory and taupe the bathroom features a custom-designed rich dark wood with its large marble vanities that allow plenty of room for all your toiletries. They’ve added new mirrors and sleek sconces. Whether guests enjoyed a foggy romantic day or those brilliant sunny ones where the Bay shimmers under white sailboats, they will need to rest and renew before the evening. Solution: slip into the tub and enjoy the signature Westin Heavenly Bath with a rainfall showerhead and White Tea by Westin amenities.
