5 Most Popular Hotels of 2016

As the year draws to a close, we're highlighting the most popular articles on InteriorDesign.net. First up, our roundup of the top hotel stories we've published in 2016. (Plus, view our most popular offices.) 

5. Manca Studio's La Dimora di Metello Hotel Puts Matera, Italy on the Map

La Dimora di Metello is Manca Studio's first hotel. Since municipal regulations in Matera, Italy, were strict, architectural additions were limited to the corridor that connects the guest rooms. Each accommodation is unique, and each has a name, Roman and female. Eumenia and Numisia are the stan­dard doubles. Agapta, slightly larger, is a duplex. The deluxe suite is Metella. “They’re all grotto-type spaces,” Alfredo Manca notes. That translates into walls and arched ceilings carved out of the indigenous volcanic rock.

4. Mark Zeff Riffs on Austin’s Musical Heritage at the Hotel Van Zandt

Mark Zeff looked to the Austin music scene to lay down the baseline for the Hotel Van Zandt by Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group. His homage plays out in the lobby lounge with an installation of exuberant birds, made from vinyl records, that flutter out of an old phonograph and, elsewhere, as curated collections of found objects such as vintage radios and microphones. The gig posters in the 319 guest rooms reflect the Austin club scene in the ’60’s and ’70’s, when Van Zandt made his name. His final album, No Deeper Blue, symbolically thrums through the color palette as a moody teal. Riffs on blue are found everywhere  from the lounge’s tufted velvet-covered sofas and chairs to the guest rooms, where the wall covering evokes dreamy watercolor brushstrokes.

3. 7 Tiny Hotels Leave Room to Dream

Art, history, and fantasy are fellow guests at these small hotels.

2. Patricia Urquiola Designs Idyllic Lake Como Hotel Il Sereno

Cross Lake Como to dock at Il Sereno Lago di Como, a modernist-minded boutique hotel by Patricia Urquiola. The Interior Design Hall of Fame member has made her reputation with a bravura use of color and pattern, however this latest hotel showcases her at her most restrained. The reception and the lobby lounge incorporate groups of Urquiola’s distinctive furniture, including her long-standing best sellers for Cassina, where she has served as art director since last year. The color palette for fabrics is “locally sourced,” if you will. Sky blue for the generous sofas is complemented, for their throw pillows, by a leafy green and a moody blue-green recalling the lake.

1. 6 Hotels Around the World are Destinations On Their Own

Hotels around the world offer singular attractions.