In line with today’s trend to bring the outdoors indoor, the design of the new Hilton Garden Inn Kuwait is natural and welcoming through its contemporary interpretation of a garden, blurring the boundary between the external and the internal environment.
The new four-star hotel, which opened its doors early this year adjacent to The Avenues-Kuwait – one of the largest shopping destinations in the region – is owned by Mabanee Company, a leading Kuwaiti real estate developer. The 10,000-sq-m property is housed in a 10-storey building along Fifth Ring Road in Kuwait City.
Gensler was responsible for the architectural design while Godwin Austen Johnson (GAJ) carried out the interior design. Havelock One was responsible for the interior fit-out for most public areas and 385 spacious guest rooms and suites.
According to GAJ, the interiors are designed to channel a sense of place with traditional Middle Eastern influences through the use of locally inspired colours, textures and materials.
“A flood of natural daylight from a fully glazed double-height wall highlights the palette of soft browns, golden yellows and vibrant green hues, bringing the spirit of the city and the desert into the hotel,” explains a spokesman for GAJ. “There is a natural fluidity in the public spaces where the lobby, garden lounge and all-day dining flow into each other yet still retain their own distinct zones.”
The guestrooms and suites have a contemporary feel with clean lines and fresh interiors complemented by comprehensive state-of-the-art technology. Carefully selected artwork throughout the property captures beautiful and interesting elements of the local flora and fauna.
“On brand, yet with its own personality, the Hilton Garden Inn Kuwait adheres to design principles of proportion, geometry, volume, balance, contrast, colour, texture and detail to create an attractive and thoroughly modern hotel,” the spokesman adds.
GAJ is one of the largest and longest-established UK architectural and design practices in the UAE, which has created some of the emirates’ most iconic buildings.
To turn GAJ’s design vision into reality, Bahrain-headquartered Havelock One combined its expertise in interior contracting and manufacturing for the fast-track project.
“While the factory in Bahrain supplied juice bar counters, banquet seating and guest room millworks, as well as the ceiling panelling - a pattern that is repeated across different public areas – the local fit-out team provided the finishing works, including regular and acoustic ceilings, corridor wall cladding, painting, screeding, wallpapers, tiling, carpets, glass and movable partition works,” says a spokesperson for Havelock One.
The Hilton Garden Inn Kuwait is part of the Phase Four expansion of The Avenues – Kuwait with its main entrance located in ‘The Forum’ and bordering the new ‘Electra’ district. The modern interior design, conceived by GAJ, caters to the upscale corporate business market and weekend leisure demand alike and is governed by brand guidelines that set out the design parameters for the building’s look and feel.