Four IV styles interiors for Trinidad hotel

Four IV has styled interiors for the Carlton Savannah hotel in Trinidad, set to open in April.

A surge in commercial travellers to the West Indies because of a booming local oil industry has resulted in a shortage of business accommodation on the islands and provided the impetus for the development, according to Four IV associate Fred Quesnel.

The Carlton Savannah, named by the eponymous transatlantic development consortium comprising Arthur Lock-Jack, Norman Tang, Philip Hammil-Smith, Stuart White and Robert McClellan, was branded by local consultancy Above Group.

The development, which will operate on a hotel invest basis, is located in the St Anne’s area of Port of Spain, overlooking Queens Park Savannah. The client has aspirations for the hotel, conceived by Trinidadian architects ACLA Works and Co-rd, to be Trinidad’s leading five-star business hotel.

Four IV, which landed the £140 000 task in 2007 through a recommendation and without a pitch, replaced a local interior design consultancy on the project. Under the brief, the group was to redesign the whole hotel in just three to four months, Quesnel claims.

‘The existing design wasn’t hitting the aspirations of the client and we were asked to come up with a sophisticated European business style,’ says Quesnel.

The consultancy, with a four-strong team, has created the hotel’s entire look, from front of house, public areas, meeting rooms and cocktail, lounge and roof terrace bars, through to guest bedrooms and suites.

The design, according to Quesnel, uses signature colours throughout to indicate placement and navigation. ‘Signature colours indicate whether you’re in a single room or a suite, but also take you to the corridors, where they are used as a navigational tool,’ he says.

Exposed concrete, limestone flooring, bespoke furniture and upholstery are intended to create a sense of minimal opulence, while textured walls soften the harsh acoustics of such concrete developments, which are typical in Trinidad, according to Quesnel.

The development also intends to capitalise on its reputation as one of the island’s highest venues. A roof terrace has been built and styled with this in mind.

One of the key challenges working in the area, says Quesnel, was dealing with the volatility of the local currency, as well as trying to juggle rising prices for materials coming from China.



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