The shortlist of Best Urban Hotel 2018 has been announced last week with 4 Middle East finalists. The winners will be announced only in December 2018 and we will show you the hotels that figure in The Middle East Shortlist.
Room Mate Emir hotel – Istanbul, Turkey
This Middle East finalist of Best Urban Hotel 2018, the latest Room Mate hotel is a light-flooded study in contemporary chic; cool but also hospitality design romantic.
Designed by Lázaro Rosa Violán, whose total remodeling of this period property honors Istanbul’s cosmopolitan past by retaining painted ceilings, parquet floors, and exposed brickwork but brings it firmly into today with a mix of mid-Century flourishes, strategically-placed mirrors, lovingly-crafted woodwork, and ultra-contemporary furnishings.
The Vera hotel – Tel Aviv, Israel
The Vera Hotel is other Middle East Best Urban Hotel 2018 finalist. It is the first solo hotel from Danny Tamari, a native who cut his cloth working for the likes of Rocco Forte Hotels and Morgan’s Hotel Group, and in many ways, it is his love letter to the city.
In its design, overseen by Yaron Tal Studio, the 39-key boutique draws from each, blending sharp, considered modernity with a sense of put-your-feet-up ease.
In the lobby-cum-bar, relaxed furnishings, a help-yourself wine machine and a scattering of curated coffee table books invite guests to linger. Raw, unplastered walls and a polished concrete nod to the historic soul of the building, which – like so many others in the city – is a renovation project.
Bulgari- Dubai
the 13-hectare property is anchored by the 101-room hotel, a low-slung building that separates two bays: one, a sweeping stretch of white sandy beach lined with 20 villas, and the other, a chichi marina, complete with a string of private residences and the Bulgari Yacht Club.
The property’s understated low-rise architecture is the work of Milan-based firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, whose white Carrara marble façade is defined by three floors of coral-inspired horizontal layers that filter through the sunlight while subtly nodding to the ornate, latticed details found in traditional Middle Eastern architecture.
Inside – in addition to the almost all Italian catalog of furnishings from B&B Italia to Felxform, Flos and Maxalto – the luxury quotient is amplified by Iranian green onyx, Shanxi black granite from Mongolia and heavy wild-wool rugs handcrafted in Morocco.
Mondrian hotel – Doha, Qatar
From outside – and especially at night – the group’s latest property in Doha resembles something dreamed up by Hayao Miyazaki, and this hallucinogenic quality continues within.
The 270-key property comes with seven in-house eateries, including the craft beer and burgers spot Hudson Tavern, Japanese restaurant Morimoto and, more intriguingly, Walima, which promises a taste of Qatari cuisine.
Like the rooms – essays in opulent restraint that feature decorative arabesques and striking re-workings of the Persian miniature, and which exude a distinctly Scheherazade vibe – it is all the work of Marcel Wanders, Holland’s most playful designer. Here, he’s worked in collaboration with local consultants South West Architecture.
