A hotel suite dedicated to ‘extravagant entertaining’ can be filled with any number of gadgets for AV indulgence and the best minibar that culinary and branding consultants can dream up. The Entertainment Suite at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental has those, of course. But it also provides for an engaging experience in a richer way: through an interior design that takes every opportunity to lure the eye and the imagination.
Joyce Wang has rightly received a great deal of acclaim in recent years for captivating restaurant projects such as Ammo, Spiga, Rhoda and Mott 32. All of these spaces are entertaining journeys in themselves, with Wang revelling in the creative license that comes with the F&B format to establish strong interior narratives – all with her characteristic mastery over form and detail.
But a hotel suite is another story. The sense of journey is relevant, but there must also be an air of comfort and reassurance for the traveller who is far from home and, in this case, in a hectic city. After redesigning its rooms in 2015, Wang recently designed the 2,250-square-foot Entertainment Suite at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental with custom furniture, restful natural tones, and forms that invite investigation.
The suite contains an entertainment wall, comprising a series of individual metal cabinets, which stretches the entire width of the room. Tree branch silhouettes are engraved on this ‘Cabinet of Delights’, which invites explorations of its compartments. Within, guests will discover a variety of amenities, from boutique wines on tap to a mixologist dispensary, a crystal vitrine stocked with delicacies created by the hotel’s Michelin-starred chef, and a movie-style popcorn machine.
A custom-designed coffee table also beckons with interlocking compartments crafted from gouged timber. These reveal gaming equipment and VR headsets. Walls are finished in limestone with brass inlays, and chandelier of individually moulded glass squares (each fitted with an LED) calls to mind ice cubes.
Textural play is turned up in the master bedroom, where suede leather padding is matched by a fluted backdrop of aged bronze by Stuart Fox. The shapely forms generate a narrative of light and shadow that offers a different impression of the space at different times of day. Hand-tufted silk rugs add to the texture-rich environment.
The bespoke luxury continues in the spacious master bathroom, where guests will find a freestanding bathtub crafted from a single piece of marble. Surveying the swirling grain patterns could easily have guests forgetting the world outside the hotel for a good while.
Joyce Wang
joycewang.com
