A boutique hotel experience should always be something special. A one-size-fits-all aesthetic with beige walls and white sheets is abandoned in favour of a bespoke and personal approach. It means staying there is an experience in and of itself, and that each room offers a unique stay.

This was exactly the brief for the interior design of a heritage two-storey, 10-room, turn-of-the-century boutique hotel in the heart of Grey Lynn, Auckland, with a modern extension at the rear, which was purchased to be part of The Fable chain of hotels and resorts famed for their luxury guest experience.

Mandala Design director Devi Lecchi says the whole idea was to give the existing shell a look to suit the new chain that took it over. 

"The client wanted a brand experience that fits with the premium nature of their other hotels and resorts, but they also wanted it to be bespoke to the building itself.”

The nature of the building, being residential yet grand in scale, dictated a cosy and opulent style, with each room treated to its own personal identity.

Devi says this brief was rather fortunate at the time, because of a tight, two-month turnaround to design the entire interiors in the middle of the first Covid-19 lockdown with supply chain constraints, so customising each space helped avoid many of the sourcing challenges during that time.

Instead, each room was designed to its own theme, with a cohesion of colours and textures that run throughout. The rooms were each treated to rich colours, luxurious furniture, drapes and sumptuous bedlinen.

“Because the bones of the building were good and the neutral palette was easy to work with, it was an interesting challenge to create an eclectic mix of rooms, by changing the interior design elements along with colours, accessories and finishes.”

The hotel has the traditional villa format and didn’t have a lobby, therefore the first interior decision was to convert a small bedroom next to the entry into a rich and comfortable waiting room, where guests are treated to a drink and snack upon arrival.

Devi says the personal approach to serving the guests (who also receive complimentary drinks and hors d'oeuvres in the library and/or top balcony in the evenings) was purposefully chosen to increase interactions and connections between the guests.

“It's all about one-on-one service for them and giving them that personal attention – creating the experience right from when they walk in the door.”

As part of the full service there is a breakfast menu, which is catered from a discreet kitchen on site, and Devi worked with the chef to understand exactly what was needed in terms of supporting the delivery of the food through the interior design.

“We came up with a design of a breakfast tray that caters to the offering of what they provide, with custom bread baskets that exactly fit the tray.”

It’s this attention to detail in the finer elements of the experience of staying at the hotel that makes it such a special destination.

For example, in the ensuites, this meant redesigning the fitout to really cater to the guests’ needs.

“We faced a few challenges with the bathrooms; there was no storage or bench space so we had to come up with creative ways to solve this while still using the existing plumbing.”

The solution was to replace existing basins with custom made vanities and smaller basins, which meant the bathrooms are now not only beautiful, but functional, too.

Devi says the success of the hotel’s interior is in understanding the guest experience, and this meant Mandala Design was across every aspect of how the spaces will function, from choice of furniture right down to glassware, bedlinen, accessories and artwork.

“As a designer, to see that transformation was a nice journey for me; what we could do by carefully selecting and layering, giving it that personality, texture and colour it needed to capture the brand, really transformed the face of a space that had excellent bones to begin with.”

Words: Jo Seton

Photography credit: Tessa Chrisp