NH Tepa Palace – Ramon Esteve

Madrid 2010 7.200 m2

_EUROPEAN HOTEL DESIGN AWARDS

In 2010, an ambitious renovation project for the NH Hoteles company brought back an impressive 19th century aristocratic mansion, located in the heart of the Barrio de las Letras district in Madrid. A luxurious five-star hotel, placed in an exceptional location at San Sebastián Street but also connected to Atocha Street and Plaza del Ángel.

The intention of the project of interior design was always to respect and interact with the proper character of the building in order to achieve a harmonious spaces.

The design seeks to recover the original atmosphere of the palace without sacrificing the contemporary amenities.

Archaeological memory

The remains of the original viaje de aguas of La Castellana, currently lying under the glass floor of lecture room of the first floor, are as old as the memories of this literary inn. Found during the archaeological prospection of the building, this ancient water supply system has kept the cistern and the galleries that run under the plot of the palace and supplied the then burgeoning Villa de Madrid.

The complete proposal gives the hotel a strong personality and a great attracting atmosphere because of its combination of history and modernity.

The wide lobby space allowed the inclusion of a sculptural piece of great dimension that enlarges the perception of the great height of the ceiling.

Sensory tour

The set of carpets in the lobby and the reception lead the guest to the main rooms. The different shapes of the bedrooms of the hotel to be chosen include vaulted rooms, airy double-high rooms or cosy attics. Every detail in the rooms has been fully cared, like the backlit leather headboard, the leather-upholstered writing desk with a hidden dressing mirror and wide soft bed benches.

We designed some slender metal prisms hanged from the ceiling by aluminium strips in golden, lead and silver colours that bring the light in.

All the materials, colors, fabrics and furniture have been chosen to enhance each other, so that the focus would be on the entire set but not on the single material.

Its 84 rooms are decorated in comfortable grey and beige colours and play with the ubiquitous light that comes in through the large windows and the roof lights in the attic rooms of the upper floor. The rooms’ catalogue includes a luxury suite, 13 junior suites, 2 “Estado Puro” junior suites and 2 Premium suites.

The light as protagonist

Each type of bedroom offers different options of interior design. Thus, the bedrooms on the fifth floor of the new NH Palacio de Tepa enjoys a particularly comfortable atmosphere with their garret ceilings and their minimalist decoration.

Besides the Premium bedrooms, placed in two corners of the second floor of the building and with large living rooms, many of the bedrooms have been designed as duplex, for example the junior suites. All the bedrooms enjoy amazing views to the streets and squares of the recently renovated district.

When you are in the timber-roofed bedrooms, you feel such a calmness that you forget you are in the centre of Madrid.

This diversity of elements doesn’t challenge the homogeneity of the space, enhanced by the use of neutral colours in harmony with the noble marble stones throughout the entire building. All the materials, colours, fabrics and furniture have been chosen to enhance each other, so the focus would be on the entire set but not on the single material.

Tanto en espacios comunes como en las habitaciones se utilizan madera de roble ahumado, bronces bruñidos y pieles en tonos tabaco y visón.

The selected furniture

The sofas are special pieces from Para collection by Joquer and the upholstered armchairs are Par armchairs also by Joquer. The chairs and tables in the restaurant are part of the collection of Andreu World, a Spanish firm with a long-time experience. The carpets in the bedrooms have been exclusively designed for the hotel and produced by Gandia Blasco.

The side lamps of the bedrooms, as well as the lams of the common areas, were manufactured by Ona Light. The extraordinary metallic vases and flower pots in the hotel entrance and the living rooms are products from the Italian firm Castelli.