HOTEL
Better together

"Taste an Place: The Design Hotels Book" by Sophie and Orlando Lovell offers a diverse heavyweight: the 352 pages of the publication are richly filled with addresses of international, independent design hotels – from Canada to Bulgaria, from Italy to Kenya, from Australia to Sweden. But above all, the work offers one thing: atmospheric impressions of design, culinary, nature and culture that guests encounter at the respective destination. It shows the people who, with their dedication to home-grown and manufactured products as well as their warm hospitality, create the basis for the special offer that distinguishes the Design Hotels. Divided into eight chapters, readers learn how the natural luxury of the place is expressed in all its facets and what role the architecture and interior design play in the harmonious overall picture. The aesthetics of the photographs are at times reminiscent of the lush heaviness of still-life painting in the Baroque period.

The curated tour is rounded off with essays by gastronomy, travel and design journalists such as LinYee Yuan and Ursula Heinzelmann. The aim is to provide the audience with a holistic offer, as not only the joy of abundance is addressed, but also its depth. The insight into the microcosm of design hotels thus raises the question of how we can travel more responsibly, more sustainably and how forward-looking ideas for the hotel ecosystem can be transferred to the big picture so that the table remains richly set in the future. (am)