British newspaper Telegraph presents the 10 most impressive hotel lobbies in the world:
1. Me Dubai hotel
Due to open in 2016, the Zaha Hadid-designed Me Dubai hotel is set to be one of the UAE’s most distinctive properties. Newly released renderings show its centrepiece will be a vast, sinuous lobby. In advance of the hotel’s completion, we look at other hotels around the world with incredible, imposing lobbies
2. Al Bustan Palace
Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Muscat, Oman, welcomes guests with a reception area that is palatial and ornate. Rising 39 metres to the centre of a grand dome – which is three metres longer than the Taj Mahal dome – its centrepiece is a 5.5 tonne crystal chandelier
3. Veranda
Hidden in the hills that surround Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, Veranda is designed to allow guests a relaxing, rejuvenating escape. The experience begins when visitors check in at the property’s open-air reception, before passing a tranquil pool to access their rooms.
4. Mandarin Oriental Tokyo
It’s the view that sets the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo apart. Located on the uppermost two floors of a 38-storey building, it offers sweeping views over the Japanese metropolis
5. Four Seasons George V
The lobby of the Four Seasons George V in Paris lacks the scale of many other luxury hotels’, but it draws admirers from around the world. They come to see the bountiful and continually refreshed floral displays that decorate the space – the hotel spends approximately £1 million per year on flowers, and the lobby is a showcase for this investment
6. ITC Grand Chola
Admittedly the lobby of the ITC Grand Chola hotel in Chennai would look less impressive without a procession of elegant, sari-clad staff members lined in greeting, but it is an imposing space nonetheless. Gleaming marble abounds in the lobby, and the hotel as a whole features one million square feet of hand-carved marble
7. Me London
The Norman Foster-designed Me London offers one of the most immersive, interesting check-in experiences you’re likely to have anywhere. The reception area is contained within a pyramid-like space that is capped by a glass roof. Each night different graphics are projected onto the walls, from expanding grids to floating jellyfish and starscapes
8. The Royal Livingstone
Guests at The Royal Livingstone in Zambia have an unconventional start to their stay at the hotel. Rather than checking in as normal, they’re taken to the property by water taxi and check in at the hotel’s jetty where they’re treated to hand massages and a fruit cocktail
9. Hilton London Heathrow Airport, Terminal 5
There’s a lot going on in the Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 reception area. The sprawling space houses the only Musetti coffee shop outside Italy, its vast ceiling displays lights on which it’s possible to stream video footage and its proximity to the airport means a constant stream of tearful partings and joyful reunions are marked here
10. Hotel Icon
In Kowloon in Hong Kong, Hotel Icon houses Asia’s largest indoor vertical garden within its lobby. French botanist and artist Patrick Blanc designed the feature, which measures 18 metres in height and covers 230 square metres. Consisting of numerous native plants, the vertical garden functions as a welcome natural sight within the congested city centre.
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