Naço have been shortlisted for Hotel Under 50 Rooms – Global Award in The International Hotel and Property Awards 2020.
The Imperator, a five-star hotel in Nîmes, was originally established in 1929 when the Paris Lyon Marseille railway line opened. The hotel was brought back to life after 20 months of renovations, ensuring to take consideration of its seniority and revive the glorious past of the building.
With the renovation complete and the interior restored, only the concrete structure remains unchanged. The entrance of the hotel heralds a grand decoration comprised of wood and natural stone, expanding surfaces with large old-fashioned mirrors, and transparency with open windows to enjoy the brightness of spaces such as the bar, brasserie and lobby. In each of these rooms, with symbolic names honouring the illustrious occupants (Ava Gardner, Jean Cocteau, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali, Picasso or Cocteau), designer Marcelo Joulia has matched neutral colours such as beige and white on to leather headboards, on the velvet armchairs and together with brighter colours on the carpet in the rooms. Design and graphics merge to create innovative solutions for high-end, international customers.
This harmony, due to the renovation and landscaping, is also refined by the arrangement of works by various artists within the spaces: Guy Bareff’s works of earthenware, Jean-Pierre Formica’s sculptures, lanterns from the designer Marco Marino, the sofas of the artist Thierry Carretero, the fabric paintings by Claude Viala, the lithographs of the Gallery of Michelle Champetier and the gallery HUS where we find artists such as Jim Bird, Jesùs-Rafael Soto, Andy Warhol, Vasarely or Jacques Monory, the ceramic tiles of Anna Maria Vasco and the sculptures of 36 recyclab. Added to this, the unique art books and a Marcelo Joulia drawing of the transformation on display in each room.
Nîmes has an old spirit aspect and the hotel has been perfectly integrated in its wider environment. This combination of unique crafts converging in this urban resort, orchestrated by the Naço agency and its founder Marcelo Joulia, offers a new vision of the art of French reception and invents a contemporary approach to voluptuous and warm luxury.
design et al only work with the world’s leading designers.
If you think you have what it takes to complete in The International Hotel & Property Awards, submit your application by clicking here.