Stylt Trampoli‘s Stora Hotellet Umeå in Sweden has been shortlisted for the Lobby/Public Areas/Lounge Award in the International Hotel & Property Awards 2014.
This is a grand hotel with a saltwater-stained past, where the seafaring heritage of the town is made visible in a unique experience in a unique place.
Stora Hotellet, built by Umeå Seamen’s Mission in 1895, had a long and proud history as the centre of the town’s nightlife, celebrations and tourism. But by the late 2000s, the hotel was run-down and outdated, while Umeå itself, was thriving and had a crying need for more hotel rooms.
Balticgruppen, the large property developing company which had just acquired the venerable hotel, did not want to build more ordinary hotel rooms, however – what was really needed, in their view, was a truly unique guest experience with an unmistakable sense of place.
That guest experience starts with the lobby, the first impression that sets the tone for the entire stay. Stylt Trampoli knew that for this hotel to work, the lobby had to be something out of the ordinary.