Marriott Hotel
As part of a mixed-use development this upscale Marriott Hotel and Executive Apartments Downtown Abu Dhabi offers many facilities, located just two and a half blocks from The Corniche.
This hotel has a Lounge with coffee bar, an ADD Restaurant, a fine dining restaurant, a rooftop pool bar, hotel guestrooms, suites, long stay apartments, 2 Ballrooms, a business centre, a gym and a spa.
We created quiet spaces for people to relax away from the busy lounges and restaurants. The long stay executive apartments were given the same attention to detail as the hotel guestrooms and they were fully serviced.
The original palette inspiration came from the colours and textures around the Corniche providing a balance between the warm tones of the sands and the cool tones of the water and it was fairly neutral with colourful accents.
This was predominantly a business hotel, with people using the lobby for meetings or to work (a practise that was rare in western countries at this time) but also, this was in a good location for people on holiday and the ballroom spaces were ideal for weddings too so the challenge was to create a hotel that could be a backdrop for all these different activities and groups of people
The ground floor provides the welcome for everyone, for guests arriving and checking if, for locals coming to the coffee bar and for residents stating in the adjacent long-stay tower so the space needed to be fluid and have a consistent style.
We didn’t have a site supervision role on this project so some of the materials specified were substituted and some of the furniture was substituted too but most of the spaces stayed true to the design intent. It’s important to be clear at the start of a project what involvement everyone will have at all stages and to be aware of the implications.
There were also very tight deadlines and this project taught me that sometimes you need to push back and request more time. When spaces are intended to last approximately 10 years and extra 3 weeks drawing time can be time very well spent.
This was one of the first ‘Great Room’ approaches to the lobby lounge Marriott. It started off as mainly lounge seating but gradually more dining seating was included infront of the coffee bar where afternoon tea is served.
The development of the gym was relatively simple, this was part of the Executive Apartment block and shared changing rooms with the pool.
All day dining was designed to transition from daytime to evening. The bright, crisp space was softened with timber and rattan furniture and indirect lighting means that in the evening it’s simple to create a more intimate restaurant.
The flexibility of the kitchen design and the servery design allow many different cuisines to be offered here.
These photographs show the exclusive Rooftop Pool with fantastic views, the Ground Floor Lobby Lounge next to the vibrant Moka Coffee Bar, the Ballroom Pre-Function area for guests to break-out before and during events, the private Sky Reception for the Executive Apartments, a Treatment Room in the Spa and the lounge of the Executive Suite in the Hotel.
Image credits: All images on this page c/o Marriott.com
Collaborators: Angela Biddle, Amanda Baldwin, Adam Esposito, Dan Craner
