HONG KONG�March 1999. In celebration of the hotel�s tenth
anniversary, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong has completed the re-design of all guestrooms.
The changes in the new rooms goes beyond simply updating the soft furnishings
and involved a complete redesign of the guestroom to meet the constantly
changing needs of the new millennium traveller. General Manager, Mr David
Udell, says, � Our objective was to create a room perfectly suited to the
needs of the discriminating business traveller. A contemporary residence
overlooking Victoria Harbour....A guestroom redefined.�
Regency Club accommodation offers personalised concierge service, daily
complimentary breakfast and evening cocktails in the stunning split level
Regency Club Lounge - an exclusive retreat. Floor to ceiling glass windows
provide an incomparable view of the city.
The designer of the new room, Mr John Morford, was also responsible
for the design of the renowned Park Hyatt Tokyo. Discussing the project,
Morford said �the increased importance of the television screen for both
business and entertainment purposes led to a complete reversal of furniture
layout for typical guestrooms. The screen was placed on a rotating pedestal
near the window, facing into the room to minimise the glare of daylight
on the screen�.
�Desks were to have permanent computer keyboards and ledges were provided
adjacent to desks to maximise work surfaces. Cabinets were added next to
desks to contain fax machines, directories, safe, electrical outlets for
recharging mobile phones and for storing guest�s material conveniently.�
�The complexity of the rooms provisions, including bar area with coffee
and tea making services, led to a highly tailored approach to the design
of built-in furniture. New emphasis was placed on the wardrobe and places
for guests to store luggage out of sight. The entrance foyers became proper
dressing areas with small vanities with hairdryers.�
Other features included in these new guestrooms are down duvets covered
in Egyptian cotton bed linen and striking black and white photographs of
traditional Chinese gardens by the respected architect, Chung Wah Nan.
The subtle colour scheme lends a residential feel to the new room. The
bathrooms retain the marble bath with separate shower and the gold plated
fixtures.
The commitment to technology began with the introduction of an in-room
confidential fax machine with personalised number, voicemail, two phone
lines with dataport enabling simultaneous use of the telephone and lap
top computer modem. This commitment continues with the introduction of
OCX, On Command Corporation�s next generation �Entertainment and Technology
for Hotels� service.
This service will transform the television into a dynamic, multimedia
focal point of the hotel guestroom. Guests are able to access cable and
satellite TV, choose the latest Hollywood movies, utilise multi-lingual
electronic Guest Services and gain access to the Internet at speeds 50
times faster than through a conventional modem.
Grand
Hyatt Hong Kong will be the first hotel in Asia to offer its guests this
advanced �On Command� technology. This development incorporates a customized
Internet browser specially adapted for use on the TV with a powerful infra-red
cordless keyboard provided in every guestroom.
With high speed connections, guests will have access to the fastest
web surfing experience possible. Large photo or video files download in
seconds, allowing the busy traveller to spend more time surfing and less
time waiting. To help the guest, a number of favourite web sites have been
bookmarked into convenient cyberchannels. These range from news and sports,
games, e-mail and chat rooms, to travel and shopping.
Details from interviews with John Morford and John Thorpe of �On Command�
follow.
Interview with John Morford
Designer of new rooms at Grand Hyatt Hong
Kong
Q. What did you want to achieve with your design concept?
During the initial briefing Hyatt requested that the renovated rooms
include advanced communications and computer technology, that they be as
comfortable as possible and that they have a fresh, modern, warm and personal
feeling.
The
increased importance of the television screen for both business and entertainment
purposes led to a complete reversal of furniture layout for typical guestrooms.
The screen was placed on a rotating pedestal near the window, facing into
the room to minimise the glare of daylight on the screen and to put it
into a comfortable relationship with desk, lounge area and bed.
Desks were to have permanent computer keyboards and ledges were provided
adjacent to desks to maximise work surfaces. Cabinets were added next to
desks to contain fax machines, directories, safe, electrical outlet for
recharging cellular phones and for storing guest�s material conveniently.
The complexity of the room�s provisions, including bar area with coffee
and tea making services, led to a highly tailored approach to the design
of built-in furniture. New emphasis was placed on the wardrobe and places
for guest to store luggage out of sight. The entrance foyers became proper
dressing areas with small vanities with hair dryers.
Q. Did factors such as the return to Chinese sovereignty and the
approaching new millennium affect your concept?
A sense of changing times was a part of the process and the challenge.
Perhaps it contributed to the openmindedness and enthusiasm which prevailed
amongst all concerned throughout the project.
Q. In what ways did you wish to incorporate the art deco approach
to the interior public areas into the new guest room design?
The hotel was originally designed in an �art deco� manner. This is particularly
apparent in the lobby areas. The rooms, of course, are an extension of
the public areas and could not go against the grain. Perhaps it is correct
to say that the new rooms are influenced by �art deco� references only
in that their detailing is rooted in the modernist movement from the 1930s.
In the lobby areas a sense of opulence is created by enormous space and
decorative effects. In the rooms the opulence, if that is what it would
be called, comes from the quantity of the conveniences and the attention
to small details and comfort.
Q. What was your decision making process in regard to the artwork
you have chosen?
To counterbalance the strict, linear, architectural detailing of the
new guestrooms we proposed to incorporate a large series of naturalistic
images. This was done with photographs from Chinese gardens which were
themselves devised and enjoyed as extensions to architecture. I have for
many years admired a book of photos by Architect Chung Wah Nan. He very
graciously agreed to select images from his extensive library of photos
and provide prints to fit the numerous, specific applications throughout
guestrooms, corridors and lift lobbies. Eventually this program will be
extended into three floors of renovated suites.
Q. Describe the materials you have selected in the rooms and why
they have been used.
The rooms are unusual in the amount of wood panelling used for wall
finishes. This relates them to the public areas where similar panelling
is used extensively and it adds warmth.
Q. The business traveller is an enormously important market for Grand
Hyatt Hong Kong. What did you want to provide him/her with?
The rooms are thought of as small business centres.....as described
already.
Q. How did you begin your career as a designer and what are some
of your career highlights?
As a child I wanted to be an architect. More specifically, I thought
the man made surroundings where I grew up were short of what they could
and should have been. And I started drawing/fumbling around because of
this, perhaps.
I have drawn/fumbled around with a certain amount of satisfaction during
the years since then for Hyatt hotels in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Macau,
for two restaurants for a family with a 300 year old business in Japan,
for the Joyce Cafe at Exchange Square in Hong Kong, for two unbuilt resorts
in China, for forgotten things and for a restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska. |
Interview with John Thorpe
Vice President & Managing Director - On
Command Hong Kong
Q. What are the major features of the new On Command system that
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong guests will be able to enjoy?
On Command�s new, digital interactive technology platform was designed
to provide hotel guests with a compelling graphical user interface and
menu system.
In addition to the widest choice of first run movies on-demand, OCX
also hosts the latest interactive entertainment and information services
for hotel guests including TV-based Internet access, email, and improved
guest services such as video checkout, on-screen message display, and hotel
information.
Q. When developing this latest system, what feedback and research
from hotel guests (and particularly in Asia) did you take into account?
Over the past 10 years here in Asia, we have always listened closely
to our customers, the major 4 and 5 star hotels, and their guests. Focus
groups and interviews with hundreds of guests were combined with actual
use and viewing habits in the development of the new user interface. During
trials of our Internet service beginning in Asia last August, we found
guests want easy access to information on local attractions and events.
Guests want the system to speak in their own language be it Cantonese,
Mandarin, Japanese, Korean or European
languages, and our system does literally speak to them. Our service
has been tailored to local Internet sites that have proven to be popular,
and we monitor ongoing usage to add new popular sites each month.
Q. How does this system compare with other hotel information and
entertainment systems available in Asia?
The multimedia architecture showcases a more compelling menu presentation
and broader array of on-demand video offerings than that previously found
in the hotel room environment. No other system provides such a wide range
of entertainment options, and makes it so easy and fun to use. Our TV Internet
gives people the experience now of the high-speed that their Internet service
at home will offer only in the future. We provide the latest release movies
from all the major Hollywood studios, as well as Chinese, Japanese, and
European producers and distributors, and they are available on-demand,
starting when the guest wants them.
Q. In what ways will the system appeal to the needs of the international
business traveller?
The business traveller will be able to browse the Internet and check
their email while relaxing on the bed or in the easy chair, rather than
hunched over their laptops on the desk, and at much faster speeds than
on their laptop modem. Even if guests must use a laptop for attachments
and spreadsheets, they can still save plenty of time by doing high-speed
TV browsing and, say, look up the background on an important client they
will meet the next day. They can be busy around the room getting ready
for the day and still flip through pages on the Internet with the TV remote
control in one hand. Video services allow the guest to review telephone
messages, their room bill, and even complete an express checkout all on
the TV. Finally, at the end of a long day even the road warrior feels the
need to relax with a great recent release movie selected from our on-screen
library.
Q. What benefits does the On Command video programming give to Grand
Hyatt Hong Kong guests that are unique within Hong Kong.
On Command and Hyatt have had a long history of bringing innovative
new services to hotels around the world. The Grand Hyatt Hong Kong will
be the first hotel in Asia to launch our full array of new services on
our digital OCX platform that has proven so popular in North America. In
time, other 4 and 5 star hotels here in Hong Kong will certainly upgrade
to such new services, but we will continue to work with Hyatt to keep them
at the forefront with the latest technology. |
There are 188 Hyatt Hotels and Resorts around the world. Hyatt International,
through its subsidiaries, operates 59 hotels and 20 resorts in 35 countries,
with an additional 26 hotels under development. Hyatt Hotels Corporation,
a separate company, operates 110 hotels and resorts in the United States,
Canada, and the Caribbean. |