Stuart Forbes Associates (SFA), acting as architect and interior designer, has completed a suite of event and meeting rooms and the refurbishment of one wing of guestrooms at Hôtel Métropole Genève, marking the completion of the first phase of SFA’s comprehensive renovation of this historic hotel.
Dating back to 1854, Hôtel Métropole on Lake Geneva’s left bank is owned by the City of Geneva and independently managed by IHA Management since 2019.
In a bid to reposition itself as Geneva’s first luxury lifestyle hotel, the hotel has embarked on a major phased renovation, starting with the hotel’s meeting spaces, which SFA completed alongside with local architects, Arcature.
With the aim to boost the hotel’s existing ground floor salons’ aesthetic appeal, flexibility and modern technology, SFA’s design approach focused on restructuring much of the area to create a series of dynamic, multifunctional ‘gathering spaces’ with new layouts that would foster connections and encourage creativity and rooms that could be opened up or closed off as needed.
Crucially, the box pelmets which had hidden the arch of the original window recesses were removed, reinstating an imposing architectural feature, allowing in generous amounts of daylight and enhancing views of the trees, gardens and lake outside.
Now, each room serves multiple functions. Ceylan features a custom designed bar and cosy seating areas, ideal for intimate dining and social gatherings. However, once the doors of the bar are closed, the space becomes a venue for daytime business events and can be more than doubled in size by opening the doors to the next-door salon, Cachemire.
One of the other salons, Helvétie, is perfect for dinners and meetings, while doubling up as a lounge amenity for staying guests, where children can play and parents relax.
The fourth salon, Bosphore, remains much as it was before, albeit totally stripped back in the course of the project to make it code compliant. The envelope was then reinstated, keeping its neutral colour palette in response to its popularity amongst wedding planners and companies wishing to make the space completely their own.
Throughout the transformed salons, furniture pieces have been selected to be adaptable – elements of a central leather banquette can be reorganised, modular tables allow various configurations, a large dining table converts to a pool table. Meetings flow seamlessly into social events and relationships are forged in convivial rather than formal surroundings.
Storytelling was central to the concept, with the notable mid-20th century Swiss explorers, Ella Maillart and Nicolas Bouvier, proving a rich source of inspiration, such as the salons’ names which reference the destinations they visited – Kashmir, Sri Lanka and the Bosphorus.
The explorers’ heyday also informed the aesthetic direction for the colour palette, materiality and furniture styles, which contemporise the avant garde of the 1950s for 21st century guests – a vernacular that is shared with the refurbished guestrooms.
Completing the spaces, carpets were specially designed, inspired by the sunshine on the lake’s surface, while fabrics include glamorous moiré covered panels, plush velvets and joyfully patterned cushions and vintage-style cocktail trolleys layer the spaces with a sense of kick-back sophistication.
The salons are equipped with integrated IT, as well as sustainability enhancements. Improved insulation and other façade works were carried out and state-of-the-art mechanical systems were introduced, and each room features heat reclamation and recovery units as well as the latest LED and digital technologies to create a future-proofed, flexible solution for the operator.
“Companies are rethinking traditional meeting formats in favour of more informal and inspiring environments that go beyond information delivery,” commented Stuart Forbes. “They want to create engaging and memorable events that foster better connection and collaboration between attendees and are realising that serious meetings do not have to be in serious places.”
The first phase of renovations has also seen the completion of one wing of guestrooms. As well as seeking to restore their historic character, Maillart and Bouvier continue offer a source of inspiration, with photographs from the pair’s travels found in each room, as well as colour and material palettes that are reflective of their time.
Forbes concluded: “We didn’t want to it to be a take on a 50s interior as it wouldn’t have been relevant to today, but rather to successfully blend it to enable the rooms to look contemporary while having a colouring and material choice inspired by the period.”
