Interior design inspiration – Luxurious 4* hotel bathrooms

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The bathroom is one of the most important rooms in the house; it’s the one room that guests are guaranteed to see when they come to visit, so a dull or dirty bathroom will make a poor impression on your visitors. It sets the tone for the whole house and I can’t help thinking that a neglected bathroom equals a poorly maintained property: if the bathroom isn’t clean, what hope is there for the kitchen where my hosts are preparing food?! Maybe I’m over-thinking the importance of a clean, fresh bathroom, but I like to ensure that my own conveniences are sparkling at all times, just to be on the safe side!

Recreate a luxury hotel design in your own bathroom

This year I’ve had the good fortune to visit while some gorgeous luxury bathrooms while staying in some of the top hotels in the country, and knowing how much importance I place on this room, you’ll understand why couldn’t help photographing these stunning 4* conveniences . Today I want to share my snaps with you and hopefully provide a little inspiration for recreating the deluxe hotel look for yourself.

I find hotel bathrooms a real pleasure to visit; they make me want to run a bath the moment I step inside my hotel room! I attribute this to the spaciousness of the room, – although they are not always any bigger than your bathroom at home – the attention to detail in the design and the fact that they are super-clean. You can therefore easily achieve this luxurious feeling in your own bathroom by simply making a few changes to the décor and suite.

Double basins in the bathroom suite at the Imperial Hotel

Wood Panelling

You may remember that I wrote about my stay at The Imperial Hotel in Blackpool earlier this year and while I was there I took a few photographs of the stunning wood-panelled bathroom suite. This historic hotel has welcomed many important guests in the past, including Olympians, entertainment stars and government ministers – Vera Lynn even lived in the same suite that I stay in during her summer-season in Blackpool. The hotel has retained a historic essence in this modern suite with features such as dark panelled walls and traditional taps and shower fittings.

Reflected light gives the feeling of spaciousness in this narrow room

The hotel design team used panelling on the walls in this long and narrow room – a similar size to bathrooms you might have at home – and risked creating a dark and oppressive space. Thankfully, the dark brown gloss encourages the light from the tall window to bounce off the walls, ensuring that the room feels spacious, fresh and plush. Choosing reflective surfaces like this will ensure that your own bathroom feels bright even when working with more dramatic colour schemes.

“Wallpaper” tiles at The Magestic Hotel

Pattern

A particularly lavish feature of this deluxe bathroom at Harrogate’s Majestic Hotel is the unusual wallpaper-pattern tiles above. I wrote about the décor of this historic hotel back in February so have a look at my interior design blog post for loads more photos and inspiration. Again, the glossy shine on these over-size tiles allows the light to bounce off the walls, so when combined with a white suite this dark grey ‘feature wall’ actually reflects the light.

Choosing a white bathroom suite and neutral walls means that you can use darker colours in your bathroom design without sacrificing a bright and spacious feeling. The bathroom is a great small space to experiment with more adventurous patterns or daring colours so follow The Majestic Hotel’s lead and choose patterned tiles – or simply hang ornate wallpaper on a feature wall – to achieve a plush 4-star hotel look at home.

Black and White

The men’s conveniences at The Majestic Hotel are legendary and while I was staying at the hotel I was lucky enough to be given a tour that included this famous wash room. The hotel was built in 1900 and this bathroom is one of the biggest men’s rooms in Europe. No other female guests have ever been in this room but I was given access to take a few photographs while learning about the history of the room. Back in the Victorian era, male guests at the hotel would spend more time in the bathroom than out of it, relaxing on the smoking bench while chatting to other guests and dignitaries.

View of the smoking bench in the ‘famous’ men’s bathroom

I was not prepared for the size of the space and was surprised to learn that meetings and – aptly enough – washing product conferences had even been held in these men’s toilets. In later years, when part of the men’s wash room was partitioned off to make space for a ladies bathroom, letters of complaint were even published by the Telegraph! I can see why this is a ‘legendary’ part of the hotel and in truth, I would love to have those basins and wood panelling in my own bathroom. The traditional black-and-white checkerboard floor tiles are ideal for recreating this historic hotel look at home and can be achieved at a relatively low cost using basic tiles (or even vinyl tiles) laid in this simple pattern.

Traditional basins lined up in the men’s washroom at The Majestic Hotel

You can also achieve a Victorian-inspired look in your bathroom by selecting traditional basins with ornate fixtures if you’re planning to install a new suite. The traditional look never dates and a quality timeless suite actually adds value to your home while adding a sense of grandeur. There’s nothing more luxurious than a freestanding bath tub so consider investing in this style of bathroom when you’re designing a new room for your home.

The 4-star look

The bathrooms all have one feature in common; a set of his-and-hers basins. If you’re renovating your own bathroom, simply adding an extra sink is an easy way to recreate the plush hotel at home. This kind of feature always signifies luxury in a bathroom and, if you have enough space, the investment a double basin unit will be well worth it. Of course, the other thing that these hotel washrooms have in common is that they are – as you’d expect – guaranteed to be sparkling clean with fresh white towels.

A deep clean is therefore a quick and easy way to bring your bathroom up to 4* standard; hot-wash your towels and fold neatly on shelves or hang over polished towel rails, buff up your taps and ensure the room smells gorgeous with a delicate air freshener or scented candle. And don’t forget to treat yourself to a selection of deluxe soaps, bath soak and hair products!Let me know if you try out any of these tips or if you have any more ideas for achieving a luxury hotel effect in your own bathroom – leave me a comment below or tweet me @Cassiefairy with your interior design suggestions.

This article is a sponsored collaboration. The pink links in the content indicate a sponsored link or information source. The blog post reflects my own experience and the sponsor hasn’t had any control over my content 🙂