It’s a given that the Wallpaper* lifestyle involves more travel than the average day job. But whilst jetting around our global playground (and yes, we do plant trees to offset carbon emissions) it helps to maintain some air of normality if we can be assured a standard level of luxury in the places we stay.
And this is why we love Le Méridien. For each of their 120 hotels around the world, the brand successfully hits the balance where so many others fail, tailoring their hotels to each specific location whilst consistently offering a level of familiar quality throughout. From London to Damascus, Los Angeles to Tokyo, Dakar to Tahiti we feel each time there’s an unmistakeable individuality of character in harmony with the local surrounds, but at the same time a reassuring uniformity. It’s neither stifling nor over branded, it’s just quietly comforting.
We suspect a lot of this is due to Le Méridien’s careful attention not to herd their customers through like cattle, but instead to focus on the experience of each individual guest. This might sound like clever jargon but the group has put a lot of very careful planning into many of the ubiquitous details that can make hotel hopping so draining.
For instance, the group has collaborated with leading names in the fields of audio (Sony BMG), lighting (Philips Lighting Company) and fragrance (Le Labo) to tailor a bespoke transitional portal at each hotel’s entrance. The intention is that the experience resets the minds of the guests making them feel like they’re not simply walking into another hotel, but entering a haven of reassuring luxury.
Engaging and working together with local cultural institutions is another venture that sets Le Méridien apart from the surfeit of hotel chains littering the globe. UNLOCK ART, curated by Jerome Sans, the group’s Cultural Curator is one such campaign. In each city Le Méridien has approached artists to design the hotel’s keycards. The idea is that the keycard itself becomes a collectable item and at the same time grants guests complimentary access to local museums, galleries and cultural hotspots.
Details such as these illustrate the innovation at the heart of Le Méridien brand. The group pushes the boundaries of expected hotel accommodation, treating customers like travelling guests, not fallible tourists and ensuring each abode acts as a portal to the local culture. All this means that wherever we are in the world, we can rest assured that the place we stay is as much a home away from home as a cultural institution in itself.
