It’s safe to say that the last thing you would ever expect to find in Krakow – that most venerable and ancient of Polish cities – is a hotel styled with such a resolute mix of European and Chinese art deco.
But the move is a canny one, and aimed squarely at the 220-room Metropolo’s Chinese clientele. Which is not to say that the Warsaw-based architectural studio Tremend has taken the easy way out and loaded the walls with obvious Oriental and period tropes.
Instead, the touches are subtle, beginning with a welcome of Chinese tea at check in, and a flash of Chinese mosaic. Tremend’s light touch continues in the rooms and public spaces, which are furnished in a palette of pale creamy hues that are offset by curvaceous armchairs, rugs daubed with burnt ochre patterns, whimsical Astoria Khotan wallpaper by Muraspec, geometric screen dividers and towering gilded bird cages that have been reimagined as cozy chaises d’amour.
The east-meets-west theme is carried over into executive chef Michał Zgud’s kitchen where Polish standards are contrasted against Chinese flavours, including fluffy omelettes hit with shallots and garlic, and the classic mapo tofu scented with oyster sauce, alongside a separate menu of Chinese teas. §
