Palihouse Santa Monica Hotel Nikol'skaya Kempinski
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CALIFORNIA Palihouse DESIGN NOTES: As with other Paligroup properties, Santa Monica founder/designer Avi Brosh has put his upscale-eclectic stamp on this beachside lodge hotel—a velvet sofa here, a modernist lamp there, bespoke wallpaper everywhere. While a game can be made of fi nding matching design elements at the hotel, Brosh’s carefully curated aesthetic does have limits—he has preserved many of the original Spanish-colonial fl ourishes, including the Malibu tile and blown-glass doors and the ceiling frescoes in the lobby. BACKSTORY: Built in 1927, the hotel dates back to the days when Santa Monica was the last Los Angeles rail stop, when travelers from across the world fl ooded into the area to enjoy its sunshine, pre y beaches and famous pier—or simply to sit in the Palihouse’s shaded courtyard wearing movie-star sunglasses and sipping studio-boss cocktails. The hotel’s elegant exterior ornamentation and lush courtyards hark back to those sun-seekers of old. ROOM WITH A VIEW: The plush two-bedroom, two-bath penthouse—which, like most of the rooms, is designed with long-term stays in mind—has its own exclusive entry foyer and original tiled fountain and is infused with eclectic European-inspired design elements. It features an interior courtyard and French doors that open to a wraparound balcony, off ering fresh air, twit- tering birds and glimpses of the Pacifi c Ocean. BACKSTORY: Constructed in the 1870s for pampered Duma diplomat Alexei Orlov-Davydov, this grand building was further aggrandized in 1907, when art nouveau master Edouard-Jean Niermans, architect of the Moulin Rouge, created rich fl oral mosaics in what is now the hotel’s MosaiK restaurant. Last year, the building was renovated in classic Kempinski style, with silk wallpaper, blue-gold mosaics and a chandelier in every elevator. DESIGN NOTES: The take-no-prisoners opulence here is typifi ed by the Presi- dential Suite, which has detailing that involves acres of gilded oak, marble and crystal. The suite’s expansive living room, with chandeliers and silk-upholstered se ees, would make a tsar blush. And in case there’s any doubt about your social standing, guests can request a private entrance and personal butler. WHAT YOU’LL FIND JUST OUTSIDE: Situated on Nikolskaya Street—which connects Lubyanka and Red Square—the hotel is a sickle’s throw from nearly every major a raction in town: the Bolshoi Theater, the Kremlin, Lenin’s Tomb and the upscale shopping of GUM, TSUM and Tretyakovsky Proyezd. If you’re lucky (or not, depending on your perspective), your room will have a view of the infamous Lubyanka Building, former home of the KGB. LOBBY RESEMBLES: There’s a feel here of a grand old ocean liner. A multicolored stained-glass cupola crowns the lobby, with staircases curving down from the upper deck. In the evenings, the area fi lls with the music of a live string quartet. Hotel There is a chocolate fountain and rows of delicate macaroons and freshly made Nikol’skaya pastries generally used as accompaniments for fl utes of champagne. Kempinski MOSCOW 38 R1_p037-039_HEM0114_Stay.indd 38 11/12/2013 13:31.