Exterior of Château Hochberg; photo by Gregoire Gardette
French lifestyle brand Lalique’s design aesthetic has been brought to life at the Château Hochberg, a newly opened hotel and restaurant in Wingen-sur-Moder, France.
The Château Hochberg is found in the Alsace region of France, just minutes from Lalique’s factory and its branded five-star hotel, Villa René Lalique. While not owned by Lalique, Château Hochberg was restored and decorated by the glassmaker’s Interior Design Studio and the Paris-based interior design agency Borella Art Design.
“Despite having no formal ownership of Château Hochberg, the Lalique has been tightly woven into the property’s story,” said Taylor Rains, managing partner at Flugel Consulting, Charleston, SC.
“Château Hochberg’s proximity to the Lalique museum coupled with the property’s use of Lalique decor and design motifs allow it to leverage the strong equity of the Lalique brand among luxury consumers and potential guests,” he said.
“Lalique, in turn, stands to to benefit from a significant increase in guests to the nearby museum in shop coming directly from Château Hochberg.”
Mr. Rains is not affiliated with Lalique or Château Hochberg, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Château Hochberg is owned by Lalique’s chairman/CEO, Silvio Denz, but is not affiliated with the Lalique brand beyond its interior’s collaboration. Mr. Denz was unable to comment directly, on behalf Château Hochberg or Lalique, by press deadline.
Shared heritage
Originally named Château Teutsch, the manor home was commissioned by Victor and Edouard Teutsche between 1863 and 1866. The Château was built on the site of the former Hochberg glassworks, owned by the Teutsche family, which ceased production in 1868.
Once the business folded, the Teutsche family only stayed at the Château during the summer months, and it was sold in 1908 when Edouard Teutsche passed away. Since his death the property has had a number of owners and was listed as a historical building in 1996.
In 2014, the property was purchased by Lalique’s chairman/CEO, Silvio Denz. Upon his purchase, Mr. Denz has invested in the property to establish the former manor home as a high-end hotel and restaurant.
Château Hochberg lobby; photo by Gregoire Gardette
The property officially opened on Aug. 12 and includes luxury accommodations and an elegant modern bistro. The Château Hochberg, while not owned by Lalique, is seen as a complementary offer just minutes from Villa René Lalique’s hospitality venture and its two Michelin-starred gourmet restaurant.
Lalique decor is interspersed throughout the Château Hochberg to support the parallels of the hotel and lifestyle brand’s glassmaking heritages.
Guests of Château Hochberg are welcomed by a large bar and reception desk sculpted from a single block of white quartz, topped with glass and decorated with seven dahlia motifs, a symbol often used by Mr. Lalique in his designs.
The lobby bar includes contrasting opaque and transparent elements that also pay homage to Mr. Lalique. Château Hochberg’s bar is accented by a crystal chandelier designed by lighting company Windfall.
Château Hochberg features 15 rooms and suites, designed to offer guests “softness, comfort, tranquility and harmony.” The rooms are divided into four categories, depending on size and furnishings: Les Chambres Des Verriers, Les Joyaux, Les Terrasses Du Château and Les Suites Lalique.
Château Hochberg’s Les Suites Lalique; photo by Gregoire Gardette
The bespoke furnishings were designed by Borella Art Design agency and feature either rectangular or rounded geometric shapes. Furnishings include American walnut desks, leather headboards and armchairs upholstered in velvet.
Room decor is “clean-looking, modern” and heightened by the placement of decorative Lalique panels using the “Ombelle,” “Venise” and “Dahlia” motifs.
For rooms with Ombelle decor, the created style is calm and relaxing through the use of greens, while Venise is more graphic with pearl and silver-grey tones. Those with the Dahlia motif is decorated with white and sandy hues.
Lalique touchpoints have been incorporated throughout from the bathroom mirrors, toiletries and fixtures to the inclusion of brand-related artwork and tabletop wares.
The Ombelle, Venise and Dahlia themes are also extended to three dining rooms of Château Hochberg’s restaurant. Each room includes focal pieces such as the Dahlia room’s large fireplace and mirror boarded with flowers; the Ombelle room’s three-tier Orgue chandelier and the Venise room’s souvenirs from Mr. Lalique’s travels.
The Restaurant at Château Hochberg; photo by Gregoire Gardette
These elements are joined by Lalique’s Eternal crystal panels, a collaboration between the brand and British artist Damien Hirst (see story).
Booking a stay
Lalique is not alone in its hospitality endeavors. Increasingly, brands from outside the travel sector have developed large-scale hotels and chains as well as collaborating on smaller efforts such as in-room decor or bathroom amenities.
For instance, French crystal maker Baccarat officially opened its first branded hotel in New York in 2015 with the claim that the debut would shake up the luxury hospitality industry in the city.
Baccarat Hotel & Residences is located across from the Museum of Modern Art and nearby to Fifth Avenue shopping. This opening helped Baccarat expand into a full lifestyle brand, giving consumers more ways to interact with and experience its offerings (see story).
Also, Italian fashion label Versace brought its brand to life via the opening of the Palazzo Versace Dubai Hotel in the United Arab Emirates.
Developed with the Enshaa Group, the property reflects the house’s vision, with artistic director Donatella Versace personally designing all of the interiors and furniture for each of the 215 rooms. The second Palazzo Versace, following an opening in Australia, this hotel will deliver a truly branded experience to loyal clientele and fans of the Versace label (see story).
“Traversing industries can be a risky endeavor for even the most established brands,” Mr. Rains said. “For it to be successful a number of factors must be considered to determine if the circumstances are suitable for such a move.
“What Lalique has done in France demonstrates the proper way for a retail brand to extend into the hospitality space with minimal risk and a high potential for success,” he said. “This region in northeastern France has become a popular tourist destination, in part, because of the Lalique brand.
“It’s likely to assume, therefore, that visitors to the region have at least a passing familiarity with the brand. By expanding into the hospitality industry in this region, Lalique maximizes its exposure to visitors and affords the brand another avenue to draw people to this area.
“From a branding perspective, showcasing Lalique in a hospitality setting through décor and design allows the brand to construct a more tangible lifestyle around its products. Something that can be experienced by hotel guests and visitors alike.
“In effect, these properties become a showroom for the brand and reinforce the lifestyle associated with it. In essence, the move will likely be successful because the two parts – hospitality and retail – are feeding each other, and that is the ideal scenario for a cross-industry move like this.”
from Travel and hospitality – Luxury Daily https://www.luxurydaily.com/lalique-extends-brand-dna-to-chateau-hochbergs-in-room-decor/
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