The Duchess of Cornwall and Naomi Campbell are unlikely allies in the fashion
stakes, yet both know the head-turning power of a Philip Treacy creation.
The milliner to the rich, royal and famous can twist fabric and sculpt tulle
and feathers into frothy concoctions as delicate as spun sugar, so if he
can’t lure the designer hotel industry away from grungy greige and boring
minimalism, I’ll eat my hat.
The property developer Gerry Barrett, of Monogram Hotels, a newcomer to the
competitive boutique hotel business, asked Treacy to design his latest
project. The result is the 101-room g hotel — the small “g” is considered
cool — the first five-star hotel in Galway with views over Lough Atalia. A
15-minute stroll from Quay Street’s late-night bars, the hotel offers a
fashionable bolt hole for the high earners — many from the US — in Galway’s
thriving pharmaceutical and IT industries.
Surprisingly, first impressions were underwhelming. Despite a brave stab at a
water feature, the hotel backs on to a carpet warehouse and the exterior is
as bland as an airport terminal. The interior, however, screams out for a
glossy photo-shoot. Reception, with its black marble and white plaster, is
as spare as the g gets. The buzz starts in the lobby, which has a
fascinating aquarium packed with brightly coloured fish, crimson shrimps and
sweet seahorses, apparently bred in Connemara.
Treacy describes his creation as “a fusion of styles, from Baroque to
contemporary, and many places in between”.
All is wow and glamour on a Hollywood scale in the Grand Salon, inspired by
Marlene Dietrich, whose portrait hangs above the limestone fireplace with
peat burning fire, a nice local touch.
Silver plush sofas invite champagne moments around Perspex tables filled with
thousands of Swarovski crystals. Suspended from two storeys above is a
dramatic light feature of more than 300 mirror balls, designed by Tom Dixon.
On the walls, a testament to Treacy’s wit, are two Catherine wheel mirrors,
inspired by Camilla’s wedding day headpiece. At night, by candlelight, the
room shimmers and twinkles like a diva’s boudoir.
Next comes the unashamedly camp pink salon with its Andy Warhol
camouflage-print pink silk chairs and striking black and white vortex
centrepiece carpet. The Gents, just off the salon, also has a cheeky pink
door and the salon is already popular with grown-up Barbies who come for the
hotel’s pink champagne teas and to keep an eye on the local talent.
There are two bars: one called This Must Be the Place is a black marble
Identikit boîte de nuit that could be in any city. The other,
the Blue Lounge, has much more swank with indigo walls, gold bordello chic
mirrors and purple plush chairs.
A seashell theme runs throughout the hotel with lots of tactile extras,
including artful lumps of exotic coral. Purple velour scallop-shell
banquettes add a dramatic Botticelli touch to the Santini restaurant. It’s
all gorgeous daaahling, but they’ve still to up the glamour on the plate. At
dinner my friend was served an inedible crab salad with last week’s curling
brown lettuce. Breakfast is blissfully buffet-free and staff are lovely, but
they got her boiled egg order wrong three times.
The g isn’t everyone’s cuppa. Hikers, bikers, hippies and lovers of minimalism
would head for the hills. But if you want to dress up and really go for it,
this is it. As one of his recurring themes, Treacy has opted for
catwalk-style carpets with ankle-level lights throughout the hotel. It helps
if you practise your sashay, but don’t take it too seriously — even Naomi
once fell off her heels.
Need to know
Jill Hartley flew to Galway with Aer Arann (0800 5872324, www.aerarann.com),
which has flights from Luton for £94 return. A superior double room at the g
hotel (00 353 91 865200, www.monogramhotels.ie)
starts at £150 including breakfast until April 30. Information: Tourism
Ireland (0800 0397000, www.discoverireland.com).
Will Hide rounds up more fashion forays into the hotel world...
Christian Lacroix is behind the design of the Hotel du Petit
Moulin in a 17th-century bakery in the Marais district of Paris. Doubles
from £170 (00 33 1 42 74 10 10, www.paris-hotel-petitmoulin.com).
The Italian jewellery house Bulgari will open a 59-villa
property this spring on the southern tip of the Jimbaran peninsula in Bali
(00 39 02 805 8051, www.bulgarihotels.com).
Seven Giorgio Armani-themed hotels will open from 2008. The
first, with about 200 rooms and apartments, will be in Dubai’s tallest
tower, the Burj Dubai.
