Marienlyst Beach Hotel
North of Elsinore, alongside the sea and beach, lies the historic seaside hotel Marienlyst The building from 1861 boasts a history of royal visits and luxurious parties for the nobility and movie stars. When Ess Group took over Marienlyst as its first hotel in Denmark, renovation, expansion, and interior design were on the cards. Simon Poulsgaard, interior designer at Spik Studios, was given this extensive assignment.
Marienlyst is a beach spa and bathing and resort hotel with 227 rooms, restaurants, bars, and a grand casino. The breath-taking view of Öresund, with Kronborg Castle in the background and Helsingborg on the horizon, can be enjoyed almost wherever you are in the hotel. From time to time, your eyes meet the majestic cliffs or the ferries gliding across the strait. Interior designer Simon Poulsgaard has worked on the hotel since 2020 and, among other things, has developed a furnishing plan and design for different surface layers, with space for acoustic solutions. You’ve worked with several of Ess Group’s hotels before. How does Marienlyst differ from your other projects?
“Firstly, it’s a very extensive project that started in 2020 and is still ongoing. It’s evolving all the time, so it’s been very exciting and a little different from other more typical projects that usually have a start and end date. It was also Ess Group’s first project in Denmark, and as my surname might reveal, I’m a Danish citizen myself. Although I don’t speak Danish very often, it came in handy. It’s nice to be able to avoid misunderstandings that otherwise easily happen between the Swedes and the Danes!” What was your thinking in terms of the interior design and choice of materials?
“With this fantastic location, we of course wanted to create a beachy feel, but more classy and upscale. We wanted to preserve the atmosphere of a historic hotel that has housed kings, queens, princes, and tsars. To create an international vibe, we chose decor that flirts with the French Riviera, the Hamptons in the US, and the British royal family. Think light, white, fresh, and beige, but also fine wooden furniture and joinery with different stains that pick up the mahogany or the reddish hues.” “A recurring feature is the many fine custom-made lamps and fabric-covered pendants. We also worked with light tones in pink and blue, which gives a very attractive and stylish impression. In order to break things up a little, we chose things like decorative cushions and other details in stronger colours that pop and stand out.”
How come you invested so much in the
suspended ceiling?
“The suspended ceiling in the lobby was initially quite unaesthetic, and because it was low it was very noticeable in the surroundings. It therefore felt important to make
it part of the decor instead. The sound environment was included from the outset as I consider it an essential part of my job. Both acoustics and ceilings are things that are often forgotten, but here we wanted to give them their rightful place. I also think that many people are still of the opinion that there’s not such a wide range of stylish acoustic solu-tions. And though there may not be an abundance of them, there are certainly more and more becoming available.” How did the collaboration between you and Akustikmiljö work out?
“We came up with some design proposals and had ongoing dialogue with Akustikmiljö where we explained our idea.
Akustikmiljö then tested the various fabric samples to see whether the fabric could cope with what was required for a fabric covering on sound absorber plates. The fabric didn’t shrink and simply worked! Together we decided on a time-less linen-like fabric with a clear structure for the lobby. The ceiling in the bar and restaurant, on the other hand, consisted of larger ceiling tiles measuring around 3 m x 1.5 m, instead of the 60 cm x 60 cm in the lobby. The fabric we’d chosen wasn’t wide enough, so we needed a different one. Akustikmiljö took on that task with gusto and found an equivalent fabric that worked perfectly! In addition, Akustikmiljö has also supplied special ceiling solutions for the conference room on the newly built floor at the top of the hotel.” Are you pleased with the result?
“Very much so. We wanted to do something unique with the suspended ceiling in this project, partly because we had a suspended ceiling with a unique structure that we wanted to continue using, and partly because, as previously men-tioned, the ceiling was so low. The suspended ceiling was already a part of the hotel, and we wanted to refine it with details and a design that enhances the whole. Akustikmiljö’s special solution really helped to create exactly the feeling we wanted.”