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SEAHAM HALL HOTEL AND SERENITY SPA COUNTY DURHAM, UNITED KINGDOM |
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| ARCHITECTURE / INTERIOR DESIGN |
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Jill Holst
Ward Robinson |
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A fine juxtaposition of the old and the new, just 20 minutes from the northern England city of Newcastle: Seaham Hall Hotel and The Serenity Spa – the former a classic Georgian building dating from 1791, the latter a feng shui-inspired creation built in 2002, are linked by a magical underground tunnel in which a teak and glass boardwalk is suspended over running water. Together they create a true destination getaway for discerning travellers looking for style alongside a subtle kind of indulgence.
That the hotel is not your usual Georgian building is clearly stated with the modern unique water vortex outside its main entrance, called “Charybdis” by its designer William Pye. And inside, original art abounds with contemporary sculptures by Nico Wiederberg and dramatic paintings by Ørnulf Opdahl. Designed by Jill Holst of Ward Robinson, the hotel interior combines contemporary chic with the classic architecture of the period.
References to the past are subtly integrated into the interior’s décor, beyond the use of original elements. A double galleried landing and cantilevered staircase from 1850 showcase a modern stained-glass roof light by artist Bridget Jones depicting verses penned by Lord Byron at the time of his marriage to Annabella Milbanke at Seaham Hall in 1815. Byron’s poetry also weaves itself into carpets designed by Hugh McKay, and the drawing room is host to furniture from Andrew Martin. The spacious, comfortable rooms – each of them unique in a decidedly northern-English way – feature modern furnishings from Dialogica and B&B Italia and overlook the surrounding coasts or forests from various vantage points. Some, in the oldest parts of the hall, even have original limestone fireplaces or exposed timbers that reveal the site’s illustrious history. Bathrooms offer exquisite respite with Santini bathtubs, many of them freestanding and with ample space for two to splash. Back downstairs, the White Room restaurant has stark white Brian Yates wallpaper by Ulf Moritz, leaving the impression that the wall needs ironing. Its wooden floor uses an end block design finished with a maple patina, leading to the vaulted cellar where the hotel’s sommeliers can advise guests on a spectacular variety of unusual and rare wines.
Designed by Jocelyn Maxfield, the award-winning Serenity Spa uses its architecture and natural materials such as Portland stone, granite, limestone and teak to create a sense of space and tranquillity. Nestled into the natural hillside that gently conceals the interior’s vast space, the spa is linked to the hotel by a curved underground tunnel so that guests need not go outside. An impressive feat of engineering, the passage’s moody underwater lighting spotlights a seated Buddha who greets those who pass by halfway along, and at the subterranean entrance, a bronze elephant sculpture stands on a plinth surrounded by water. It’s an element that appears to link the spa’s three pavilions from the five-metre granite wheel at the main entrance to the tranquillity water garden where it flows into a glass-covered channel and then appears to stream directly into the ozone-cleansed pool, then on to the outdoor hot tubs. The spa’s exterior is a series of seductive curves while the main entrance soars to a glass topped cone and leads to the water garden and the Zen garden designed by Japanese artist Hideo Furuta.
Taken together, the property’s two structures represent diverging architectural styles, yet complement each other in a bit of east meets west, old meets new, yet the poetry of Lord Byron meets the principles of feng shui. |
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