Prince Akatoki Hotel改造项目丨英国伦敦丨B3 Designers

Prince Akatoki Hotel

The Prince Akatoki Hotel

London Hotel Sees 40% Increase in Room Rates With Design Transformation to Japanese Concept

The Prince Akatoki, located in the heart of London’s Marble Arch, rebranded from the Arch Hotel in 2019. The hotel’s team approached B3 Designers to revamp the entire property to be in line with the new owners’ Japanese concept. This case study describes our design process and ensuing results.

Project: The Prince Akatoki Hotel

Location: Marble Arch, London

Number of rooms: 82 rooms & suites

F&B: The Malt Lounge & Bar, and TOKii

Operating company: Seibu Prince Hotels & Resorts (HQ: Tokyo)

The Brief: How Do You Redesign and Convert 80+ Rooms in 6 Months?

The new owners, Seibu Prince Hotels & Resorts, purchased The Arch hotel in 2018 with the aim to rebrand the property to their flagship luxury brand – The Prince Akatoki. The space needed to transform fully, and bring in concepts that would appeal to a new clientele which would include both locals and tourists – all in the short span of 6 months. This would be their first Prince Akatoki in the UK. They needed a partner that could see them through – from concept to completion.

What We Achieved

40% increase in room rates: The hotel is now able to sell rooms at 40% more than its predecessor. The new design and F&B concepts have offered a unique opportunity to pull up the average occupancy, room rates, toplines and ROI.

Attraction of new clientele: The hotel is now able to sell rooms at 40% more than its predecessor. The new design and F&B concepts have offered a unique opportunity to pull up the average occupancy, room rates, toplines and ROI.

New F&B concepts: The hotel is now able to sell rooms at 40% more than its predecessor. The new design and F&B concepts have offered a unique opportunity to pull up the average occupancy, room rates, toplines and ROI.

Excellent reviews: The hotel is now able to sell rooms at 40% more than its predecessor. The new design and F&B concepts have offered a unique opportunity to pull up the average occupancy, room rates, toplines and ROI.

PR, marketing & awards: The hotel is now able to sell rooms at 40% more than its predecessor. The new design and F&B concepts have offered a unique opportunity to pull up the average occupancy, room rates, toplines and ROI.

Concept Direction: Narrative, moodboards, and feasibility

As an introduction to the design process, we defined a story to bring meaning to an idea, through the description of form, space, colours and texture. Then we established mood boards which inspired our colour scheme, material boards, details and finishes. Feasibility planning enabled us to consider all aspects and opportunities, keeping in mind operational needs and all constraints of space.

Concept Direction

Developed planning, material palette, Initial sketches

Developed planning

Following feedback from concept direction, we took on board all comments to develop the next planning stage.

Material palette

We put together material boards that reflected everything we were inspired by. The client was able to see, touch, feel what the end result was going to look like.

Initial sketches

We developed axo sketches to visualise how the spaces communicated with each other, and to make the colour palette come alive.

Technical Design

Drawing pack & Detailed schedules

We then prepared the full drawing pack including all technical and detailed drawings. We also created schedules to define all styling items, artwork, FF&E – catalogued with finishes, prices and fire ratings.

Concept finalization

Elevations, CGIs

The concept was brought to conclusions in this stage. We finalised the entire concept into plans, elevations, and moodboards for final client sign - off. We then worked on the CGIs to capture the overall space, volumes, textures, lighting, and details, in a realistic format.

Implementation & Expansion

Project management, styling, photoshoots, marketing material

At this design administration stage, we liaised with all teams involved to ensure the project was implemented to perfection, advised on design changes and development, and visited the site regularly to be actively involved in the progress. We worked on styling and photoshoots, and ensuing marketing, PR, and promotional material.

Branding & Graphic Design

We created the brand identity, menu designs, and additional collateral for the two F&B spaces, Malt Lounge & Bar, and TOKii. We were inspired by Japanese philosophy and concepts like kintsugi, using soft and natural materials like linen, birch twigs, and hints of gold foil.

Feedback & Reviews

"When we rebranded from a British hotel to a Japanese hotel, the task we put to the team at B3 was monumental. The brief we gave them was to encapsulate the attention to detail as found in Japanese culture and bring that into the hotel. From day one our expectations were quite significantly exceeded. Each team member at B3, led by Mark, are not only fantastic designers but artists in the field of creating an ambience that fits the ideas we had on paper. Thank you, Mark and team!"

Ray Goertz

General Manager, The Prince Akatoki Hotel

"What was formerly The Arch hotel has been totally overhauled by high-end Japanese brand Prince Hotels for its first foray into Europe. While you might not quite believe you’ve been transported to Tokyo - the bones of the hotel are a Georgian townhouse - the £3million makeover has reimagined the hotel as a Japanese-inspired minimalist sanctuary, and it certainly offers something a little different for the London hotel scene."

The Telegraph

Awards

Outstanding Property Award, Interior Design - Winner - Europe. The Prince Akatoki Hotel, London.

Paris Design Awards, Graphic Design - Winner - Europe. The Prince Akatoki Hotel, London.

The DNA Paris Awards are design awards for creative thinkers and makers. They award work that stands out, makes an impact, and deserves international exposure.

Brit List, Interior Design - Top 25 List - UK. The Prince Akatoki Hotel, London.

The Brit List celebrates UK’s leading interior designers, architects, hoteliers, and suppliers operating in Britain. B3 Designers made the “Top 25 Interior Designers in the UK” list for our work at the Prince Akatoki.