88 Vinotheque / HAY Boutique Hotel and SPA

88 Vinotheque / HAY Boutique Hotel and SPA by Edem Family

Location: Polyanytsya village, Bukovel (Ukraine)

Area: 160 sq m

Year: 2022

Photo: Yevhenii Avramenko

The five-star HAY Boutique Hotel and SPA restaurant offers an evening format, variations on the theme of local cuisine, and an impressive wine list.

The central theme of the place is locality. The number 88 in the name indicates the number of Carpathian herbs you can find in teas, aromatic mixtures, dishes, and the interior. One such botanical manifestation is a material made from pressed hay. You can see it on the wall panels, as well as on the lampshades hung above the tables.

The restaurant's design interprets traditional Ukrainian crafts not directly but their creative interpretation. The central elements of the hall are columns resembling the trunks of mighty trees. The surface of every column was sheathed with wooden planks curved by steam. The boards were fastened together with massive metal staples. That refers to the blacksmithing traditions of the region. The handles on the doors of the wine room and bathrooms also recreate the shape borrowed from traditional Ukrainian life. They resemble two-horned domestic tools used for taking pots from the hot oven a long time ago.

Another expressive symbol is a large lamp made from the grapevine. The vine symbolizes the unique assortment of wines stored in a transparent wine room and reminds us of the terroir principle. It consists of the fact that wine's taste and flavor are related to the natural features of the place where the vine grew.

"We call our approach' Terroir Design.' It means the interior grows out of the area and emphasizes the nature and cultural features of the region. It is a way of preservation of traditions and the search for new symbols. We research local features, find fresh images and build our interior storytelling around them. For the HAY hotel, such images became hay, herbs, and craft". – shares YOD Group founder Volodymyr Nepiyvoda.