This is a true story of Design Hotels™ Senior Art Director. He travelled to Italy to discover the GombitHotel, one of our most recent member hotels, and to experience a bit of Dolce Far´ Niente lifestyle.

While not doing anything at all but enjoying what Italians do best, namely doing nothing at all but enjoying sweet life, he took a few nice shots, which pretty much summarize it all:

Signore, dove si può vivere la dolce vita?

Noi due sappiamo benissimo come si fa niente!

La Città Alta di Bergamo, a walled-city close to both the Alps and Milan.

L’albergo: GombitHotel - an architectural monument dating back to the 13th century. It is an homage to the medieval city’s cultural heritage, food and art.

Discover the GombitHotel yourself, a historical building coming back to live a new life in the sign of art!

Currently one of our teams from Design HotelsTM is in Sagres, Portugal. And believe it or not, the purpose of their trip is of professional nature. They are shooting one of our famous “Made By Originals” Movies (By the way, may I just mention that Made By Originals was awarded the “Best Marketing Campaign 2010” by the German association Travel Industry Club) at the Memmo Baleeira Hotel and its surroundings.

The “Original” the movie is about, is nobody less than the owner of the hotel: Rodrigo.

Impressions of the fishing village. For authentic fish dishes, Rodrigo recommends the “Mar a Vista” restaurant in Sagres.

A small extract of their shooting schedule: surf safari, boat trip, sunset sailing,…

…and yes, let´s not forget work is on the schedule too!

Shooting at the Castelejo beach.

Sunrise in Sagres: Most stunning view from the Memmo Baleeira Hotel.

An absolute hotspot for all surfer fanatics: the secret beach only known by locals; the street leading there isn´t even official. And for “wild beach experiences”, as Rodrigo calls them, “Telheiro” or “Ponta Ruiva” are the right places to discover.

Have a look at our existing Made By Originals Clips

How can she be so tanned if it´s been raining for days in Berlin? The answer was so obvious, but we preferred to deny it because we were all jealous: MALLORCA!

One of our colleagues from Design Hotels™ has spent some, visibly, relaxing days on the island and stayed at the Hospes Maricel. She didn´t miss to share some of her holidays shots with us (to make us even more jealous of course!).

The view from her hotel room.

This is what we call an amazing pool and the best part: no photoshop, this is real! The pool is amazing indeed, she confirmed it and provided us the painful and unnecessary (our jealousy has reached a very high level by now) detail that the Mojitos were fabulous!

If you need more input to reach maximum jealousy, get some more information about the Hospes Maricel here!

There was also time to spend a day at the Puro Beach Club: Absolute relaxation with chillout music all day long!

Check out the PuroHotel Oasis Urbano!

From 20 until 26 September 2010, London will be under the spell of the word “Design”. With 2 big design events taking place in the same week, London makes sure you breathe design, eat design, feel design and of course observe new design when you are around.

The 100% Design London trade fair is UK’s leading design and architecture event showcasing everything for the modern building and interiors. Although most days are for business purpose only, Sunday they will open their doors for the public and invite everyone to discover the newest design gadgets.

If you want to have some more inspiration during the week, you can visit the London Design Festival at different locations through London. With over 200 events, the majority of which are free to enter, the London Design Festival programme reflects the widest possible range of design interests.

Visit London during Design Week and stay in one of our 12 Design hotels.

Forget about the fancy people, the crazy restaurants and the even more incredible clubs and head over to 12th Avenue. At pier 66 you will find the Frying Pan, an old boat which provides you with fruity sangria, nice food and a beautiful view over the Hudson river. A great place to spend your evening  in Manhattan differently.

Ready to party or for a good night sleep … Check out The Standard New York, located just around the corner of the Frying Pan.

Shopping, sun bathing, visiting museums and great clubs/cafes, restaurants and oh yeah…an unforgettable evening at The Standard, New York. 

With the new rooftop opened in July a new success for The Standard is guaranteed. Unfortunately while being on the rooftop, due to the heat, smog and clouds, the view was not really clear, but even then the great view over the Hudson River, the statue of liberty and Soho Manhattan was very much appreciated. I love the look and feel of the rooftop terrace with an eclectic mix of ‘golf course’ green grass, tennis court white waitress dresses and retro colorful furniture. But I can understand it is a matter of personal taste…

Too bad, we could only enjoy of the cocktails, the view and the sun for one hour before we had to rush off again to the ground floor for dinner at The Standard Grill.

The restaurant, bar, beergarten and terrace is the most buzzing area of The Standard New York. Don’t expect much privacy but great food and lots of beautiful people to look at. A juicy burger (with the best fries ever) and Halibut later, we were stuffed like a turkey but still decided to go for the chocolate mousse bowl. My recommendation: Always leave a bit space in your tummy for this delicious dessert.

For the people that do not get into the The Boom Boom Room, the roof terrace or manage to get a reservation at The Standard Grill. There is still the Beergarten. Coming from Berlin it felt like home: many people, beer and even table tennis tables…..

What you would think has a long serious history just started in 1945 with a couple of guys having a food throwing battle:
“The young people started to throw tomatoes to each other until the police took control and stopped that “battle” and ordered the responsible party to pay for the damages. The following year, the young people of the village repeated the “battle” but they brought their own tomatoes from home. ”

It took some years before the festival turned legal but now it is one of the most popular festivals in Spain. Do not expect to be the only tourist, but how fun can it be to take part in Europe’s biggest food-fight and act like a wild child again.

Check out Hospes Palau de La Mar in Valencia and escape to the city of tomatoes, Bunol, for one crazy day!.

7 weeks of non-stop art fun in Sao Paulo!

Museu da Imagem e do Som and NOVA introducing a new kind of creative event.
The exhibition presents live collaborated work in progress processes by more than 100 selected artists from around the world, featuring live art, music & audiovisuals; performances, video screenings, round tables, workshops and many unpredictable social consequences.
Only for the happy, the gifted, the curious and the open minded! I am sure those people are you, the readers of this blog.

For even more fun check out the Design Hotels™ City Guide Iphone application!

A retrospective of the work of the world famous photographic duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin is now featured at FOAM Photography Museum in Amsterdam. The exhibition is featured until 25 September 2010.

It is one of those many other reasons to visit Amsterdam.

In wanting to discover more of Berlin and its surroundings, but restricted by our lack of an automobile and being unable to decide where to go; a roadtrip was the perfect answer.

This weekend, as recent interns at Design Hotels™, we were lucky when we got the opportunity to check out the „Roadtrips Made By Originals“, a collaboration between BMW Connected Drive, Sixt and Design Hotels™. Starting off in Berlin Mitte we were ready to explore what Lux 11 had prepared; a full day exploration of fascinating destinations in and around this vibrant city.

A 40 minute drive from central Berlin was all it took to reach the picturesque Pfaueninsel. An offbeat getaway from the metropolitan life perfect for a dip in the lake, barbequing and playing games. We would recommend that you dedicate a full day just to this island if you ever decide to stop by. Bring friends, a volleyball, sunscreen, and some blankets and you’re ready.


After falling for our new discovery, it was time to head north to Kremmen. When passing through the town of Potsdam, driving along golden fields and green alleys it was hard to believe that we were so close to Berlin! The contrast to the buzzing Berlin climaxed once we arrived at our fifth goal-point SeeLodge. This quaint getaway offers a peaceful atmosphere with guests lounging on the terrace and while children playing in the water at the lodges’ private beach. This is the perfect place to bring the family on a sunny Sunday or your partner for a romantic weekend.



As the evening approached we headed back to the city. We really gained a new perspective of Berlin through this roadtrip, feeling refreshed after a day in the countryside.

Do you favour a tour like this and complete your trip with a dinner at the delicious Luchs restaurant of Lux 11?

Check out the Berlin roadtrip or the other roadtrips here!