|
:: Panoramic Views
|
|
|
|
Innsbruck is dominated by the mountains, and is the only major city in the European Alps. The Olympic ski jump is the most obvious sign of its winter business but as you drive into town the ski lifts are another. Sitting in a valley between Alps it is the only place I have been where the runway approach lights are actually situated on top of buildings, and from the Hilton I could look down the runway and watch the takeoffs and landings. Fortunately this beautiful town has only small commuter planes so noise is not a problem. The clean air and alpine meadows are a delight in summer and the presence of a ski lobby boasting of the service the hotel provides to skiers is the reminder of the busy time of year when winter snows create another kind of beauty around town.
The hotel is situated in the centre of the town, a short walk from the river that gives the town its name. The architecture of the old town is stunning, the 15th Century buildings providing colonnaded walkways for all year round walking together with a proliferation of small cafés and restaurants. The architecture of the Hilton is less than stunning, and the tower is not helped by the carapace of the regional casino clinging to its side. However the views from the bedrooms are uninterrupted and the recently refurbished interiors set high standards of comfort and staff provide high levels of service to match.
The casino is run by the State, and is in need of updating. The relationship with the hotel appears an uneasy one, symbiotic but with different style.
This Hilton is a very good commercial hotel. The recent refurbishment has given comfort and some style to the bedrooms, clarity to the corridor signage, and a clean modern feel throughout. The architectural form has not helped the public areas where the pedestrian routes to both hotel and casino compete for attention, the hotel entrance sitting behind the casino entrance. However the canopy formed by the two makes for a good drop off for travellers arriving by car and there is a substantial underground car park with its own lift access into the hotel.
 |
| Reception space with Casino promotion on top of the piano. Rollover to see the bar, which is the left hand side of this space immediately inside one set of entrance doors. |
|
|
|
 |
| casino design is quite separate from the hotel. Its own bar is much more fairground than the hotel bar which serves the floor below this where the majority of the slot machines are found |
|
|
Coming into the reception space again has the conflict between casino and hotel evident. A glass door leads to the smoke filled slots room past the security check whilst the small bar occupies one side of the public lounge, positioned so that it services both the hotel and the casino, but competing visually with the reception desk. The confused styling of the casino with its glitz and brassiness sits uneasily alongside the polished timber and more conservative style of the hotel public areas.
As you move up the floors the hotel identity becomes clearer, the design sharper. The majority of the investment so far (and the programme is not complete) has been spent in the main guest sensitive area of the bedrooms and corridors, together with the restaurants.
|
