Bar with projected pool image behind and Jacobsen 'Swan' chairs. Rollover to see the clean calm corridor scheme

:: Panoramic Views

•  LOOK AROUND A STANDARD BEDROOM •  LOOK AROUND THE SUITE BATHROOM

Like the evaluations made of the much maligned ‘rep’ this has led to an underestimation of the importance of this kind of hotel. Much as the ‘rep’ can be seen as the grit that makes pearls – irritating, undervalued and often ignored they can, when in the right place at the right time, produce a gem of a solution – the commercial hotel is now typically known as a business hotel, or a conference venue and is a highly valued attribute to most business communities. As such the volume of business that they carry enables the riches to be made that keep the more aspirational in the manner to which we would all like to become accustomed.

The bulk of chain hotels fall into this category, and influenced by the success of ‘design-led’ hotels and the boutique market, many are now changing their appearance to adopt qualities they see in others. How I hate the term ‘designer-hotel’ mixing as it does the qualities of good design with a sense of exclusivity. Good design doesn’t need to cost more than poor design, it just needs a good brief from an aware client and a designer who believes in design and understands hotel operations, to be implemented in any design situation.

Above fruits line the corridor to the restaurant, with (rollover) peppers around the corner. The lift car is a simple functional design with the non smoking floors clearly marked and the card swipe ensuring guests only can access the bedroom floors, providing good security. The simple graphics are effective and provide clear labelling that fits with the needs of the partially sighted as well as more able lycra clad guests. The blending of the new from refurbishment with the older marble has been done well - the addition of the plasma information screen to the lift lobby has been simply but effectively managed, whilst the carpet design injects a contemporary feel

Hilton spent the most they spent on any single project in Europe on this hotel (the only larger recent project was the Hilton Sydney), where a €45 million budget was spent on a total refurbishment whilst the hotel stayed open and operational. The 375 rooms, 21 meeting rooms, including a conference room for up to 1500 people, make this a large hotel in a competitive market place. Unlike the UK scene (London for example has only one hotel that can accommodate 1500 delegates) Germany is blessed with numerous large conference hotels, Dusseldorf already having several. Maritim are building a major competitor in the city currently. Refurbished to compete, this was also a large project to manage, with over a 1000 contracts let, project managed by Hilton’s Director of Architecture, Neil Worrell.

This hotel was the first stop in my annual drive into central Europe. What a marvellous application of technology sat nav is. Mine has full European coverage and took me straight to the hotel, having programmed in the address into it on my drive in Surrey. My Navigator quickly forgot her fears of redundancy (Helga, as we call the strict navigation system, is after all only a virtual dominatrix) when she saw that the hotel was being used as the base for the German version of the Tour de France cycle race, with lean lycra clad male bodies visible wherever she looked. The car park was large enough to accommodate the coaches and service vehicles associated with this circus, and still leave plenty of room for hotel guests to park.

The hotel is well sited close to the town centre in the business district close to the headquarters of other major corporations, and with an easy walk to the riverbank, with its bars and cafes, so obeying Mr Hiltons strictures on location, location, location.