Corridor styling varies from floor to floor giving mixed messages about the hotel. Here we see the corridor to the Rica offices - click to see another floor
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Combine the problems brought on by the high occupancy levels and compound them with a lack of a long term design management policy in the hotel and there is a recipe for the gentle disintegration of the interior. Many great hotels go down this route until they are changed by a determined rethink of the design values often brought on by a change in management or ownership. Here a lack of clear vision as to the identity of the hotel and how to capitalise on its position in the market place has led to design and refurbishment being made by managers within the property rather than a group with a sense of where the hotel belongs in its national marketing strategy. Changes in personnel lead to changes in policy with the result that successive refurbishments are done by different designers with different briefs. Priorities are decided by pressures on the operator rather than a coherent sense of identity for the hotel implemented through the design.
This has led to some decisions, such as the Ladies Floor, being made as marketing led but not necessarily set in the context of where the hotel sees itself in the market place. Recent refurbishments have been done with a clearer view of this positioning, but are again being generated it appears without any input from the Rica management – strange given that their own offices are on the seventh floor of the hotel. One can only assume that they are oblivious to the problems that are apparent to an experienced eye, or are unwilling to help local management resolve them by budgeting and prioritising the investment(nor did they respond to our emails).
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The hotel has many attractive attributes, some of which go back to the original building in 1876, a few of which are attributable to the historic nature of the rooms. The street side café for example has a reminder of its regular use by Ibsen with his hat resting on a table inside the door. This sense of a glittering past amplifies the quality of the restoration of the historic interior, destroyed by fire in the 1950’s and thoughtfully restored in 1961. The restoration has been maintained and with a high quality menu and service the restaurant retains its premier position in Oslo, with a strong Parisian feel.
Newly refurbished suites show the quality that could be achieved if the total refurbishment was carried through to a high standard with proper budgeting related to the hotel business targets. Unfortunately again, the designer of these suites has moved away, and the hotel continues to use local interior design shops as combined suppliers and designers rather than making a long term relationship with an hotel designer who can bring some consistency to the refurbishment programme. Whilst currently the management is trying to devise and execute a coherent programme, it needs professional design management to be brought into play to ensure this wonderful property receives the TLC (tender loving care) it deserves.
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