Dubai-headquartered interior design consultancy and fit-out firm, Draw Link Group (DLG), has announced completing the interior design work for a Radisson Blu Resort & Spa in Sousse, Tunisia.
The new hotel comprises 224 rooms, four meeting rooms, a ballroom, an executive lounge, two outdoor swimming pools, a gym, and a wellness spa, DLG revealed in a statement.
Explaining the design inspiration for the décor, Daousser Chennoufi, chief executive officer (CEO) of DLG, said: “The hotel’s location gave us a great starting point.
“Located on the coastal city of Sousse, which is known as the coast’s pearl in Tunisia, we knew that incorporating a marine design aesthetic would be essential for the hotel’s branding, and would echo the freshness of the sea.”
According to the company, it also utilised design concepts based on local Tunisian culture and Mediterranean aesthetic to add an “authentic feel to the interior” of the hotel.
“The key aspect of the design ideas worked well together because of the hotel’s location and international branding. We used sea-blue hues to continuously link and remind guests of the sea,” added Chennoufi.
The use of decorative objects, furniture, materials, and colours reportedly proved instrumental in the development of a marine atmosphere in the hotel’s lobby, lobby lounge, bar, all-day dining area, ballroom and function rooms, guestrooms, and suites.
Chennoufi continued: “A tricky area in hotels are spas. There are three important components to its design process: operational design, the interior design of the spa, and the technical design elements.”
DLG noted that it again drew inspiration from the Tunisian and Mediterranean cultures, resulting in the hotel spa being fitted out with natural materials, such as wood, stone, and marble.
While most of the design concepts, and their eventual fitting, went according to plan, DLG said that it met with two significant challenges while working on the project.
“The first was the time frame,” revealed Chennoufi. “Our client was hoping to launch the hotel in the summer, but we immediately knew this would compromise on quality and detail. Once this was communicated to the client, we were able to come to a more suitable time frame for the project.
“The second challenge was a rather interesting design problem. The hotel faces the ocean, but to get to it, guest needs to cross the road. We took into consideration the guests’ safety, and came up with an underground tunnel design concept. This was accepted and implemented, and really added value to our work at the hotel,” said Chennoufi.