FOOD & BEVERAGE
open space , surrounded by windows that open up to the lush greenery of the gardens .
“ The difficulty with a restaurant that looks like this is that everyone wants to sit outside ,” Wilkes says . “ So , the biggest design element was that we decided to blend the color schemes ( of the restaurant ) with the garden .”
To do that , the design team used marble patterns that went from outside to inside with vibrant florals and a huge mural that united the interior of the restaurant with the terrace . The mural spans 17 meters long and wraps around three walls , and it was completed by artists Anusak Paowpusri and Manussanun Wongrianthai . “ Bill Bensley , a close friend of mine , let us use his art studio team to create the mural in a traditional Thai temple style ,” Wilkes adds .
Wilkes says that one of the main challenges with this restaurant redo was that the space had very complicated mechanical requirements and structure . “ It had been previously renovated , but the kitchen had not been updated so there were some new , unexpected discoveries ,” Wilkes says . “ We had to rework the plan during construction while still maintaining the design concept .”
For designers looking reconnect and renovate a restaurant , the key is to identify the negative , Wilkes suggests . “ When going through the process , you can make sure that the new scheme has turned all of ( the negatives ) into positives .”
THE GEORGE , FAIRMONT OLYMPIC HOTEL , SEATTLE Five years ago , the Fairmont
Olympic Hotel embarked upon a journey to reconceptualize the Georgian , the hotel ’ s premier dining venue that had been a go-to destination since the hotel opened in 1924 .
“ It had a very special place amongst the locals so we needed to make sure that the community would buy into whatever we would do ,” says Sunny Joseph , general manager of the hotel .
The repositioning of the restaurant was part of a $ 25 million renovation project , but at the heart of it was The George . “ The Georgian was a special occasion restaurant , and we wanted to make it more approachable so that it would to be a once or twice a year restaurant ,” Joseph says . “ We didn ’ t want this ( new restaurant ) to be just another hotel restaurant . It ’ s a restaurant
Dining room at The George inside the Fairmont Olympic Hotel , Seattle
80 hotelsmag . com June 2022