78 THE WORLD OF HOSPITALITY
AXEL HOTEL MADRID
And finally, closing this strange tandem is
the explosive philosophy behind the AXEL
Hotel chain, whose hotels are designed for
the LGBTQ community creating free spaces
where sexual diversity is welcome and
promoted and where diversion is a priority.
From the beginning, the design team was
interested in creating an amusing dialogue
among all these starting points and historic
periods so important and antagonistic in the
history of Madrid and to which Atocha Street
has been a privileged witness.
The principal objective was to create a hotel
which exuded an atmosphere of liberty and
diversion with a certain disruptive touch
which invited a varied clientele to enter
the public areas of the hotel to enjoy the
gastronomic offer. together with mannequins and other flashy
elements invade the entrance way to the
hotel and its reception area, welcoming the
guest to a carefree and festive atmosphere.
In order to achieve this atmosphere, the most
important strategy in the design is the use
of colour, an element which accompanies
us throughout all the areas of the hotel and
which is applied with a different character
and material nature in each zone. The introduction of texts, words, and
phrases in the form of bright lights and
neon makes reference to the literary past of
the neighborhood, but with more popular
messages and winks/insinuations.
The Hotel: The Common Areas and Noble
Rooms
Posters, brightly lit with cinematographic and
musical references to the “Movida Madrileña”
WEBSITE: www.axelhotels.com
It is precisely in the courtyard of the building
where this “popular literature” takes on the
importance and climbs up the patio walls
like an echo of the theatrical voices of the
“Comedy Playhouses” of the Golden Century.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Adrià Goula