Watch making might seem like an unlikely starting point for hotel design, but that’s what inspired Sandro Fratini, the founder of Wtb Hotels Group, to create the first Hotel L’Orologio in Florence in 2009. The L’O, Hotel Orologio, Venice, carries on the same timepiece theme. The 50-key property also marks the growth of the concept into a 4-star brand, with a 48-room hotel slated to open in Rome in 2017.
For the design, the team from Baciocchi wanted to explore the mechanical side of the hotel’s theme. Beyond the saturated colors and rich finishes typical of Venetian style, the statements have an edgy side. Real watch pieces make up many of the focal points, from clock hands in the bar to illuminated pictures in the bedrooms.
There are also less literal iterations of that motif throughout the hotel. Even the door handle and the logo feature a watch face. The streamlined aesthetic of the rest of the hotel lets those statements shine through without seeming kitschy or heavy-handed.
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