The international hotel industry has changed over the past few years and until recently, city and resort hotels were primarily geared toward luxury relaxation. Today they are also playing a vital role in the business world. Hotel guest rooms
and public areas therefore need to meet the growing technological demands of the business traveler while still providing the high standards of comfort and design dictated by today’s discerning clientele. Bilkey LLinas Design (BLD) wants to find original solutions to these changing demands. BLD use to examining new frontiers in the industry and counts with a skilled architects and designers team to produce innovative concepts thar appeal not only to the business traveler but also to the tourist and frequent traveler. This approach calls for a unique design philosophy.
BIOGRAPHY: THE MAN BEFORE THE MYTH
Robert Bilkey, president of Bilkey LLinas Design, has over three decades experience in the design and hospitality industry. A graduate of Colorado State University School of Design, he began his career shortly after leaving the university and was soon appointed Director of Design for an international hotel group based in the United States. It was there that he began working in the hospitality industry and gained experience in many phases of project administration and conceptual design, including large scale international developments, destination resorts and “boutique” style hotels.
In 1981 he became Managing Director of an international hotel design company in Hong Kong where he worked for eight years before transferring to London. Two years later he joined forces with Oscar LLinas to create Bilkey LLinas Design. Today, Robert Bilkey works closely with Oscar LLinas to develop innovative concepts for hotel projects around the world.
Robert Bilkey founded BLD with Oscar Llinas and Mauricio Salcedo in 1989. Since its inception, the firm has specialized in high-end hospitality related projects world wide including hotels , resorts, casinos, country clubs, spas and convention facilities. BLD has offices in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and in Hong Kong with production studios in Guangzhou, China. The combination of the former’s skills in architectural planning and the latter’s forte in interior design has produced a strong international company that offers a vast and varied knowledge of the hospitality industry
BACKGROUNG & REALIZATIONS: BEST PROJECTS
As Bilkey, president of the company has stated: BLD does not limit itself to a singular approach to design. They approach each project by looking at what the market and the guests actually require, tailoring our designs to meet those needs. The main goal is to create hotels that not only meet the guests’ functional requirements but are design experiences in themselves.
Hyatt Regency Delhi India
Chateau de Bangkok , Thailand
Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch, Colorado
Presidents Country Club Palm Beach, FL, USA
Four Seasons, Mumbai
THE MOST ICONIC PROJECTS – GRAND HYATT KUALA LUMPUR
It’s been almost a decade since an international luxury hotel opened in the Malaysian capital. So the Grand Hyatt, which debuted in last August, was always going to be newsworthy. But it has also seriously upped the ante in a rather complacent marketplace, starting with its prime location next to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre—close enough to the Petronas Twin Towers for guests to be able walk there even in KL’s swelter.
The 39th-floor check-in lobby provides a dramatic introduction to the 370 rooms and 42 suites below, which come with polished woods and comfortable, unfussy decor, as well as essentials like a generous workspace and wireless high-speed internet. Diminutive bathtubs feel like a throwback, but powerful rain showers more than compensate. It’s well worth the upgrade to book a room facing the neighboring Petronas towers: their floor-to-ceiling windows confer some of the most dramatic views in town, trumped only by the 360-degree panorama from Thirty8, the Grand Hyatt’s signature restaurant. The loungers and cabanas arrayed around the palm-fringed swimming pool lend the property a tropical resort vibe; a spa and 24-hour fitness center are located on the same level.
TOP PROJECTS GALLERY
