Fast-forward to the hotel rooms of the future

If you want a sense of what a hotel room of the future might look like, check out the new Transforming Room at the Pullman Singapore Orchard. Unveiled in November 2024, the concept room’s interiors are customizable by a mere swipe of your smartphone—there is a bespoke Murphy bed that disappears into the wall to reveal a sofa, a Compoz Paris fragrance “playlist,” Dornbracht shower technology for an in-suite spa experience, and floor-to-ceiling screens to display virtual Peloton fitness classes and digital decor by Artpoint.

“The Transforming Room is a groundbreaking research initiative,” says Damien Perrot, Global Chief Design Officer for Premium, Midscale & Economy Brands at Accor, “[It] allows us to observe and understand how guests interact within a multi-functional space.” Zoku is another group that has been pioneering compact, modular rooms and how they can be used for living, working and exercising; the newest are Zoku Paris’ “micro apartments” which come complete with pull-up rings attached to the ceiling and beds hidden behind sliding shutters.

Meanwhile, Jean-Michel Gathy is the principal designer of Denniston, a firm of innovative architects, planners, landscapers and interior designers. His notable works include the One&Only One Za’abeel in Dubai (opened in spring 2024), whose Creative Suites are fitted out with top-tier Klipsch speakers and acoustic wall paneling, so you can play music as loud as you like. “These days, hotels are becoming more and more like lifestyle venues, as opposed to places in which to sleep,” Gathy tells us. “Guests want hotels to be a harmonious reflection of their aspirations and their self-image.”

Which hotel room innovations is he most proud of? Gathy says: “About 25 years ago we designed The Setai hotel in Miami. We had this room totally open with a bathtub in the bedroom, and with a day bed on either side. It was just right for Miami, which is a playful city. Another really interesting bedroom feature we designed was at The Chedi Andermatt in Switzerland. Every one of the bedrooms has a fireplace that opens inwards or outwards to the terrace by swiveling a piece of glass. These two room designs have really stood the test of time, remaining very classy, very usable, yet memorably quirky.”

At the cutting edge of innovative hotel room design today is the expansion of visionary hotelier Liz Lambert’s El Cosmico in Marfa, Texas. With a completion date set for 2026, the property’s revamp will feature 3D-printed units that blend in with the desert and could one day be replicated on the moon and even Mars, using Martian sand to make concrete.

But equally innovative work is being done by designers delving into the past to see what can be repurposed. The Relais & Châteaux Vetera Matera, which will be opening in March 2025 in the heart of the Sassi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Italy, will feature suites built into ancient cave dwellings. Meanwhile the new Dar Tantora The House Hotel in Saudi Arabia has been built in a traditional way using mud and stone. Rooms are decorated with murals and illuminated by candlelight—suggesting that when it comes to the future of hotels, you can’t look forward without looking back.