[This article was originally posted on Sep 20, 2018]
Today’s project highlight is the Dwell Hotel, a hotel that opened in 2018 in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.
When our client bought the hotel from a Chinese company it had a completely different atmosphere as stylishly designed hotels were not the norm in Colombo. It was originally geared toward business economy and maximum use of space to keep the budget down. Now after a year of collaborating with them on their branding and design, Dwell has been completely revived.
It was our first time doing a project in Sri Lanka. We were groping around in the dark at first, but as we became familiar with the culture and learned to navigate the differences, we became inspired!
We had the opportunity to create and execute a full concept- from naming the hotel, to the visual identity, to the design of the amenities and signs in the hotel, the overall hotel interior, to the selection and purchasing of furniture and bedding. We branded every touch point within the hotel ensuring that each guest’s experience was top notch- we even created the music playlists and customized the hotel’s scent.
The opening was a hit and the guests who stayed left raving reviews online. It seemed particularly popular with tourists from Europe. They are currently adding a cafe on the first floor and we are currently working on their website. We will continue to dwell with our clients with the aim of becoming the No. 1 designer hotel in Colombo.
[Updated on Apr 22, 2021] The Dwell Hotel became a super hot topic after being featured in Traveler in Australia! The review evaluation was high due to the good service and customer experience, so it became a popular hotel that always maintains a high occupancy rate. However, due to the unexpected success, there was a crack between the owners and the Dwell Hotel brand disappeared. But since the brand proved its potency, we are looking forward to the rebirth of the Dwell Hotel elsewhere in the future.
