InterContinental – The Interiors Addict

Melbourne’s InterContinental gets an Indian-inspired revamp

Fancy a trip to India but can’t afford the airfare? Well the InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto may just have the next best thing.

In celebration of the release of the hilarious The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel to DVD, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and the InterContinental have launched The Marigold Suite.

Styled by interior designer Kali Cavanagh (of The Stylesmiths), the Junior Suite at Melbourne’s InterContinental has been transformed into a grand Indian-inspired hotel room. Influenced by her own trips to India and by the film itself, Kali has used vibrant and textured fabrics, golds and brass pieces and lots of flowers and plants to create a space that embodies the feel of a luxurious Indian hotel room.

Furniture standouts include an antique Indian ladder, an orange velvet bedspread and cushions, Baroque antique tables in brass, antique accessories from Orient Express and a Marigold weave rug from Armadillo & Co. The stunning flowers, palms and pots used bring the whole space together and work to make the room really pop with all the colours and excitement of the film.

The Marigold Suite can be booked until the end of August from $360 per night. For more information.

The InterContinental Double Bay: opening soon & looking great

Restored rare white marble, Parisian-style balconies, a rooftop infinity pool with jaw-dropping views and a nautical-themed gin bar; these are just some of the many stunning design features of what is soon to become Sydney’s newest luxury hotel, the InterContinental Sydney Double Bay.

With its doors opening in November, the former Ritz Carlton has been transformed by renowned architecture and design firm Bates Smart into a hotel that combines beautifully reinstated features of the original building on the outside and smart, contemporary and understated luxury on the inside.

With an overall design that combines a neutral palette, metallic finishings and splashes of pale blue and yellow tones, Bates Smart studio director Brenton Smith said the intention was to reinstate the glamour of the building.“The interior and exterior fabric of this iconic building provided an ideal canvas to overlay a design which engages with the European characteristics of the architecture, while the unique location enabled us to take references from the stunning and iconic bay.” And boy did they succeed, with the pièce de résistance of the transformation being the rooftop pool and lounge with a spectacular panoramic vista of the bay. Limestone split rock walls housing inlaid artefacts and curios, striped day beds and oversized Turkish pots lend a Mediterranean air to the space, framed by private cabanas.

The InterContinental Sydney Double Bay features 140 guest rooms including 14 suites. If you’re keen to be one of the first to experience it, book into one of those gorgeous rooms here!