Find Out Why This Architect Made Luxury Hotel Design His Calling Card

Jean-Michel Gathy is at the origin of the most beautiful hotels in the world. The award-winning Belgian architect and interior designer with more than four decades of experience at the forefront of hospitality, who describes himself as “the pampered child of the hotel industry”, founded his firm Denniston in 1983. He made his career debut. thanks to Adrian Zecha, president of Aman, who offered him the opportunity to design Amanwana in Indonesia in 1989. Since then, he has led more than a dozen Amans, effectively defining the 'DNA of the brand and collaborating with the most prestigious hotel groups everywhere. of the world such as Cheval Blanc, Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons and One&Only. Behind the infinity pool at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, the Aman New York and the Jumeirah Bali, a modernist tropical sanctuary perched atop the cliffs of Uluwatu, its projects in 2024 include the launch of One&Only One Za' abeel Dubai, Cheval Blanc Seychelles and Aman Nai Lert Bangkok. He has now been appointed by Aman as the first designer to lead its new sister brand, Janu, which recently opened Janu Tokyo in the vibrant new heart of the Japanese capital, Azabudai Hills, overlooking the iconic Tokyo Tower.

Why have you made hotel design your signature?

I would say it's a succession of opportunities. Hans Jenni and Adrian Zecha gave me the opportunity to design luxury boutique hotels and I liked it, so I was stuck in that world. I've been designing for 40 years, I've made a lot of mistakes, but I've also learned a lot. I believe that after 25 years, if you have dedicated yourself to operating on heart clients, you have become a good cardiologist. Well, we have become good cardiologists. We've done luxury hotels and made fewer and fewer mistakes. Now we are known as the architects of choice because of this because we have done so many and all the famous people always choose us. In Miami we have The Setai, the best hotel in America, then we did Amanyara, the best hotel in the Caribbean, then we did One&Only, the best hotel in the Indian Ocean, then we did The Chedi Andermatt and the Aman Venice, the best hotels in Europe. It just goes on and on. So, gradually, we not only get to know each other, but we will get along. And the more we live in this context, the more we appreciate the lifestyle, the more we understand it, the more we like it.

Tell me about the influence of Adrian Zecha, an Indonesian hotelier and founder of several international hotel companies including Regent Hotels, GHM Hotels, Aman Resorts and Azerai Resorts.

Adrian Zecha opened the door for me and I stayed there. I think I haven't made too many mistakes and so people know that now. So whenever they do a top hotel, they automatically call us. Basically we get two or three offers a day. Every day, I could go up to two hotels. We don't get it automatically, but we are invited every day. Of course, we can't catch them all. We did the Rosewood Hoi An. I've never designed a Rosewood before, but we were invited and I'm excited because Rosewood has successfully refocused their standards and they're becoming a very good company, so I said yes.

Why do you pay special attention to water features?

It is easy. There are two types of hotels: urban hotels and tourist hotels. In urban hotels, of course, I use much less water first because there is no space. Most often, it's a vertical tower because the cost of land in the city center is always so high that you have no choice but to go vertical, maximize density. So there is little water, but in a tourist hotel, when you are in the mountains or when you are at the sea or when you are in the countryside, all this is beautiful around you during the day because you can see. But look out the window when you're in Port Dickson or Singapore, when you look out to sea after 7 o'clock, it's very dark, so you can't see anything. So your whole experience of the day is gone. At night, the first thing you do is close the curtains, you live in your room, so what should you do, what scenery can I offer you? The best way to create landscapes is water. First of all, it's cheap. Second, it has two or three functions. One is the reflective surfaces, which means it expands the space and creates drama. Reflecting trees in a pond is very dramatic and doubles the space, of course, because it acts as a mirror. Then you can use it to make noise. When you're on a terrace with other people dining next to you, all you need is a fountain or the sound of water, and it just cuts off the conversation so you have privacy. So it creates privacy, it creates drama, it creates decoration, it reflects and it creates a bigger space. So, water at night is essential in a resort because you have lost the effect of the day: the view.

What about your inclusion of pools?

I have designed many large pools. Because? Because every hotel, like a village or a city, needs a center. Look at Singapore. Everyone goes to Orchard Road on the weekend. Because? Because people want to see people, they want to see life, they like to do activities, they like to feel that they belong to a community. They don't like boring places. So the center of town in a hotel, 90% of the time, is the pool. So you don't want a pool that's too small because then people step on it, and obviously it gets nasty. You need to create a big pool, big watercourses or big things so that people can be together with others but have some space and privacy. In addition to this, it also serves the hotel industry very well because they use it for marketing purposes. You never see the marketing of a hotel without showing you a beautiful pool because in people's mind, a pool, beach, sea or palm tree means vacation, relax and I will have a good time.

Describe to me your iconic mountain resorts: The Viceroy Snowmass, The Chedi Andermatt and The St. Regis Lhasa.

This is different. It's not the pool that counts. It becomes an indoor pool for obvious reasons, but the interest of the winter or mountain season is of course the word “comfort”. People go to a resort like Andermatt because it's welcoming, they want to feel embraced. Dogs like a kennel because they feel in a cocoon, man likes a cozy hotel. They like to feel that they are protected from the elements. They warm up around the fireplace instead of being outside in the snow, wind or rain, so the ultimate goal of a mountain resort is coziness, comfort. I always say that if I have to rate a good hotel, I would only use one word: comfort. If it's not comfortable, for me, it's not a good hotel. It can be beautiful, but if it's not comfortable, it's not well designed. This is my opinion. Comfort is the quality of the hotel. Privacy is good, but comfort, when I'm in my bed, I want to sleep well. When I'm in the shower, I want the right pressure. When I want a view, I want a proper view. If I have a pool, I don't want it to be four meters deep, I want to be able to walk in it, I want to be able to rest in the pool. I want to have a terrace. I want a fireplace if it's cold. So comfort is the ultimate word for me for a luxury hotel. Whether I'm in the mountains, on the beach or in the middle of New York, I like to stay in hotels where I feel good: I have space for my luggage, I can hang my shirt, the phone must work, I need to to be able to call room service, I want a spa, I want comfort.