The Montesol Experimental Hotel in Ibiza is a new work by Dorothea Meilihzon
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07 Apr 2023
The 1930s hotel reopened after a complete renovation, its interiors were designed by the French designer Dorothea Meilihzon and her studio Chzon. It turned out bohemian and unconventional, like everything Dorothea does!
Photo
Karel Balas
The Montesol Hotel in Eyvissa, opened in 1933, was the first hotel in Ibiza. Over the past decades, it has become dilapidated, the interiors have lost their former gloss and are outdated, so when the Experimental hospitality group bought it, the first thing I decided to do was a complete renovation. The designer Dorothea Meilichzon, who has been successfully cooperating with this hotel chain for a long time, was attracted to do this. The work lasted for two whole years, but the result was simply dazzling — bright, bohemian, extraordinary, like everything Dorothea does.
This is what the Montesol Experimental Hotel looks like in Ibiza.
Photo
Karel Balas
The designer started with the Sabbaba restaurant and the rooftop bar, and then moved on to the rooms and suites. Her goal was to give the interiors a "bohemian touch", based on the rich history of the hotel. Built in the neocolonial style, the Montesol Hotel was the first hotel in Ibiza, and in the 1950s and 1980s many celebrities visited here - from members of the royal family to members of the Pink Floyd rock band, hippies and beatniks.
Photo
Karel Balas
Dorothea decided to use this bohemian past by combining a variety of fabrics, patterns, fringes and pompoms with light woods and textured walls in the interiors. "For me, this hotel is a kind of ocean of color, reflecting the joyful spirit and openness of Ibiza," says the designer.
Photo
Karel Balas
Photo
Karel Balas
Shades of yellow are reminiscent of the famous yellow and white facade of the hotel, their designer combined with a variety of green and blue colors, reminiscent of the colors of the Mediterranean Sea.
"Warm "sunny" colors I used for common areas, and cool "lunar" colors — in the rooms. Guided by the principles of Ayurveda, we used cooling, soothing colors inside the hotel to balance the constant heat outside," says Dorothea.
The texture of one of the walls in the room was created by pressing individual sinks into the plaster that had not yet dried.
Photo
Karel Balas
The cooling effect was also achieved with the help of tiles, which lined the walls in the public spaces of the hotel and partially in the rooms. "Tiles are an important feature of this hotel," Dorothea explains. "And we used traditional zellidge tiles to decorate the niches of mini—bars in orange, brown and snow-white scales."
Photo
Karel Balas
Photo
Karel Balas
Many details were made by hand, for example, a drawing in the form of shells on the walls was created by pressing individual shells into freshly painted plaster. Arched forms — from openings in the rooms to mirrors in the bathrooms and spectacular headboards — reflect the features of the famous facade of the hotel, but in a more relaxed and restrained manner.
Photo
Karel Balas
Photo
Karel Balas
Another recurring motif was the circle, its outlines are found on carpets, chair backs, mirrors and other details of rooms. "I wanted to use a lot of curved, wavy lines throughout the hotel to give the interiors softness and fluidity. There is nothing harsh in Ibiza, there is a very "viscous", enveloping atmosphere," the designer notes.
The theme of the circle continues through the use of celestial motifs: copper solar and iron lunar disks, which can be seen everywhere in the interiors of the hotel, remind of sunny days and the famous nightlife of the island.
The interior of the Sabbaba restaurant at the Montesol Experimental Hotel.
Photo
Karel Balas
A playful atmosphere has been created in the bedrooms, the rooms are decorated with Diego Faivre chairs, as if made of plasticine, handmade masks and cabinet doors decorated with puzzles. "These unique and whimsical objects give the rooms a special character," says Dorothea. And, of course, the author's headboards deserve special mention, which Dorothea, as for her other hotel projects, designed herself.
Playdough chairs, designed by Diego Fivre.
Photo
Karel Balas
