Oscar Lucien Ono redesigns Tropical Hotel in St Barth
Oscar Lucien Ono, founder of Maison Numéro 20, has unveiled the newly renovated design for Tropical Hotel in St Barth.
With 24 rooms spread over two levels, the property draws its inspiration from the decor of the 1930s and 1940s; as the second hotel ever built on the island, it combines an Art Deco atmosphere with a Wes Anderson-style kitsch spirit.
Ono has created relaxed spaces with understated tropical elegance, paying homage to the idea of being in harmony with the surrounding nature. Weaving a backdrop inspired by the codes of the Caribbean aesthetic at the height of its elegance in the ’40s, the designer has used stripes, pastel colours, raw material and precious details in the décor, resulting in a scheme that sits at the crossroads of the tropical American aesthetic of the 1930s and the nostalgia of the French Riviera.
Nature invites itself everywhere through a colourful plant oasis, bringing freshness and intimacy to spaces like the restaurant, bar, patio, room and suite. Communicating through typical Caribbean architecture, everything revolves around the patio – the true pulse of the hotel.
Inside, Ono continues his interpretation of the Garden of Eden, notably through a selection of fabrics and wallpapers with exotic patterns, including the famous Salengro model by designer Manuel Canovas and the Mauritius fabric by Pierre Frey, whose colours have been custom-made for the property.
All the plant species are depicted in an artistic way on the mural painted by Raphaël Schmitt, finely concealing the border between the interior and exterior. The armchairs meanwhile were made by Maison Numéro 20, upholstered in Pierre Frey’s Mauritius fabric and enhanced with passementerie.
The rooms are designed using various materials that harmonise with the colourful scheme displayed in shades of green, pink, yellow and blue. In a boudoir spirit, the bathrooms are adorned with fluted wood vanity and mirrors with rounded lines. Glazed ceramic pieces of fish on the walls recall the coastal spirit with lightness. The rooms and suites have also been extended by private terraces.
The renovation and extension by Bruneau Ghezzi Architectes were centred on the memory of the place as a marker of the landscape and history of the Bay of St Jean to create a luxurious and family-oriented establishment. The transition between the communal garden and the rooms is created gradually by means of corridors and terraces that can be completely seized by the occupants. This makes it possible to extend the space dedicated to each room by projecting it in a double orientation towards the outside, enveloping the guest in nature.
“Saint Barth is a dream island nestled in the West Indies. We come here to isolate ourselves from the world. One thinks of the jet set, but the art of living here has maintained a rather slow and very relaxing atmosphere, in a discreet and tropical elegance.” – Oscar Lucien Ono
