Nobis Hotel Copenhagen, Denmark

Posted in Projects on 5 April, 2018

Oozing with Scandinavian minimalism, style and elegance, the Nobis Hotel in Copenhagen is as luxurious and indulgent as it is design-driven and cool. Features Editor Tonje visited to check it out…

Set in a beautiful heritage building from 1903, once the home of the Royal Danish Academy of Music, the Nobis Hotel Copenhagen welcomes guests for an authentic Nordic hospitality experience coloured by design, hygge and luxury.

Swedish design company, Wingårdhs, were put in charge of renovating the old building into a high-end hotel aimed at the affluent traveller, and have managed to perfectly combine history, tradition, modernism and style. A perfect example of this is the courtyard extension, which was added to the building in the 60s, and is now clad in copper sheeting and glass. The irregular pattern varies both in length and width and pays homage to Le Cobusier’s convent La Tourette.

Only a stone’s throw away from the renowned Glypoteket museum, the building sits on Niels Brock Gade 1 and was originally designed for an insurance company.

Wingårdhs, who is headed up by Gert Wingårdh and who specialises in architecture, urban planning, interior design and landscape planning, has redesigned the interiors of the hotel with a light touch, carefully preserving the neoclassicism of the original structures, maintaining the affluent elegance, the spaciousness and the beautiful detailing.

The updated interior is carried by the clean design and playful flourishes of some of new furniture and colours. Intense blue-green tones have been incorporated into the design, with additions to the original décor articulated as freestanding objects. The materials used are sourced directly from nature: marble, wood, leather and wool.

Much of the interiors have been custom-designed to achieve Nobis’ mission of providing a warm and relaxed hotel environment.

Public spaces

As you enter the hotel, the striking marble staircase with black cast iron balustrades and a delicate and stylish lighting installation greet you, leading you either down to the restaurant, or up to the rooms. Gazing up through the stairwell, the twinkling of the hundreds of lights suspended with thin wires makes quite a vision.

In the lobby, guests are met by a reception desk of cast concrete, which is a reference to the material originally used to build the property – in fact, it was one of the first buildings in the city to be constructed with cast concrete.

Opposite the reception is the lounge, which looks and feels like a sitting room in someone’s home – comfy leather sofas and lounge chairs in a light shade of terracotta are scattered around the room, French doors lead out to the courtyard where charming city bikes are parked, and stylish niff-naff decorate the minimalist bookshelves. Stylish lamps in angular shapes balances out the room and a splash of colour is added from the funky woollen rug.

Accommodation

The 77 guestrooms, including a number of suites, feature custom-designed steel-framed beds combined with wardrobes, stools, benches and desks made from wood and natural leather. Here, the art that usually hangs on the walls lies on the floor, incorporated into the expressive woollen rugs that decorate the light wooden floors. A comforting colour palette of pastel greens, blues and creams cover the walls while snug lounge chairs for you to curl up in reinforces the ‘hygge’ of the rooms. The lamps in the rooms have a distinct Alexander Calder-inspired look, which works perfectly with the interiors.

All rooms overlook the city streets and provide views of the charming rooftops of Copenhagen. The higher-floor rooms however offer slanted roofs, giant windows and a sense of more privacy. These rooms feel like attics and therefore have an increased cosy, residential touch to them. The penthouses have ginormous windows and have a real luxurious feel to them. Each differing in layout and design due to the structure of the building, the design of the rooms can truly be unique and expressive.

The Nobis Suite is really something special and a perfect marriage between the old and new in Danish design. The tall ceiling is decorated with intricate neo-classic details, the walls are covered in regal blue and the floor is an official-looking glossy herringbone. The industrial-looking four-poster bed, the mid-century furniture and the expressive carpets juxtapose this. The lounge has a sitting group at the centre of the room with a lighting installation similar to that in the stairwell, hanging over it. The beautiful periodic details in the ceiling and upper walls have been painted in gold and blue to highlight them.

The bathrooms have freestanding vanity cabinets with coordinated mirrors and are clad in a luxurious grey marble from top to toe. Spacious walk-in showers add that extra lux element.

F&B

The hotel’s restaurant, Restaurant Niels, is overseen by chef Jeppe Foldager, and seats up to 80 people. Serving a modern Nordic cuisine in elegantly Scandi-style surroundings, even the decor’s delicious, with pale peach leather benches on the navy-stained wood floor. Charming milk-jug looking pendant lamps hang from black ceiling rods, create a warm and inviting atmosphere.

The wall facing out to the courtyard is entirely covered in glass, broken up into angular windowpanes, which allows tonnes of natural light in during the day, and helps create a romantic atmosphere at night.

Nobis is all clean lines, high ceilings and natural light, which is all you expect from a Danish hotel. Mixed with trendy and minimalist design, which is overwhelmingly residential and scrumptious at the same time, this hotel is a real treat.