The Brown Palace Hotel & Spa, a downtown Denver hotel that has been in business since 1892, recently completed a renovation featuring Couristan and Shaw Hospitality carpets.
The project included hotel's historic Top of The Brown Suites including the eight and ninth floors and the three famed Presidential Suites – The Eisenhower, The Reagan and The Roosevelt – as well as Palace Arms, various meeting spaces and the Club Lounge. The multimillion-dollar upgrades, crafted by Los Angeles interior design firm Forchielli Glynn, aimed to maintain the grandeur and grace of the iconic hotel while captivating guests with historic heritage fused with modern-day amenities.
"Given the history of The Brown Palace, we knew the importance of preserving the building's unique character," said Nick Moschetti, general manager of The Brown Palace Complex. "I am confident we were able to achieve this, upholding the historical elements while ensuring modern day relevance. We are honored and excited to unveil this renovation, and to continue providing the same excellence we've shown our guests for the last 129 years."
Striking the perfect balance between conservation and transformation, the Top of Brown Suites originally debuted in 1937 at the height of the Art Deco era. Today, the style is still fully embraced but modernized for 21st century guests. No two suites are alike, and all 38 keys are located on the upper floors and tucked away from the hum of the Atrium below. Inspired by the Grand Parisian Salons of the 30s, the guest rooms floors are adorned with Shaw Hospitality custom broadloom, new plush tufted headboards touting tall columns of drapery and textured Chanel-suit-inspired upholstery. As a marriage of The Brown's classic style and modern sophistication, all Top of The Brown rooms boast rounded corners, glass block walls, poured terrazzo flooring, stepped details on the wood bases and in the hallways, with streamline-style graphics on the entry doors. In addition, each closet features surprise a geometric back wallcovering, reminiscent of a honeycomb, paying homage to the hotel's rooftop bee colony.
Among the renovated Presidential suites, the eighth floor Eisenhower Suite now highlights the special connection the late President had with the property, which served as his western campaign headquarters. The new tribute wall showcases letters, photos and mementos from Eisenhower, appropriately decorated in Federal style. The furnishings and additions to the Reagan Suite, on the ninth floor, accentuate the President's love of the California countryside, mirroring the décor style of his Santa Barbara ranch. While the ninth floor Roosevelt Suite touts a strong Edwardian-style with artifacts and furnishings reinforcing the President's appreciation of big-game, wildlife and the Great West.
Of the 25,000 square feet of meeting space at The Brown Palace, 10 meeting rooms were upgraded with new window treatments, updated lantern-style pendant lighting and a custom woven Axminster. The carpet was a creative collaboration between the interiors team at Forchielli Glynn and Couristan’s SoCal design studio, according to Charles Sinnett Register, contract/hospitality account executive, Couristan.
The Onyx Room, in particular, touts incredible woodwork, onyx walls, crystal chandeliers and a hand painted ceiling, of which stand out now more than ever with the updated flooring and neutral wall color. A covered walkway with tables, chairs and beautiful views of the hotel's neighbors, leads to The Brown's additional meeting venues – the second-floor meeting level over Tremont Street – boasting a grand ballroom as well as 16 meeting rooms, for a total of 19,453 square feet of space.