Montréal, Canada, 2016-07-11 –

Eschewing a longstanding brand convention, interior designer Andres Escobar and his team have created a new design platform for a Holiday Inn in Downtown Brooklyn at 300 Schermerhorn Street. The recently inaugurated 14-story glass and brick hotel, featuring 245 rooms, is highlighted by a sophisticated aesthetic proposing a new experience within the hospitality group. 

As an InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) flagship operated by NY Hotel Management, it is located close to Barclays Center, Brooklyn Navy Yard and Metro Tech. Moreover, the hotel has been designed to appeal to a broad range of travelers, from businessmen to techies, hipsters, celebrities and others who regard Downtown Brooklyn as a trend-setting destination. Reinforcing this cutting-edge spirit is an entry that dramatically introduces a custom-designed Brooklyn Bridge mosaic mural behind a full-height water feature.

“It was important that the design reflects the area’s exciting transformation,” points out Escobar. “From the moment guests walk through the front doors, we want them to be delighted by the glamour of the hotel, as well as its comfort.”

The lobby has been clad with natural walnut walls suspended over macchiato quartz floors. A reception area is highlighted by a backlit decorative chrome and brass metal grid detail that carries over to the elevators’ interiors. Other custom-design elements include several large crystal prism-shaped pendant chandeliers that refract light throughout the space. 

Another surprising element is a fully landscaped greenhouse off the lobby with an atrium that is partially covered by shades to create soothing ambient light. Escobar has also designed a dark azure pool with a waterfall and glass wall overlooking a fully-equipped gym.  

The Holiday Inn in Downtown Brooklyn is the first of five of Escobar’s hospitality projects to be completed in New York City for 2016. Others he has designed for 2016 include the first two hotels in Hudson Yards in Manhattan, comprising a Marriott Courtyard Hotel and an ALOFT. In Queens, Mr. Escobar is designing an AC Hotel by Marriott and ALOFT & Element Hotel at JFK Airport. Within the past three years, he has also worked on such other hospitality projects as Z-Hotel in Long Island City, The Jade Hotel in Greenwich Village and Staybridge Suites in Times Square, as well as a current renovation project at the Concorde Hotel in Midtown. In addition, Andres Escobar is working on nine residential development projects in the greater New York Metropolitan area, plus building-wide design renovations for four luxury residential buildings in Manhattan.

About Escobar Design by Lemay
Andres Escobar, who founded Andres Escobar & Associates in 1989 and now partner at Escobar Design by Lemay, enjoys worldwide reputation in luxury commercial and residential interior design, especially in New York, Montreal and the Middle East. This privileged reputation was built by the creation of a distinctive image of contemporary independent shops, urban spas, homes, hotels and world class restaurants. Multi-disciplinary integrated firm, Lemay, recently acquired Andres Escobar & Associates. Andres Escobar, now a senior partner and creative director at Lemay, will hold a key role in Lemay’s international growth and will help to design excellence within the enlarged group as well as in all markets.

About Lemay
Founded in 1957 as an architectural practice, Lemay is one of Canada’s leading integrated design services firms, merging architecture, urban design, interiors, landscape, engineering, sustainability and branding into a multidisciplinary and synergistic ensemble. With 10 offices worldwide (including a New York office since 2015) and ranked 79th according to the World Architecture (WA), Lemay is also one of Canada’s most creative and awarded firms, with over 300 awards and prizes. Leveraging its unique blend of creativity, capacity and expertise, Lemay champions its clients’ aspirations, enhances users’ quality of life and strives to build a brighter future for our communities.