The Fine Art of Hot Desking

Monsieur Corbusier would easily slip into the monochromatic scene at a lakeside hotel of white simplicity – a less-is-more tale, we go all boho at Vienna’s only real art hotel, take a bath in Umbria in the old nun’s quarters or how about channelling Athina on the island of Syros in the most gorgeously styled bathroom. The best-kept secret in Zurich, a place to stay in the hush, and equally, a medieval castle in South Tyrol, should be on your radar as the perfect marriage proposal. 

Finally, the best balcony to work from in the Alps, we also throw in a couple of hotspot galleries for your cultural compass (Athens, NYC and Engadin) and we trailblaze into Dalí-land on the flip side to Spain’s Costa Brava as we head between Barcelona and Girona. 

Atlantic salty air and the promise of siesta beckon, Iain kicks off with his strategy of work, rest and play over a chilled bottle of Morgado do Quintão…

Hot Desking...

Through a half-open window, the sun spills out to play across my all-white bedroom. Time to get up, Iain, grab the first strong espresso and hit the outside desk with the laptop and get to work. As we say in English, ‘the early bird catches the worm’ and I am in Portugal’s hushed Algarve towards Tavira at one of my new favourite hotel children. I know that just a short drive away lies the call of Atlantic breezes and the sight of kilometres of wild sandy beaches. My theory is to work hard until early afternoon, hit a simple ‘tasca’ for a late lunch, then head off to the coast for a walk and a siesta. Later, I will return to the keyboard (helped by a glass of chilled Morgado do Quintão). I will make up for lost time and clear the backlog typing up my thoughts and ideas of the day. Over dinner with interesting amigos > which sometimes is the charismatic hotel’s owner, as is this evening, or maybe as the second evening, as the lovely Filippa and Antonio, owners and creators of the Casa Fortunato (see below for their creative den in Alentejo) decided to pop down and join me.

I also was introduced to fellow house guests, a well-travelled couple from Stuttgart, who are not only avid fans and readers of these very same Sunday Edits, but embarked on this trip because of them. Danke. This is such an enjoyable moment. Our community is indeed here, there and pleasingly, not everywhere. If you want to know where I am, then catch up this past Sunday Edit. 

When hotel hot desking I am respectfully very quiet about it. There’s an ethical code of conduct (no conference calling between the olive trees or using a keypad at the bar – spoils the Negroni moment). I prefer to work within my temporary four walls to do certain tasks, alternately on the balcony terrace or, as is case right now, sitting in my own private garden (I am so spoilt) so as to politely not disturb the other guests. I have learned to fine-tune this process and I do so relish being flexible in my work-life balance. But I do work every single day (which I love). Working hard is good for you, well that’s my belief, but so is downtime and equally important is play – well, that comes in the pleasure of good company, food and wine

Back in my Algarve hideaway, I was thinking about how long could I stay here, could I imagine myself living in such a beautiful place? Would I eventually miss the buzz of London? I fear that once you leave a big city you gradually transition to a slower pace elsewhere. But as I am fond of more than one scoop of gelato, I think it is best to keep it mixed, as it is now.  

Vienna is another place that I like to frequent, partly due to the Austrian at home, who tries to ‘sell’ me the idea of relocating there one fine day. Perhaps. I am there in June at one of my first and still favourite hotels that is not really a hotel but a curation of art, emotions and style filled with the creative set and the odd eccentric, including the charismatic owner, Otto. Next time, I should ask him, ‘What came first, Otto, the artworks or the hotel?’ I am guessing that the hotel came about to host his enormous art collection that adorns walls, corridors, shelves and lounges. Many of their hotel residents are long-stay actors, musicians and artists > I think I could easily be part of the furniture here too, especially as most of the Viennese rooms and suites come with a desk in a mélange from antiques to designer. 

Back to the coastal den, I plot other hot desking sessions - a gorgeous monochromatic pitstop on Lago di Garda. As the bathtub can provide reason for thought, or the title theme of the next magazine, how about two of my favourite soak-spots – a monastic designer retreat in Umbria or a spot of classicism on the Greek island of Syros, a paradise in the Greek Cyclades. If in need of a more private backdrop to your business encounters – opt for the most talked-about hushed guesthouses in Zurich and St. Gallen – we know where. 

Strategy? Hot desking is not new, but the mix is yours, where will you head to for a marriage of work, rest & play whilst softly considering your maybe new domicile. Perhaps you are planning to create you own guesthouse hotel or Casa? If so, browse our Architerieurs Edit below for inspo. 

Have to move, the beautiful Portuguese sunshine is casting laptop shadows, on to the other desk in the patio.

Hugs

Iain & Co.

A Boho Lover

A hotel that owns the creative crowd in Vienna where art is more than just décor, this place will have you wandering around the gallery-styled corridors - boho, edged in creativity, this is for those who like to set their own scene. Perfect for hot-desking in any of their 60 or so suites and rooms that are so varied - why, you could take a different one for each week of the year and still have a few to discover. 

Villa Modernism

Lago di Garda, Italy’s biggest lake has always shimmered brightly, luring classic Roman poets, Italian aristos and the Hollywood elite for time immemorial. Perched on its lakeside is an original 1930s white villa, now cleverly reimagined for the nomads of the modernist style. With the feel of a hip in-the-know club for lido-lovers, Aqva Boutique Hotel’s modular alabaster-white building is fronted by a turquoise pool surrounded by sleek decking and a private pier jutting out onto the lake.

The Art Galleries of Engadin

The long valley of Engadin in the Swiss Alps, home to St. Moritz, is known for outdoor pursuits and mountain life, but it is also a surprisingly arty enclave, home to an impressive line-up of galleries. This pocket in Switzerland has long enjoyed a special bond with modern and contemporary art, with the first gallery opening in the 1960s. It was also home to the Giacometti family.

STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN

The collectible design gallery of 7000 square feet sits in TriBeCa NYC located on Church Street, in a Beaux-Arts style building by Henry J Hardenbergh (he of the Plaza Hotel and Waldorf Astoria). Created by gallerist Nacho Polo and his partner Robert Onuska. View by appointment only.

Carwan Gallery

If you’ve ever island-hopped the Cyclades Islands in Greece, chances are you’ve spent time in the bustling port of Piraeus, where founders, owners and architects Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte and Quentin Moyse showcase pieces curated from Greece, southwest Asia, also known as the Near East, among local artists.

Hot Desking in the Alps

This is the stuff that Bond films are made of – the setting is magical; it's like sitting on top of the mountains from the comfort of your designer chair. Latched to a sunny plateau in Hafling in the Dolomites, the boutique Miramonti Hotel & Spa sits within a carpet of hillside forest overlooking Merano, with spectacular bird 's-eye vistas of captivating Alto Adige – this is South Tyrol from the top down, as seen from this charismatic style pad. 

Marry Me

A rendezvous with history - a noble 13th-century residence caught in the spell of timeless antiquity that breathes high-romance from its turreted silhouette; inside modern-day touches keep today’s queenly visitors in regal style in South Tyrol, Italy. Perfect for weddings, gatherings or time chilling in style. 

Boarding

Hot desking with meets? The perfect venue. A fabulous creative fusing of two historic landmark buildings marks a new design narrative at Gasthaus Traube in Buchs, tucked away in northeastern Switzerland close to Liechtenstein. The lovely original 200-year-old restaurant 'Traube' takes on life with a new sibling – the adjoining boutique hotel, once a humble barn. Heritage haunt Gasthaus Traube's story continues to be rewritten in an Alpine montage of modern Swiss and Scandi aesthetics that frames the restored architectural bones of the house and gives a nostalgic hug to traditional craftsmanship. 

Zürich's Secret

Off-radar and quietly bold – a mansion hideout wrapped in lush gardens, where heritage meets high design, secret cinema nights unfold, and Dry Martinis flow. Zürich’s sleekest secret, just slightly off-centre.

Rustic Smoothie

In Umbria, the modern eye of Jacopo Venerosi Pesciolini of studio Archiloop has woven the gravitas of the stone-clad monastery patina with a multifaceted design manifesto, which keeps original floors wooden, terracotta brick work exposed, ceilings beamed and natural materials in their element: brass, iron and stone.

Neo-Classics

On the Greek Cyclades island of Syros, this fabulously restored Venetian-style mansion house hotel has just nine suites, which narrate the history of heavy wooden entrance doors, high vaulted ceilings, ornate frescoes, marble balconies and gleaming wooden floors. Design touchpoints collide beautifully with old-school classicism.

Filipa & António's Place

Casa Fortunato is pleasantly no ordinary holiday house, but a rare sanctuary of curated style and art housed within a restored 100-year-old townhouse villa. Located in the heartlands of Portugal's cork and pine nut plantations of the Alentejo region, Casa Fortunato, sleeping up to 12 guests, is in the historic port town of Alcácer do Sal, a 45-minute drive south of the capital Lisbon and a 30-minute drive from Comporta and the wild beaches of the Tróia Peninsula.

As architects, designers and thinkers with an enthusiastic passion for finding unloved heritage buildings, owners Filipa and António are famed for their anthropologic approach to restoration projects that come with their rhapsody of interior beguilement.  

Archi'terieurs

We love finding a patch of really good design production, architecture and style. When executed well, it's like walking into a fantastic novel. Found amongst the noise of mediocre, these creative highlights pepper the ordinary with small collectable moments of pleasure.
 
Owning an iconic piece of design will always have a special place whether it be a Carl Hansen & Søns, or a Settle Bench by Ilse Crawford. Equally, walking through a build from Hadid to MART – Italy's bastion of art and architecture by Mario Botta, voyeurism is fostered as we explore the world of design, architecture and interiors. This is your design hymn book for those who appreciate the world of aesthetic beauty, purpose and ingenious use of materials.
 
Landmarks to 'living' spaces, this eye-candy edit engages with design, purpose, production and thought – from the unobtrusive to the boundless fantasy, the wonderful command of space, balance and sense of unlimited imagination.