A South Lakes interior design studio has won an international award for its work in a luxury Lake District hotel.
Nielsen House’s work on the Gilpin Hotel’s spa suites in Windermere won the Best Hotel Suite in Europe 2021 title in the international Hotel and Property Awards, held in Capri.
The Staveley-based firm worked with three other Cumbrian companies on the suites.
The awards aim to commend design, recognise talent, create opportunities and to offer inspiration. Around 15,000 design professionals voted for the winners across all categories.
The accolade for Nielsen House and its interior scheme for the Gilpin’s luxury spa pods recognises the studio’s creativity and adaptability to purpose.
The pods are the hotel’s first all wet suites and award organisers praised the team for the use of natural materials, their ability to connect their designs with nature to bring the outdoors in and to produce ‘exceptionally unexpected and unique’ finishes.
Nielsen House founder Sarah Jane Nielsen described the spa suites as an interesting and rewarding project that has been both beautiful and practical – but she went on to pay tribute to their long-standing client the Gilpin Hotel, architect Ben Cunliffe and lodge supplier Retreat Homes for their expertise in their fields of specialism, saying the award is an acknowledgement that Cumbrian businesses are at the forefront of design and is the result of successful teamwork.
She added: “As four local Cumbrian/Lakes businesses working together with a shared purpose of providing the Gilpin with the most outstanding guest experiences, we were able to produce a set of spectacular designs both internally and externally that makes us all immensely proud.
“When it comes to creativity, we have some of the best businesses in the country right here on our doorstep.
“We are incredibly lucky to be able to take inspiration from the heritage of our incredible environment here in the Lakes and as the team responsible for the previous Gilpin spa lodge interiors as well as the new suites, we are thrilled and extremely honoured to have won this award, particularly as so many of our peers from across the international design community took the time to vote for us.”
