Design and architecture are important themes and elements that Laurence Grigorov focuses and pays attention to. Leading the team at Laurence Martin Developments, a high-end and luxury residential property development company based in South Africa, Laurence Grigorov looks for inspiration from international design styles. Hotels are at the forefront of interior design trends and are often able to push boundaries and contain high levels of intricate and detailed design features.
Well-heeled travellers who frequent the little slice of paradise on the tip of Baja California Sur--Los Cabos— are acquainted with exactly such a hotel. Since opening late last year, the luxurious Hotel Mar Adentro has been receiving rave reviews. Visitors to the region’s capital, San José del Cabo, often fall for the Mexican town’s stucco, flagstone, and historic charm, but the Mar Adentro’s architect, Miguel Angel Aragonés, eschewed these elements in favour of a hypermodern aesthetic that manages to walk the line between striking and tranquil.
A large reflective pool is the hotel’s centrepiece. The water is crisscrossed with dark stone walkways lined by white-sheeted lounges and holds a unique bird’s-nest–shaped restaurant. The pool is surrounded on three sides by a palatial complex of sharp-angled white volumes, which house a beach club, a spa, an art gallery, several upscale restaurants, a shopping centre, and over 200 guest rooms. These structures seem, per Aragonés’s vision, to float on the water. The design is intended to mimic the infinite linearity of the horizon, and so the fourth side of the pool is left open to a view of the sea. The whole property channels a Venice-by-way-of-Scandinavia vibe, with a touch of Far-East Zen.
Within the otherworldly buildings, cream-colour marble interiors with pale wood accents continue the angular geometry but manage, despite their stark (and almost lugubrious) design, to convey some sense of pastoral Mexican spirit. As such, the mood at the resort remains informal and friendly.
At night, the whole scene is lit in brilliant blues and purples (guest rooms have individual lighting controls permitting illumination in colours across the spectrum), transforming a luxury lodging within a colonial Mexican resort town into a kind of science-fiction dreamscape. Such bold design choices certainly make Aragonés’s latest work one of the most unique hotels south of border.