The g, Galway
In November 2005 Edward Holdings’ subsidiary the Monogram Hotel Group opened its flagship property ‘the g’ at Wellpark in Galway.
The property has received national and international critical acclaim for its daring interiors, the design of which was directed by the renowned celebrity milliner and Galway native Philip Treacy. Working in conjunction with the architects Douglas Wallace, Treacy fulfilled his role with aplomb and imagination raising the bar for and turning traditional hotel design on its head.
‘The g’ is a 103 bedroom five star property, situated on the outskirts of Galway city with views over Lough Atalia – an inlet of Galway Bay. The hotel also boasts the exclusive ‘ESPA at the g’, designed by leading spa consultants E’SPA.
The Place Bar is all geometric minimalism in red, white and black - designed for late-night posing, people watching and smooching. Red Swarovski crystals in the marble floor and mirror paneled walls contribute a dash of downright glamour to the mix, in line with the effect created by design director Philip Treacy throughout the hotel.
Philip Treacy, has fused a diversity of styles and hand-picked artwork, mirrors and lighting to add to the hotel’s eclectic and heady atmosphere. “I want to entertain and surprise,” he says. “As well as to delight”.
The bar is to the right of the art-deco influenced reception area, dark and intimate with black glass walls and a black Venetian plaster ceiling. Guests and visitors entering the hotel are immediately transported to another world, one which evokes not only old-fashioned Hollywood glamour but also the hotel’s location near the romantic Galway coast. A tank of Connemara-bred seahorses graces one wall, and the concierge desk is a sculpture created by Philip Treacy and shaped like a seashell – covered in white Venetian plaster.
Glancing left as they arrive in the hotel guests enjoy the full impact of the suite of public rooms that lead from reception – independent spaces that flow into each other, linked by a raspberry carpeted catwalk. First is the double-height Grand Salon, with its dramatic Tom Dixon light installation. The room’s oyster and silver tones make the most of the light that pours in through the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Lough Atalia, and thousands of Swarovski crystals filling the perspex occasional tables dance as they catch the light.
The Ladies Salon in strong pink is destined to become the g’s ‘signature’ room. With its Andy Warhol camouflage print fabric-covered chairs and black-and-white vortex hand woven carpet, it retains a feel of 1940s and 50s glamour but with a distinctly contemporary twist.
Two more masculine rooms – the Gentlemen’s Lounge and Cocktail Bar – follow, featuring deep blue walls framed with golden doorways and with purple and tan velvet furniture from Andrew Martin and Minotti.
Finally, the hotel’s restaurant – Santini at the g – continues the seashell theme, with banquettes in purple velvet designed to cocoon and envelop, and jewel-coloured Andrew Martin chairs. The restaurant, which seats 70, will be managed by Laura Santin of the well-established Santini Restaurant in London’s Belgravia, and Laura has created a menu drawing from the ‘best seller’ list of her family’s establishment, combined with some international favourites for experienced travellers.
If the g hotel’s public rooms greet guests with a wildly glamorous shock to the visual senses, the 103 guestrooms are havens of intimacy and sensuality. Entered from darkly seductive corridors with catwalk lighting, the rooms’ clever use of mirrors encourages the play of light on luxurious linen and silks in oyster and gold, with seashell motif upholstery fabric and light-fittings that could only have been designed by Philip Treacy. The bathrooms are in fossiled Jura limestone, with double showers in all suites and bathroom products by Etro – exclusively made in Milan for the g.
After months of preparation, Micheal Cunningham, the g’s general manager, is looking forward to ‘g’ day next week. “Guest and visitors to the g are already anticipating a extraordinary hotel experience,” he said. “Philip’s work will ensure that the g will appeal to the movie star in all of us. It is now the turn of service to take centre stage, and we are confident that standards at the g will ensure a truly five star experience.”
It is no surprise therefore that publications such as the Sunday Times, Vogue, Wallpaper, Sleeper and Travel + Leisure have all flocked to Galway in order to showcase the extraordinary interiors and five star service that have already made the G a byword for luxury in Ireland.