Excerpt: Aquahouse Hotel & SPA, an addition to the oldest resort in Bulgaria, St. Constantine and Helena, designed by STARH, aims to serve as a neutral background to the mesmerizing softscape that is inspired by the natural context. The interior of the hotel is designed in a similar light and relaxed manner – plenty of air and vast spaces in earth tones.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] Situated in the oldest resort in Bulgaria, St. Constantine and Helena, Aquahouse Hotel & SPA is the newest addition within the area. With a location of just 10km from the city of Varna, it becomes one of the largest spa hotels on the Black Sea coast and the only one in the country owning an independent public SPA facility nearby – Aquahouse Thermal & Beach.
The resort is well known for its rich and dense greenery areas, some species of which are brought in from France at the time of its establishment in 1908. Inside the plot area of the hotel, there are dozens of black pine trees that are taken into account while planning the master plan. Initially, there were existing old hotels and restaurants that were later demolished, and the building footprint is within the same margins, keeping almost all existing trees.
Inspired by the natural context itself, the design of the hotel aimed to serve as a neutral background to the mesmerizing pine trees. Soft sand tones are used all over the volume in order to achieve a single unified look from plaster and limestone. The minimal look with classical elements is accompanied by the design’s most eye-catching feature, the flattened arch. Repeated all over the façades, it is a reference to the natural sea arches that surround the water underneath, in the same way as every arch in the hotel surrounds the maximized glazing of the room behind.
Having a cosy SPA on level -1 and 5 outdoor pools, together Aquahouse Hotel & SPA and Aquahouse Thermal & Beach can offer their guests all-year access to hot mineral water from one of the total seven natural sources in the resort. A total of 420 rooms and apartments, several restaurants, a pool bar, a steak house and a conference room are available to the guest. The interior of the hotel is designed in a similar light and relaxed manner – plenty of air and vast spaces in earth tones.
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