The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, September 2015… In celebration of its 15th anniversary this month, Willows Lodge, a Benchmark Personal Luxury Hotel and a favorite Pacific Northwest retreat in the heart of Woodinville Wine Country near Seattle, announced the completion of an extensive refresh to the property, which included all guest rooms, meeting space and the lobby. While multiple updates have been made to Willows since opening in 2000, including a significant redesign and expansion of the hotel's Fireside Lounge, the most current also counts as its most comprehensive.
“When Willows Lodge opened its doors in 2000, there were eight wineries and tasting rooms in Woodinville Wine Country – today there are more than 100,” said Denny Fitzpatrick, general manager. “Willows Lodge has always been regarded as our destination’s living room, both for guests and our local winemakers and artisans. It was time for a property refresh in order to reflect a new and evolving guest experience.”
Spearheaded by the design team at Weber Thompson in Seattle, the project launched a new "modern lodge" concept at Willows Lodge, layering a variety of textures and materials to provide juxtaposition and tell an interesting story, such as the reclaimed-wood and metal furniture made by local artisans Meyer Wells and NK Build. Overall, the hotel's color palette was updated to warm neutrals, such as buttery caramels and rich wine tones, inspired by the existing, beautifully distressed concrete floors and the hues of Washington wine country. Neutral fabrics with bold, highly textured accent fabrics create a luxurious, modern aesthetic.
Specifically, the Lobby enjoyed the addition of varying scales of seating and lighting, which created a more dynamic and inviting entrance for guests and visitors to the Lodge. A sculptural timber floor lamp and high-back chairs, all made in the U.S., now sit on a custom hand-tufted wool rug, featuring a willow reed pattern. The adjacent Fireside Lounge, which was expanded just prior to the 2013 summer season, now offers guests sculptural high-back seating areas, paired with movable ottomans, which creates a more casual flexible seating space that invites guests to relax in comfort and exudes the approachable elegance for which Willows is known.
The color palette of Woodinville Wine Country was continued into the guest rooms. While entries were painted in a warm, neutral shade in order to set the mood and create a sense of arrival, each room also received an accent wall behind the headboard in a deep wine hue. The intention was to create drama and to help the existing hand-blown gold glass pendants to stand out. Ceiling and wall colors are now lighter and more subdued, creating a bright airiness.
Rather than bed skirts, the guest rooms now feature tailored bed wraps that provide a crisp and clean look and feature a luxurious abstract branch pattern that fully embodies the modern lodge concept. Each room also received a new chair and matching ottoman, as well as color-blocked drapery paired with large-scale patterned sheers to allow guests more control over natural light levels while providing additional privacy.
All meeting space at Willows Lodge was also updated significantly. The pre-function area to the Sammamish Ballroom received a new rug and wall sconces as connective threads into the larger ballroom space, which received an overall refresh of new finishes, furnishings and improved lighting. A dramatic custom broadloom carpet, featuring the same palette of warm neutrals and rich wine tones as the lobby, enhances the scale of the room and adds drama to the space. Walls received a shimmery covering with a subtle organic branch pattern, to help to reflect and bounce light more deeply into the room, and the ceiling was painted a lighter shade, making it feel larger and more airy.
The Burke Room, which also acts as the bridal room for weddings, added a shimmery, reflective wall covering (similar to the ballroom's), which bounces light and will result in better photographs for the bride. Other luxurious additions include a modern three-panel wall mirror, as well as sconces and large bronze mesh drum lights to improve the overall lighting and glow. The Gilman Room received new ceiling lights and wall sconces to add glow and sparkle, new paint pigment to draw in more light, and new carpet in a large willow-inspired pattern in order to freshen and modernize the space.
