Imagine your suite evoking memories of the stately Broadmoor Resort or the lush, sun-drenched Sea Island Salt Marsh, two of America's famed land-based resorts. Actually it's not necessary imagine. Windstar was inspired to create suite accommodations on several of its ships (and more coming soon) to mirror the resorts of Windstar's sister companies in Colorado and Georgia.
“Why be ordinary?” said Stijn Creupelandt, chief operating officer of Windstar, adding that the classic suites on every ship are already in need of renovation. “There are a lot of hotels building cruise ships, but not a lot of cruise ships that can theme their suites around the existing hotel portfolio.”
Broadmoor at Sea and Sea Island at Sea are currently available on Windstar's 312-passenger Star Legend, Star Pride and Star Breeze and its Sail Class ship Wind Surf. He told us they were popular. “Guests love the cozy feel and how they are different from any suite they have seen on a cruise ship,” noting that the program was recently awarded the Best Suite Design Award on a Small Ship by Cruise Line Interiors (CSI). “Guests from the Islands and Broadmoor who travel with Windstar are grateful for the recognition from their favorite hotel. It's comforting to be reminded of their happy place.”
create atmosphere
Liz Schneider of Seattle-based Liz Schneider Interiors, who worked with Creupelandt and Windstar on the project, provides a backstory.
“We created the Broadmoor at Sea around a concept to celebrate the legacy of the Penrose family (the property's founders) in the American West,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “In the early 1900s, Spencer and Julie Penrose were philanthropists in the American West. Their vision was to build a dream hotel in Colorado Springs. Inspired by their own ship voyages to Europe, Spencer and Julie decorated the Broadmoor resort in the same manner as the colors, patterns, gilding and ornate furnishings they discovered on their adventures.
“In Suite 500, you'll find, of course, archival photos of the resort in gilded gold frames, celebrating its rich heritage. In addition, we redesigned the Broadmoor's own suite carpet design,” continued Schneider. “Next, we curated a range of bespoke fabrics and paint colors and designed a wall covering inspired by Julie Penrose’s signature bougainvillea paper that adorns the walls of Broadmoor.”
Yes, of course, there are challenges!
Creating lovely interior spaces at a resort is one thing; Creupelandt tells us that cruise line designers must comply with a host of other maritime regulations. It's not as simple as sneaking into a storage room on the island or Broadmoor and picking up a few rolls of wallpaper.
He told us regulatory requirements apply to every inch of the cruise ship.
“Regulations deal with flame retardancy and apply to foam, wallpaper used on furniture, cushions, pillows and chairs, and even the carpet itself.” For this project, for example, Broadmoor “approved us to replicate Maritime Decoration Broadmoor’s carpets and wallpaper, and then we re-manufacture them to the maritime specifications we need to follow.”
Passengers will never know the difference.
