The big interview: Sarah Hartman, director of interior design, Sandals Resorts

Imagery courtesy of Sandals Resorts Intercontinental.

Sandals Resorts International is very well acknowledged for its luxury beachside attributes in the Caribbean. So what does it take to make the ideal environment for couples to delight in these 5 star escapes?

TOPHOTELNEWS exclusively quizzed Sandals’ director of interior design and style, Sarah Hartman, on how she forges superior close yet reliable areas within her lodge portfolio.

What does your position at Sandals require?

As the director of inside style and design for Sandals Resorts, my function involves designing and furnishing several of the high-class rooms, suites, eating places, spas and other general public areas at the resorts. I immediate the design and style workforce and make selections on styling just about every area, imagining about colour, home furniture style, artwork, smooth furnishings and lots of other characteristics. We always think about how we can assure all visitors have the most deluxe, intimate, and genuine Caribbean working experience.

My function has modified around the years, I started at the company in 1995 as an interior designer, when there ended up only two of us on the group. I worked my way up to exactly where I am now, the place I get to make the the vast majority of choices when it comes to design and furnishing. We now have 20 people working on the structure staff.

Is there a template for interior layout at Sandals or does just about every resort have an unique concept?

Each vacation resort does have its have one of a kind temperament, even so the style is stored steady through the portfolio to preserve the ‘Sandals’ experience. We incorporate delicate tweaks in this article and there to make just about every vacation resort distinctive, for case in point – a commonality between all Sandals resorts is romance. We are often functioning to make guaranteed that the rooms and community areas at every single vacation resort allow for couples to have the most romantic getaway collectively, from placing Tranquility Soaking Tubs for two on a lot of guest patios or balconies to putting big hammocks all around the resort, or non-public out of doors swimming pools in pick suites.

How do you do the job with the architects on every single task to build an total thought?

There are architectural distinctions at every single resort, so the approach is always various relying on the place in the Caribbean we are functioning. Whether or not it’s building a suite, restaurant or spa, it is important to utilise all of the house very well and to offer you friends a combination of luxury, relaxation and romance. We generally concentration on bringing the interior and exterior with each other, to showcase the beauty of each spot and present a accurate Caribbean working experience.

Does Sandals have chosen suppliers?

We have a listing of favored suppliers, having said that it generally is dependent on the architect and what we’re capable to ship to that unique island in the deadline we’ve been specified. We function with the finest doable suppliers with the best quality elements – that has often been very critical to Sandals. We really don’t scrimp on the furnishings and décor, we want to create styles to past that will stand the check of time.

What attributes do you seem for in suppliers that you do the job with?

Trust is really critical to us. The moment we have an opening date for a new resort or a vacation resort refurbishment, we want to know that suppliers will offer us with the resources we require in a great deal of time. We only get the job done with trustworthy suppliers that offer the very best top quality, as our primary concentrate is to deliver a visually lovely thought and a functional, thoughtful knowledge, for top guest pleasure.

Which Sandals challenge are you most proud of so significantly and why?

I’d have to say the brand’s most recent vacation resort, Sandals Royal Curaçao, which opened 1 June. The structure of the resort is much extra European-feeling than our other attributes, as the place utilised to be component of the Dutch Antilles, so it even now has a great deal of that affect. The interiors compliment this – I went for a very present day, light and ethereal feel with heaps of mild wood, pastel colors and tropical print wallpaper. The furnishings are mild-coloured, featuring materials like wicker, bamboo, marble and gold-plating to hold the guest bedrooms hunting roomy and contemporary. We extra vegetation inside of and outside the suites to provide in some greenery which is something we began accomplishing with the Tranquillity Selection of suites at Sandals Royal Barbados past yr.

What is the most important interior design and style obstacle you’ve prevail over?

World-wide shipping and delivery delays have been challenging as most design schemes are based on unique objects, some of which were more challenging to supply during the pandemic. I also work tricky to assure that every form of visitor home and suite delivers a special expertise, which can be hard with such a big portfolio of resorts. Nonetheless, I welcome each individual new resort design and style as a favourable problem and get pleasure from obtaining new methods to insert touches of character to each and every a person.

How would you sum up your layout philosophy?

My layout philosophy can be summed up in a couple words and phrases – luxury, romance and Caribbean interesting. This aligns with the Sandals brand name and are the themes we prioritise and concentration on when building a vacation resort.

What interior design and style tendencies are proving popular at the instant for Sandals?

Innovation is a significant development – friends are wanting additional from their getaway encounter than at any time just before and are continuously wanting for one thing exceptional. Our target is normally to enrich the guest knowledge via design and style. The two-stage infinity pool at the recently-opened Sandals Royal Curaçao is a characteristic that we consider friends will truly adore, along with the resort’s model-new Kurason Island Poolside Butler Bungalow Suites which are fantastically arranged all-around a heart-formed pool. Artwork is also a well known craze. So as not to detract from the photo-great views at just about every resort, we intention to retain artwork in the rooms and suites to a bare minimum, with specifically chosen parts.

Can you give us any hints as to the place Sandals is on the lookout at for impending hotel developments?

There are strategies for two new Sandals Resorts in Jamaica (Sandals Dunn’s River and Sandals Royal Dunn’s River), as perfectly as new Beach locations Resorts prepared for Jamaica and St Vincent. Sandals Resorts Worldwide lately declared ideas for an enjoyable development at two of the existing Sandals resorts in St Lucia – Sandals Halcyon Seaside and Sandals Regency La Toc. The govt team also recently built an exploratory visit to the Dominican Republic, soon after currently being invited by the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic in Jamaica.