The Royal Hotel Pays Homage to its Storied Past

Sep 23, 2024 By Laura Botham

Rural Ontario meets British finery with a design that will transport you through the ages

By Laura Botham Sep 23, 2024

Published in Articles

A waterlogged former hotel, Victorian-era influences, and decay aren’t necessarily the first things that come to mind when thinking of modern hospitality design inspiration—but Giannone Petricone Associates’ refined approach results in a playful and elevated space: The Royal Hotel, a 2024 IIDA Interior Design Competition winner in the hotel category.

The 19th-century building in Picton, Ontario, has had past lives as a mercantile business, upscale hotel, venue, and dancehall—a place for both travelers and the local community to gather, drink, and socialize. When Greg Sorbara—former Ontario finance minister, Toronto real estate developer, and whose family owns the nearby Edwin County Farms—bought the building in 2013, his goal was to preserve the town’s history while returning the hotel to its previous grandeur and purpose. Enter Ralph Giannone and Pina Petricone of Toronto-based Giannone Petricone Associates.

Upon acquisition, the building was in such a state of ruin that rooms were carpeted in moss and interiors were crumbling, almost appearing to have been submerged underwater, but there were still traces of fixtures, wallcoverings, and other design elements—some original. “The main challenge was to create an architecture that is transporting while still rooted in the local rural context,” says the firm. The result is a 31,000 square-foot hotel considers to its past, its present, and future, with details that are almost apparitional in their whimsy.

Paying homage to—and abstracting—the hotel’s Victorian roots, the design also honors the region’s agricultural importance—in fact, much of their food is from the local Sorbara-owned Edwin County Farms—and its history as a mercantile building. The contrast between British tradition and the informality of rural Ontario offers varied surfaces, treatments, and materials, while one of the foundational design concepts, “petrified” Victorian textiles” are woven through the hotel in unexpected ways, from tartan-patterned mosaics to an linen cloth unfurling around the parlor fireplace. Another glimpse into the past, The Royal Annex, is the rebuilt horse stable that now houses five suites.

The Royal Hotel historic facade. Image courtesy of The Royal Hotel

Amenities like the spa, gym, boardrooms, meeting rooms provide a draw in the winter seasons of the burgeoning food and wine region—and the streetside café, four bars, and fine dining make for hospitality options that don’t only depend on tourism. This award-winning project serves as a benchmark for future heritage conservation efforts in the area.

The dilapidated rooms contained layers of wallcoverings and bright paint marking the building’s storied history.

Photo by Greg Pacek

The dilapidated rooms contained layers of wallcoverings and bright paint marking the building’s storied history.

Photo by Greg Pacek

Moss covered the floors of the decaying rooms to the extent that, in some spots, it looked like carpet.

Photo by Greg Pacek

Moss covered the floors of the decaying rooms to the extent that, in some spots, it looked like carpet.

Photo by Greg Pacek

The water-damaged grand staircase was in a shockingly deep state of disrepair.

Photo by Greg Pacek

The water-damaged grand staircase was in a shockingly deep state of disrepair.

Photo by Greg Pacek

The crumbling interiors reflect decades of neglect, but contained some original elements.

Photo by Greg Pacek

The crumbling interiors reflect decades of neglect, but contained some original elements.

Photo by Greg Pacek

The ten-year project began with salvaging and restoring three of the hotel’s brick walls, opening the rear of the building, adding terraces, and bringing more light in. Reconfiguring the space into 28 guest rooms came next, working in amenities and hospitality spaces including a garden terrace, bars, and a swimming pool. The street-level spaces are designed for flexibility—filled with sunlight during the day, yet moody and dim in the evening—places to gather and meet at any time, and open not only to guests, but to the public as well.

The reception area features a tufted reception desk backed by shelving that evoke studs stripped of drywall providing a sense of active transformation, and an off-center “carpet” of mosaic tiles which lend an informality to the space

Photo by Doublespace

The reception area, lined in slot seam leather wall panels, seamlessly blends into the street side café, blending the guest and public spaces.

Photo by Doublespace

The reception area, lined in slot seam leather wall panels, seamlessly blends into the street side café, blending the guest and public spaces.

Photo by Doublespace

The coffee bar features a fluted marble counter, and the wood fin motif continues, delaminating from the wall and around the bar.

Photo by Greydon Herriott

The coffee bar features a fluted marble counter, and the wood fin motif continues, delaminating from the wall and around the bar.

Photo by Greydon Herriott

The floor-level parlor contains a plaster fireplace surround that conjures the unfurling of a fresh white table linen—one of the many instances of “petrified” textiles throughout the spaces.

Photo by Doublespace

The floor-level parlor contains a plaster fireplace surround that conjures the unfurling of a fresh white table linen—one of the many instances of “petrified” textiles throughout the spaces.

Photo by Doublespace

To open the low ceilings inherited from the original structure, the design team reimagined an original ceiling rosette as a “mushroom cap” constructed of acoustic-board fins, and accented by “dew drops” of custom ceramic pendants that call back to the quintessential Victorian ceiling lantern. The final result invokes a dreamy atmosphere that conjures evenings spent in dancehalls of the past. The restaurant opens to a four-season patio with retractable walls, a garden terrace, and beyond that a pool flanked by lounge chairs for the summer months.

The centerpiece of the restaurant is the “dew-dropped mushroom cap,” a stand-in for the quintessential Victorian ceiling lantern and rosette.

Photo by Graydon Herriott

The centerpiece of the restaurant is the “dew-dropped mushroom cap,” a stand-in for the quintessential Victorian ceiling lantern and rosette.

Photo by Graydon Herriott

A proscenium arch of oak, glazed tile, and heavy drapes frame the open kitchen, positioning the chefs as performers and the kitchen as the stage where they create show-stopping farm-to-table cuisine.

Photo by Doublespace

A proscenium arch of oak, glazed tile, and heavy drapes frame the open kitchen, positioning the chefs as performers and the kitchen as the stage where they create show-stopping farm-to-table cuisine.

Photo by Doublespace

The four-season patio opens to the garden terrace, which features a vintage RV bar and lounge seating options.

Photo by Jeff McNeill

The four-season patio opens to the garden terrace, which features a vintage RV bar and lounge seating options.

Photo by Jeff McNeill

Surrounded by a redbrick garden wall, the garden terrace features an intimate 10-person table complete with a fireplace and covered by a pergola—through the perforated gate lies the pool.

Photo by Doublespace

Surrounded by a redbrick garden wall, the garden terrace features an intimate 10-person table complete with a fireplace and covered by a pergola—through the perforated gate lies the pool.

Photo by Doublespace

Throughout the hotel, lights, air vents, and columns pierce the ceilings in a ripple effect, like pebbles being dropped on water—a clever nod to the building’s “previously submerged” appearance. The plaster ripples replace traditional Victorian ceiling rosettes. The repeating motif of “petrified textiles” also appears in tartan-patterned mosaic, inlaid tile “rugs,” varying hardwood floor patterning, textured walls, and headboards whose design takes the form of squared-off embroidery hoops.

In the guest room bathrooms, white scalloped vanities evoke a bowl sitting on a tablecloth, and tartan-patterned mosaics draw upon the formal history of the hotel, while embodying the “petrified” textile motif.

Photo by Doublespace

The guest rooms feature headboards that are designed to resemble an embroidery hoop, complete with cross-stitched details.

Photo by Doublespace

The guest rooms feature headboards that are designed to resemble an embroidery hoop, complete with cross-stitched details.

Photo by Doublespace

The Empire Suite incorporates a fumed-oak wall reminiscent of a Victorian–era dressing screen, tartan-patterned tile floors, and a ceiling rosette interpreted as a water ripple.

Photo by Doublespace

The Empire Suite incorporates a fumed-oak wall reminiscent of a Victorian–era dressing screen, tartan-patterned tile floors, and a ceiling rosette interpreted as a water ripple.

Photo by Doublespace

The cozy library features ripple-like ceiling rosettes and dark tambour paneling resembling corduroy—with the fireplace surround invoking a rustic feel.

Photo by Doublespace

The cozy library features ripple-like ceiling rosettes and dark tambour paneling resembling corduroy—with the fireplace surround invoking a rustic feel.

Photo by Doublespace

The design of Royal Hotel, while drawing from different eras and varied inspirations, is unified through details that encapsulate the essence of lives lived within the building’s walls over its two-century life.