Exclusive designs for an exclusive hotel
It accompanies train passengers in the legendary Venice Simplon Orient Express through Europe South America and Asia, spoils guests at the luxury hotels Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi and Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam or gives the Qatar National Convention Center a stylish touch high-quality, exclusively designed crockery from Villeroy & Boch. These exemplary references are now supplemented by a further renowned luxury class establishment: The Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem Hotel.
The Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem Hotel, which opened in April 2014, belongs to a chain of luxury hotels owned by the Hilton Group, whose name goes back to Johann Jakob Astor, an ancestor of the founders, who was born in Walldorf, Baden (Germany) and later became the richest man of his time in America. Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts now comprises 25 hotels at exceptional destinations, which stand for classy ambience, luxurious facilities and first-class service. All establishments connect the culture and history of their locations with the tradition of Waldorf Astoria and invigorate them with fresh and modern accents.
The Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem Hotel, located in the heart of Jerusalem, has ten floors with 226 luxury rooms and suits, two gourmet restaurants, a bar and a tea lounge, swimming baths, fitness rooms, spa and sauna, as well as nine conference rooms and a banquet hall for 800 people. The 80 year old, extensively restored facade combines stylistic elements of Greco-Roman, Gothic and Ottoman architecture.
Tailor-made decors for the different restaurants and dishes. Inspired by the elaborate stonemasonry of the column decoration and the historic facade of the hotel, the Hotel & Restaurant Division at Villeroy & Boch created six different, exclusive decors in a sober and historic colour scheme. The basis is formed by the round shape of the Stella premium collection using finest Premium Bone porcelain, which looks particularly delicate and classy. The crockery is suitable for occasions ranging from breakfast to dinner, from lunch to coffee or tea and provides the fitting stage for ambitious gourmet ideas.
However, the decors not only had to impress with regard to aesthetics and functionality, but also had to conform with Jewish food laws and kosher serving traditions. They strictly forbid eating dairy products and meat dishes at the same time. The regulation concerning the strict separation of meat and dairy products also applies to the crockery used for serving them.
Bearing this in mind, different crockery decors were developed in soft shades of Beige, Blue, Green and Yellow: For dairy products there is a Blue-Beige decor with delicate ornaments. The decor for meat dishes combines Beige stripes with a Beige filet. A decor was developed for the tea lounge, which transforms the colours Green, Beige and Taupe into delicate decorations. In addition, there is a crockery set with a White relief structure and Green filet, which is used for dairy products in the banquet hall, and serving platters with a “snail decor”.
Pessach (Passover) is one of the most important Jewish celebrations, which is celebrated around Easter. During this time, the hotel’s entire crockery is cleaned and special Pessach crockery is used. With the decor in Green-Beige for meat dishes and Blue Beige for dairy products, crockery was developed which is easily distinguishable in accordance with kosher serving traditions.
After a project phase exceeding two years, in which Guy Klaiman, General Manager of Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem, came to Luxembourg three times to harmonise the product selection and decor variants, 120,000 crockery items were delivered to Israel in January 2015. Burkhard Schmidt, Head of the Hotel & Restaurant Division, emphasises: “Major orders like this which place the highest demands on our special design raise the prestige of our brand and at the same time boost our growth.”
by Andrea Gonzalez
posted 05/21/15
