Focus on aspects that break tradition, instill surprise

“The St Regis KL boasts one of the world’s largest hotel rooms with each standard room at 63 sqm, and a world’s first in hotel, which is a Grand Ballroom fitted with seamless panels of LED screens. This digital canvas offers a completely immersive virtual experience, establishing that the hotel has revolutionised lifestyles and raised the benchmark of Malaysian real estate. Grand ideas give birth to the curating of lifestyles and art, and with The St Regis Kuala Lumpur, we broke the mould of traditional hotels.”

Being owner of a global, 6-star hotel brand, is not always glamorous

“The essence of a beautifully curated hotel starts from design: From establishing the lifestyle or experience you are seeking to create, and understanding operations, down to the careful consideration of monumental art, furniture and finishes. All these require a lot of hard work, determination and dedication, with an unrelenting pursuit for excellence. It is not always glamorous, as it involves a lot of blood, sweat and tears.”

Read also: Behind The Canvas: The Art At The St Regis KL

 

@stregiskl Grand Ballroom features a LED Digital Canvas / seamless projection screen system. Realize any creative concepts or themes or add an edge to your event with 3D immersive reality. The possibilities are endless. #stregiskl #digitalcanvas #seamlessprojection #realizeyourdreams #themes #3D #immersivereality #grandballroom #stregisklgrandballroom #artistry #artistatwork #weddings #endlesspossibilities #seamlessprojection #audiovisual #effect #audiovisualeffect #technology #visualsoflife #screens #led #digitalart #digital #architecture #architecturalphotography

A post shared by Carmen Chua (@chua.carmen) on Jan 3, 2017 at 6:20am PST

Be prepared for the realities of a property developer

“Throughout the 8 years working on The St Regis KL, a majority of time was spent climbing scaffolding and stairs (before lifts were installed), construction site inspections, travelling to stone quarries to select marble, redoing walls if they compromised on quality. My office moved to the basement of the construction site, and I was always covered in dust at the end of the day. Many remember me in my uniform of a hard hat, The St Regis T-shirt, jeans and sneakers.”

Creating an artistic experience resonating with the brand

“We curated The St Regis KL experience with specially commissioned art pieces of a synonymous cultural experience – Mark Evans’ hand-etched leather ‘Grace Thunders’, Barnaby Hosking’s ‘Birds and Butterflies’ (inspired by the species that live in the bird and butterfly park in Lake Gardens adjacent to the hotel) and the monumental 2.5-tonned ‘Horse’ sculpture by Fernando Botero, which is the largest sculpture he’s ever made. A friend’s quote best summed up how The St Regis KL in itself was a piece of art – ‘Michelangelo took 4 years to complete the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Your hotel took 8.’”

Read also: Behind The Scenes: Carmen And Carmey Chua

 Finally, craft sensational guest experiences through dining

"A dimension in which we continue to curate guest experiences at The St Regis KL involves elevating the local dining scene with superstar chefs, such as 3-Michelin starred Saito-san at Taka by Sushi Saito, as well as with visiting guest chefs. The next in the guest chef dining series ‘Where Culinary Art Meets Fine Art’ takes inspiration from the hotel's 3 specially commissioned art pieces in the dining journey with Chef Pere Planaguma at The Brasserie this January 19-21."