Bill Bensley's latest resort project is on the site of a former university
For his latest Southeast Asian resort project, designer Bill Bensley has taken inspiration from an unlikely combination of themes: the work of pioneering French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the importance of higher education, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland – and mushrooms.
Bensley’s typically whimsical design touches feature throughout the JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay resort in the south of Vietnam – a project the designer has described as “perhaps my best”.
The luxury 243-room property is in the grounds of the 19th-century Lamarck University. The eponymous founder built the university to further the study of the natural world. The large complex is formed of many small, one- and two-storey buildings centred around a main street.
The buildings – which have not been used since 1943 – have been transformed into the hotel’s suites and villas, where, Bensley says, “every guest feels as though they’re in their own boutique, departmentalised hotel.”
“The key idea is to break down the scale of a large hotel into a series of smaller ones,” he told CLAD. “The idea of re-inhabiting, reusing and reinventing an old university is a cool one, in that almost everyone loved their days in college. It was one’s heyday, and to be able to re-live part of that joy on vacation, on a pristine beach, well, that is just totally a new experience.”
The design concept is focused on the process of learning and discovery and the influence of Lamarck – who laid the groundwork for Darwin’s theory of evolution. Hand-painted walls depict flora and fauna, sculptures of animals are present in the buildings, and objects preserved from the university can be seen throughout the hotel.
“In this very competitive world of hospitality design it’s paramount that everything we do is original,” said Bensley. “Creating layers and layers of stories that our guests can live seems a clear way forward.”
A key component of the resort is the Spa Chanterelle, with six couple’s treatment rooms, a body treatment suite, a hair salon and steamrooms and saunas. Located in the university’s old physical education department, the design is inspired by mushrooms – which Vietnam’s French colonists believed have therapeutic properties, and which residents of Phu Quoc traditionally foraged from the jungle.
Mushroom shapes are found in the furnishings and stencilled artwork on the walls, and botanical illustrations adorn the ceilings, adding a surreal quality. References from Alice in Wonderland also feature heavily. In one corridor, asymmetric arches curve at angles to create a layering effect, echoing Alice's fall down the rabbit hole.
“Mushrooms provide a historically correct fantasy element that seemed to be a perfect match for this spa,” Bensley said. “I’ve collected some 20 samples of dried, foraged mushrooms and these are on display at the entry to the spa and in a turn-of-the-century French shop cabinet. Unique touches like that are important. To coax guests from the comfort of their rooms, the spa has to be even more enchanting.
“The references to Alice in Wonderland are there because the book was published in 1865, the year the university was inaugurated.”
Bill Bensley's latest resort project is on the site of a former university
For his latest Southeast Asian resort project, designer Bill Bensley has taken inspiration from an unlikely combination of themes: the work of pioneering French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the importance of higher education, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland – and mushrooms.
Bensley’s typically whimsical design touches feature throughout the JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay resort in the south of Vietnam – a project the designer has described as “perhaps my best”.
The luxury 243-room property is in the grounds of the 19th-century Lamarck University. The eponymous founder built the university to further the study of the natural world. The large complex is formed of many small, one- and two-storey buildings centred around a main street.
The buildings – which have not been used since 1943 – have been transformed into the hotel’s suites and villas, where, Bensley says, “every guest feels as though they’re in their own boutique, departmentalised hotel.”
“The key idea is to break down the scale of a large hotel into a series of smaller ones,” he told CLAD. “The idea of re-inhabiting, reusing and reinventing an old university is a cool one, in that almost everyone loved their days in college. It was one’s heyday, and to be able to re-live part of that joy on vacation, on a pristine beach, well, that is just totally a new experience.”
The design concept is focused on the process of learning and discovery and the influence of Lamarck – who laid the groundwork for Darwin’s theory of evolution. Hand-painted walls depict flora and fauna, sculptures of animals are present in the buildings, and objects preserved from the university can be seen throughout the hotel.
“In this very competitive world of hospitality design it’s paramount that everything we do is original,” said Bensley. “Creating layers and layers of stories that our guests can live seems a clear way forward.”
A key component of the resort is the Spa Chanterelle, with six couple’s treatment rooms, a body treatment suite, a hair salon and steamrooms and saunas. Located in the university’s old physical education department, the design is inspired by mushrooms – which Vietnam’s French colonists believed have therapeutic properties, and which residents of Phu Quoc traditionally foraged from the jungle.
Mushroom shapes are found in the furnishings and stencilled artwork on the walls, and botanical illustrations adorn the ceilings, adding a surreal quality. References from Alice in Wonderland also feature heavily. In one corridor, asymmetric arches curve at angles to create a layering effect, echoing Alice's fall down the rabbit hole.
“Mushrooms provide a historically correct fantasy element that seemed to be a perfect match for this spa,” Bensley said. “I’ve collected some 20 samples of dried, foraged mushrooms and these are on display at the entry to the spa and in a turn-of-the-century French shop cabinet. Unique touches like that are important. To coax guests from the comfort of their rooms, the spa has to be even more enchanting.
“The references to Alice in Wonderland are there because the book was published in 1865, the year the university was inaugurated.”
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
+ More news
COMPANY PROFILES
TechnoAlpin Indoor TechnoAlpin is the world leader for snowmaking systems. With the Indoor snow division, TechnoAlpin c [more...]
instantprint We’re a Yorkshire-based online printer, founded
in 2009 by Adam Carnell and James Kinsella. [more...]
Taylor Made Designs Founded in 1993, Taylor Made
Designs supply corporate clothing
and brand-enhancing merchandise
to [more...]
Simworx Ltd The company was initially established
in 1997. Terry Monkton and Andrew
Roberts are the key stakeh [more...]
