DALLAS— When the 146-room Hotel ZaZa opened its doors here earlier this year, the guestrooms and baths far exceeded guests’ expectations, according to Kimberly Miller, principal/CEO of Duncan & Miller Design, which handled the interior design of the boutique property. “The rooms have a nice, luxury quality. That quality is in everything you touch and feel, yet it’s not overdone or intimidating,” Miller said. When the guest bathrooms were designed, the idea was to convey a feeling of European luxury that was also residential, she said. “But most important was having guests feel the bath was clean, efficient and soothing, and that it would work for them.” The color palette of the bathroom is neutral, as “it’s meant to be a place to escape,” Miller said. “And there is a bit of spa quality in it with the design and materials. Many of the rooms have oversized showers with a marble seat and a powerful showerhead with massage qualities,” she said. The “power shower” offers a seven-gallon-a-minute deluge compared to the usual two-and-a-half gallons per minute, according to Tim McEneny, gm of the property. The number of fixtures in the bathroom varies from three (shower, sink and toilet) in the standard guest bath to five in some suites, which are equipped with two sinks, a spa tub, shower and toilet. With the lighting, which is all incandescent, the aim was for a “restful” look, Miller said. “We felt it was important to have lighting from above and from the sides, so there is a down light over the vanity, sconces on either side of the mirror and framed art with a low voltage spot.” The mirrors are large, and in some cases, stretch the width of the bathroom, Miller said. The wall coverings in the guest baths are custom vinyl and the floors are natural stone. The bathrooms offer thick Frette towels; a silky ZaZa embroidered signature robe; and Mario Russo olive-based bath amenities in two-ounce sizes. Miller and McEneny said that the bathrooms have some unique features. One very different element is an “art window” imbedded in the wall of the shower with the guestroom on the other side. “Each window has a frosted piece of glass with an etched quote from a famous person like Winston Churchill,” Miller said. The window gives the shower more light, she added, and it also allows the silhouette of the person in the shower to be seen in the guestroom. “It’s very sensual,” McEneny said. The design of the vanities is also unique, according to Miller. “They have a marble top and instead of the typical apron there is a wood vanity base with cubby holes for the guest’s personal amenities and extra towels. This helps to get rid of the clutter on top of the vanity,” she said. The vanities are oversized for guests’ convenience, McEneny added, and their tops are dark brown to complement the beige and cream color scheme of the bathroom. Hotel ZaZa has 13 “concept” suites that are “very, very unique,” Miller said. “Each suite has a different theme which is carried into the bathroom.” The Zen Suite, for example, has a whirlpool spa tub overlooking the skyline of Dallas along with a meditation chair and Zen sand garden. “The shower floor has smooth white pebbles so the guest gets a foot massage and the vanity has white pebbles on top,” Miller said. Then there is the Erotica Suite with a soak tub that opens to the room plus a lush bed and tactile fabrics including velvets, furs and silk. “There is so much interest in the guestrooms and baths, guests are loving it. The whole idea is to have a great experience and that is what they’re finding at Hotel ZaZa,” Miller said.
