Santa Monica, California, USA
Montalba Architects’ renovation of the Nobu Palo Alto, inspired by the quintessential aesthetics of the Nobu brand, is a multi-million dollar project aimed to enhance the hotel’s design and amenities, aligning them with the sophisticated and luxurious standards associated with the brand.
The renovation likely includes upgrades to the interior spaces, such as guest rooms, lobby areas, and dining facilities, as well as the addition of new features or amenities to elevate the overall guest experience.
The Nobu Palo Alto Hotel has been awarded a 2023 American Architecture Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture, Design, and Urban Studies.
The accommodations include five suites designed in soothing tones and natural materials such as white oak paneling, teak accents, and crema marfil marble stone, which create a peaceful Japanese-Californian aesthetic.
The Nobu Palo Alto Hotel is intended to express a subtlety of contrasts in its urban setting.
It inverts the relationship to the City, with the entire ground floor dedicated to serving public patrons.
Materials played a key role in unifying but creating distinct guest experiences between the ground floor dining and gathering spaces and the Hotel areas above.
The space draws on signature Nobu design elements combined with traditional Japanese materials and an open environment to engage the street front.
The ground floor restaurant and lounge is layered with warm wood wainscoting, flooring, and furniture, while back-lit from rice-paper glass walls.
For the Hotel reception and guestrooms, this relationship to light and dark is inverted; light marble flooring, bleached white oak paneling, and grasscloth wall covering contrast moments of rich bronze and teak details.
Nobu’s garden serves as a tranquil retreat for guests, providing a serene environment amidst the bustling city surroundings.
The design incorporates elements of traditional Japanese landscaping, including carefully curated vegetation, water features, and Zen-inspired elements, creating a peaceful and harmonious ambiance for visitors to enjoy.
The rooms also feature bespoke furnishings like handcrafted Japanese bedside lanterns, while subtly integrated technology includes butler service control keypads, Alexa devices, and Toto‘s Neorest washlets.
On the eighth floor, three meeting spaces bathed in warm wood paneling are equipped with sideboards, conference tables, and 90” TVs.
There are floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors providing access to large teak-decked landscaped patios with comfortable furnishings and integrated heaters.
Secured elevator key access, 24-hour butler service, priority seating in the restaurant, and executive turn-down service are feature amenities to the hotel’s new Ryokan experience, though these have been slightly altered due to the current travel climate.
Project: Nobu Palo Alto Hotel
Architects: Montalba Architects, Inc.
General Contractor: Shawmut Design & Construction, Inc.
Client: Private
Photographers: Kevin Scott
