Pocket doors in luxury hotel design

In recent years the pocket door has completed its renaissance from a Victorian period design curiosity into a contemporary feature that is smart, innovative and stylish for modern properties. And this has led to it being adopted by many interior designers as a sleek and elegant feature which enhances modern buildings. This is particularly true in the hospitality sector where pocket doors are now being used widely in bars, restaurants and hotels. Furthermore, pocket doors provide the kind of benefits which suit the highest end of the market, and hence are being incorporated into design schemes for luxury and boutique hotels which are fitted out with the most sophisticated and luxurious features.

Pocket doors are being widely used in luxury hotel schemes because they bring aesthetic benefits, but also practical benefits. This means they look the part and are able to fit into an all-important design scheme, but they also work in line with a hotel’s operations, and may also help a hotel maximise its revenue.   

Space utilisation

When considering luxury hotels, space utilisation is probably the primary benefit of the pocket door. When people pay for luxury, they definitely want space and freedom, and the pocket door enables that. By eliminating the limitations of the traditional hinged door and the swinging action it requires, you can open up space and options in a luxury hotel. This provides more space for function rooms and restaurants, it makes rooms and suites bigger and enables the hotel to include bigger or more luxurious furniture, such as chairs, sofas and beds. It also helps to improve what the room offers, such as making room for a larger en-suite, or a larger sofa or bed. Hotels can earn more revenue by using pocket doors to divide a suite into two rooms, such as a bedroom and a sitting area. This can be offered as a premium suite by providing more value.

Flexible spaces

Another big benefit of the pocket door in luxury hotels is in providing options for how a space is used. Pocket doors can link different function spaces to make a restaurant area bigger or smaller as required, to create the right ambience for the amount of people using the space, or to be offered as different event spaces. It may allow a hotel to be used as a wedding venue, for example. Pocket doors can provide a smaller, intimate room for the ceremony, then the same space can be opened up and adapted to be part of a much larger reception and evening event space. The same is true in a suite, where pocket doors can be opened and closed to make a suite intimate or open as required.

Luxury aesthetic

The seamless aesthetic of the pocket door suits modern hotel spaces perfectly. Elegance and style is the key, and the way in which pocket doors look and operate is ideal. Sliding silently out of view and blending flawlessly into a wall space suits the laidback chic that a luxury restaurant is trying to achieve, and therefore the minimalist characteristic of the pocket door is important to a luxury hotel where everything is relaxed and they want guests to feel calm and rested. The Syntesis pocket door with no architrave is particularly suitable for this. Furthermore, pocket doors can be decorated with a suitable finish to help them blend into the overall design scheme.

Durability

Another element of the seamless experience a luxury hotel likes to promote, is in how the door actually operates. A door in a hotel can go through hundreds of thousands of opening and closing cycles in its lifetime, so you need it to be well designed and durable. The pocket door is tested for durability and is made using specialist design skills and the best materials to ensure durability and consistent use. This makes them ideal for use in hotels, where traffic and repeated use can be very high and you need an operation that is easy and consistent.

Natural light

Because pocket doors disappear into a wall cavity when opened, this means they are not a barrier to natural light like a traditional hinged door is. So pocket doors allow you to maximise natural light, which is great for energy efficiency, but also makes a luxury hotel feel fresh and luxurious. Natural light improves mental wellbeing and makes people feel relaxed, so it is a feature of a hotel that people will appreciate and remember. Glass pocket doors can of course maximise natural light by allowing it to shine through the door.

Accessibility

Pocket doors are easier to operate for people with accessibility needs or mobility issues. The pocket door doesn’t open inwards or outwards to restrict space, and hence can be manoeuvred much more easily and allows people with accessibility issues to move straight through the door opening. It can even be fitted with a self-closing accessory to ensure people don’t have to worry about closing the door behind them afterwards. 

You can check out our range of pocket door systems and pocket door accessories, and see for yourself how the pocket door is the ideal design solution for luxury hotels.