Case study

Pen-Y-Gwryd Hotel—functional antiquity

Visiting the time-worn fabric of the Pen-Y-Gwryd Hotel rarely requires an excuse and always brings pleasure. For this remote mountain accommodation actually is what many others aspire to be: A genuine, unique and charming old place with real history and no gloss.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door having just landed the contract to create their new website and printed materials was thus a double delight. This was a task which gave us the chance to engage with the hotel’s story and to bring to life the feelings one gets in ‘functional antiquity’. It was also a task to be treated sensitively as we were being trusted with their history.

First meeting

During the first meeting with Rupert and Nick (third-generation owners) we established the scope of the project and assigned roles. We toured the hotel and grounds, and were showered with old books, magazines, cuttings and general P-Y-G related information.

Back at our drawing boards we assimilated this wealth of information and began to forge a general feel and tone which we wanted our designs to convey. We decided to keep print colours muted, possibly monochrome, to use a serif font, and to make good use of the photographs already taken by Nick’s partner Nikki.

Working together

A second meeting was held to discuss these broad principles and to firm-up some of our ideas on format and layout. Further input from the owners gave direction to the documents’ flow and desired copy.

At the third meeting we presented a brochure spread mock-up which was approved. We requested that particular further photos be taken.

Bringing it all together

After all this immersion in the hotel, writing the copy suddenly became simple and the brochure was finished very quickly. Other printed work rapidly followed.

All the while ideas for the website were stirring: We wanted to make a bold image-driven statement, rejecting both the soft-furnished visual embellishments of most hotel fare, and the stark minimalism of modern hotels. As the brochure had already paved the way in terms of style, creating the site was a fairly quick business.

More than satisfied clients equals good feeling all round, and the prospect of continued interaction with this venerable hotel as both guests and working partners ensures a rich source of delight for the future.