This view of the bar gives a sense of how overlarge the public areas are, and the difficult sight lines from the bar. Click to see the gym
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More interesting is how both Leigh and Liége express the brand. In this I think the management of design is key. The design of Liége is efficient and effective. The staff are able to flow from reception to bar to restaurant/bistro easily in a manner remarked on in the Review of the Courtyard Paris Colombes a Marriott prototype that whilst being a very effective piece of design visually and operationally seems to have degraded to the point where the latest iteration at Gatwick fails to incorporate any of its manpower saving design (although it is a well designed hotel).
Leigh similarly has large empty open spaces which depersonalise the hotel. It is as if the height of the hotel was limited to three floors forcing the building outwards with the result that the public areas seem too large for the hotel. If the occupancy is also low then the result is an hotel that feels unpopulated. Is this a product of the architect or the design management? As the management is the client then one has to point the finger at the design management, or lack of it, in both these companies, Marriott and Rezidor.
Having public spaces that are too large causes multiple problems with staffing and service. It was noticeable at Liége small numbers of guests contributed to a busy feel to the hotel, but at Leigh they were simply lost in the space.
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Furniture was moved by staff to try to fill some of the emptiness, and the inability to give service was reinforced by the visual obstacles (lift shaft etc.) which the building plan interposed between for example the bar and lounge areas. Moving furniture out of the restaurant to fill space in the large reception area at Leigh only accentuated the emptiness of the restaurant, and the furniture looked forlorn in the Reception lobby.It also meant that tables in the restaurant were no longer aligned with the lights, something that always creates a slight feeling of unease.
Leigh is a new build on a business park where recession has delayed the rest of the buildings. The result is plenty of empty development space leaving the hotel, a college and a rugby stadium the only tenants of the park. Liége is also a lone development at an airport that is largely a freight field, so the position of both hotels is parallel, and both are adjacent to busy main roads. Whilst Liége has been open for a couple of years Leigh is struggling to come to terms with opening in the teeth of a recession. Both will have to fight hard to survive but the design of Liége gives it efficiency tools to help that survival that are missing at Leigh.
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Bar is quite utilitarian. Click to see another view of the bar
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