Compass by Margaritaville
Compass was a collaboration with our partners at Margaritaville with whom we’ve developed numerous highly successful resorts, retail locations and dining experiences across the country. This year, we’ve expanded our portfolio with the opening of Compass Hotel Anna Maria Sound, the first Compass by Margaritaville property and an entirely new hospitality category for the brand.
Compass Hotel Anna Maria Sound is a new boutique hotel concept. The property includes amenities in the lobby space along with a fitness center and meeting rooms. The property also includes the Compass Bar and Chill. Typically, guests looking at our other resort and hotel properties are looking to stay for an extended period of time. Compass allows guests to feel that same experience while away for a short weekend trip or out of town on business by carrying over the same feeling through design.
From a design perspective, we blended elements of the classic laid back Margaritaville style with new personalized and more boutique focused design to create something familiar but new. The resulting design feels light and airy and more intimate than larger resort properties. By incorporating coastal textures and natural woods throughout the space, we designed the space to feel like a true beach getaway or guests “home away from home.” An important element of the design was creating a flow between indoor and outdoor spaces. We not only included large doorways to access outdoor areas of the property but also incorporated small details like plants throughout the building to make the hotel feel open to the environment.
Our team also created custom artwork for the entire property, from the public spaces to the guest rooms and hallways. When we began sourcing artwork for the hotel we quickly realized that nothing felt like the right fit to tell the story we wanted so we decided to design custom art. The art around the hotel is inspired by travel and the enjoyment of the journey. Through artwork including FF&E, decor and signage you will see a nod to this motif: pillows with “Wanderer” on them, signage reading “Take the Road Less Traveled,” and front entry signage reading “Adventure Awaits,” all tie in to the travel inspired theme. In the reception area, a large triptych represents the off-the-beaten path locations that a traveler might experience during their journey that they might otherwise miss. We focused more on the “escapism” of the Margaritaville brand rather than the typical focus on more tropical elements. The art is a reflection of what makes the Compass brand unique as well as adaptable to new locations. The artwork ranges from rural, to urban to coastal, to desert scenes, all emphasizing the importance of travel and the joy in experiencing new places.
Another important part of the design plans was ensuring that we created a design that would allow future projects across the country to feel cohesive with the new Compass brand. We wanted Compass-specific design elements to carry through to new properties with customized details such as local artwork, area specific decor elements like wood tones, and more to make the property feel unique. These custom and unique elements allow for a more flexible design that enables Compass properties to fit into both urban areas as well as coastal areas.
New Compass locations are coming to Beaufort, NC and Louisville, KY soon!
