Located in downtown Calgary, the latest addition to Marriott’s Autograph Collection is an ode to Oscar Wilde.
A women-led team of designers and developers have forged a new destination in downtown Calgary. Developed and owned by PBA Group and designed by award-winning interior design studio CHIL, The Dorian marks the arrival of Marriott’s premium Autograph Collection into Alberta’s largest city.
CHIL Interior Design has realized a unique vision for the 136 room hotel. The Dorian’s bespoke interiors carry forward the wit of author Oscar Wilde, along with the eclecticism and boldness of 19th-century-inspired interiors.
A notable addition to CHIL’s extensive hospitality portfolio—which includes the likes of the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, Hotel Belmont, M Gallery, and Shangri-La Toronto—The Dorian offers an unparalleled hospitality experience throughout its guestrooms and suites, ground level bar and café, rooftop restaurant, fitness space, and events hall.
Design Inspiration
The Dorian’s name references The Picture of Dorian Gray, the iconic 1891 novel written by Oscar Wilde.
Throughout The Dorian, eclectic material and colour choices evoke the interiors and fashions of Wilde’s era, along with his hallmark eccentricity and biting wit.
Contrasting materials, bold colours, and the reinterpretation of traditional patterns such as tartans, houndstooths, and tweeds make for an experience that is richly layered, defined by contrasts, and underlined by a recurring sense of surprise.
A significant investment in downtown Calgary’s role as a hospitality destination, The Dorian aims to capture the city’s unique spirit. Instead of relying on cliches, The Dorian channels downtown Calgary’s independence of thought through its bold, directional, and unapologetic design.
The Lobby: An introduction to Oscar Wilde
The Dorian’s lobby represents CHIL’s ability to creatively interpret the hotel’s connection to Wilde.
This is most evident via the lobby’s shattered mirror, which references a pivotal moment in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The theme of shattering is carried forward across the lobby’s tiled floor and its check-in desk: an angular block of faceted brass.
A recurring material throughout The Dorian, brass exudes a sense of historic character and serves to reference the era of The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Similarly, the Victorian period’s appreciation for saturated colours and bold patterning is further evoked with contrasting surface materials, like marble, dark wood, and floor-to-ceiling floral wallpaper.
Guestrooms & Suites: Regal escapes
In guestrooms, custom wallcoverings are designed to match upholstered chairs and sofas, reflecting the flair and whimsy of 19th century interiors. This bold patterning is contrasted by understated brass accenting and leather headboards.
Suites contain expansive, independent sitting rooms that feature hardwood floors, custom-upholstered sofas, and unique artwork.
The use of smart technology, like sensor lights on nightstands and bathroom counters, conveys The Dorian’s elevated level of experience and considered attention to detail.
Conference & Event Areas
The Dorian features a 3,345 sq-ft ballroom, an executive boardroom, and prefunction areas.
The recurring use of brass, from inlay detailing to ceiling coves, establishes a sense of continuity with the hotel’s other interior spaces.
Both conference and prefunction areas feature custom Axminster carpeting.
The Fitness Centre
Adjacent to The Dorian’s lobby, a generous fitness centre is cloaked in an overscale plaid wallpaper. Contrasting the heavy tones of the cardio machines, free weights, treadmills, and Peloton bikes, the bleached wood flooring is illuminated by overhead spotlights and backlit mirrors.
The Prologue: A lobby bar inspired by history
A café by day and an atmospheric lobby bar by night, The Prologue features a wraparound bar, large communal tables, semi-private banquettes, and round café tables.
Publicly accessible from both 5th Avenue and The Dorian’s interior, The Prologue carries forward the tradition of great and historic lobby bars as places where both visitors and locals mingle together.
The Prologue is carefully designed to evoke a distinct sense of place and time. Brass is found across light fixtures, seating, and tables. Tartan wallpaper, along with hunter green barstools, nods to the history of British interiors and fashions, while mosaic floor tiles reference both 19th-century English apothecaries and classic Parisian bars.
Project: The Dorian, Autograph Collection
Location: Calgary, Canada
Design Studio: CHIL Interior Design
Photo Credits: Eymeric Widling
Website: childesign.com
