{"id":263333,"date":"2025-09-30T17:09:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T21:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=canvasflow&p=263333"},"modified":"2025-09-30T17:09:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T21:09:55","slug":"ace-group-international-brad-wilson-talks-hospitality","status":"publish","type":"id_news","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/designwire\/ace-group-international-brad-wilson-talks-hospitality\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ace Group International Curates Hospitality Hot Spots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Original brick and custom ruched leather\u2013upholstered banquettes distinguishing the sunken lobby lounge. Photography by Anson Smart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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September 30, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Peter\u00a0Webster<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How Ace Group International Curates Hospitality Hot Spots<\/h1>\n\n\n
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Ace Group International managing partner Brad Wilson might have a degree from Cornell University\u2019s School of Hotel Administration, but his three decade\u2013plus career in hospitality has been defined by more than a deep understanding of the business-and-numbers side of the industry. Since 1997, when Starwood CEO Barry Sternlicht hired him to help launch W Hotels, Wilson has built a reputation for blending sharp analytic expertise with a visionary grasp of design\u2019s commanding role in the modern hotel experience\u2014an ethos he continues to develop as head of Atelier Ace<\/a>, the brand\u2019s 50-person in-house creative agency, which regularly partners with outside firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unusually, he prefers collaborating with designers that have no prior hotel experience\u2014a habit established early, when he worked with Rockwell Group on the W New York and Yabu Pushelberg on the W Times Square, the first hospitality commissions for both studios. We spoke with Wilson about that philosophy and how it plays out in Ace\u2019s three newest properties in Sydney, Toronto, and Athens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ace Group International Works With Hospitality Newcomers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Interior Design: Along with Ian Schrager\u2019s hotels, the W New York pioneered high-end hospitality design in the city when it opened in 1998. What was that like?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Brad Wilson, the managing partner of Ace Group International and Atelier Ace, in the Ace Hotel Brooklyn, a 2021 new-build with architecture by Stonehill Taylor and interiors by Roman and Williams. Photography by Daniel Dorsa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Brad Wilson: We were creating the W brand at the same time we were creating an amazing hotel. Barry focused on engaging interesting new designers and moving them into the hospitality realm, in this case David Rockwell<\/a>. It was David\u2019s first hotel, and I worked with him on the program, using his vision for it\u2014spalike, tied to nature, organic\u2014to create the overall lifestyle that would be W Hotels. I had the same opportunity with George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg<\/a> on the W Times Square\u2014taking a fresh look at hospitality design and aiming to make something new and different but also elegant and sophisticated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Original brick and custom ruched leather\u2013upholstered banquettes distinguishing the sunken lobby lounge. Photography by Anson Smart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ID: Why have you continued working with hospitality newcomers at Ace?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BW: The Ace DNA weaves through all our properties, but we want to make each hotel unique, very site specific, with a strong individual personality\u2014a one-off experience in one particular location. We\u2019ve found that partnering with upcoming designers allows us to achieve that more than going to firms who\u2019ve already done a hundred hotels, because a lot of times what you get is their hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A watercolor rendering by designer David Flack of a guest room at the Ace Hotel Sydney, a 1916 building made over in 2022 by architect Bates Smart with interiors by Flack Studio. Photography by Flack Studio; Anson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ID: How does a collaboration between Atelier Ace and an outside firm work?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BW: Before we hire a designer for a project, our team\u2014headed by director of interiors Jonny Ribeiro and director of architecture Steven Dremov\u2014does deep research into the culture and history of the city, and also of the building if it\u2019s a renovation, which a lot of our properties are. From that, we develop a visual narrative for the project\u2014where we\u2019re going with it\u2014and then we look for designers that are a good fit for what we\u2019re trying to create. At the Ace Hotel Sydney<\/a>, for example, the building we renovated was the site of the city\u2019s first brick kiln, so we were interested in using masonry surfaces and textures. We also developed a huge appreciation for Australian modernism, which is very organic. We found a Melbourne-based designer, David Flack, who\u2019d played with those elements on residential projects. Our palette tends to be tight while David\u2019s approach is very colorful, so we learned a lot from him about expressing Australia through color\u2014even using purple, which I never thought we\u2019d do!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ID: The polychrome ceramic-brick reception desk is extraordinary.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BW: It came out of the original narrative\u2014that this was a kiln site\u2014and how to express it in a modern way. We often solve things by making them art projects\u2014in this case, an installation of graffitilike painted bricks. It\u2019s an example of taking the localized narrative, bringing in art and design elements, and partnering with them to make a space that defines the hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Brigitte Shim and husband Howard Sutcliffe of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, the firm behind the ground-up, 123-room Ace Hotel Toronto, which opened in 2022, with interiors by Atelier Ace. Photography by Globe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The entrance of the 14-story building. Photography by William Jess Laird.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

ID: The natural-wood and earth-tone palette at Ace Hotel Toronto, a new-build in collaboration with small, local firm Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, seems more typical of the brand.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BW: We did the interiors ourselves. Brigitte Shim and her husband Howard Sutcliffe had mostly done residential work, no hotels, but their houses are exciting\u2014powerfully rooted in Canadian design and aesthetics. They\u2019re teachers and experimenters on the cusp of architecture there, and we saw a chance to create a new building that adds cultural value to the city. We focused on empowering them to make great architecture and took the lead on the interiors, so they knit seamlessly with the building and emphasize its architectural presence. I think we were able to make a cathedral to hospitality where the spaces and structure determine the finishes and furnishings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ID: The three-level lobby with its concrete arches recalls grand old hotels with giant public spaces but on a warmer, more human scale.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BW: We used organic and craft materials to help create that sense. You can sit in the lobby and feel you\u2019re in a very intimate space, but if you turn your gaze upward, you realize there are three open floors above you spanned by massive concrete structural elements. It\u2019s truly unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The lobby of the Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens, opened in 2024, with architectural renovations and interiors by French firm Cigu\u00eb. Photography by Depasquale + Maffini.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ID: At your most recently opened location, the Ace Hotel & Swim Club Athens, the pool becomes the property\u2019s social and cultural hub, no?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BW: We brought that idea to Athens from our swim club in Palm Springs, which has always been one of our most celebrated hotels. We acquired a \u201970\u2019s modernist hotel with two swimming pools and an interesting grid of balconies, almost brutalist<\/a> in feel, which we loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ID: You worked with a French studio, Cigu\u00eb, which is also quite experimental, on the architecture and the interiors.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BW: Yes, the firm is really into the concept of architectural design as an installation process, which attracted us. It looks on its work as radical collage, layering spaces with materials and furnishings that feel real and authentic, that have craft and art\u2014all things that give an environment depth and make people feel comfortable in it. There was also a collage of other firms involved: Back to the Future, a local source of vintage furniture from all over Greece; art consultants Matthieu Prat of Diplomates Studio, who focused on the public spaces, and Aliki Lampropoulous of Mare Studio, who oversaw guest rooms; and Ogust, an Athens graphics studio, which did the signage and wayfinding. We wanted to evoke the Athens Riviera of the \u201970\u2019s, not Miami Beach\u2014no billowing white curtains!\u2014so we played a lot with color. Many of our choices, like the yellow of the sun umbrellas, are nostalgic for that era, so they\u2019re not hues you\u2019ve seen over and over, which is always our goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seek A Refuge Of Calm At These Hotels By Ace Group International<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The street front of the hotel\u2019s retail store. Photography by Flack Studio; Anson Smart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A custom, hand-embroidered bedcover by Greek-Egyptian designer Salma Barakat, enhancing a guest room. Photography by Bill Georgoussis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cigu\u00eb partner Alphonse Sarthout, art consultant Matthieu Prat of Diplomates Studio, and Atelier Ace director of interiors Jonny Ribeiro, at the hotel. Photography by Pinelopi Gerasimou.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Behind the custom Dionysos marble reception desk by Ilias Lefas, a beaded textile by graphics studio Ogust and artist Alexandros Ntouras, emblazoned with a Greek greeting. Photography by Bill Georgoussis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The Premises of Summer, an acrylic mural by Claire Manent, on the renovated building, a brutalist-style hotel from the 1970\u2019s. Photography by Pinelopi Gerasimou.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In Sebastian restaurant, Ida Linea Hilderbrand\u2019s Bauhaus-inspired FF chairs joining built-in banquettes. Photography by Depasquale + Maffini.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In Sydney, a second-floor event space enlivened by commissioned artwork from Julia Gutman (left) and Joanna Lamb (rear). Photography by Anson Smart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Collaboration Is Key For These Stunning Hospitality Spaces<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Custom wool blankets and vibrant carpeting offsetting a guest room\u2019s custom oak millwork. Photography by Anson Smart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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David Flack in the lobby bar. Photography by Anson Smart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Forming the reception desk, a James Lemon installation of polychrome ceramic bricks, backdropped by a Jason Phu wall hanging. Photography by Anson Smart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A guest room with a deep window bench, turning the space into a meditative \u201curban cabin.\u201d Photography by Graydon Herriott.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The lobby bar, suspended from massive trapezoidal arches by thin steel rods. Photography by William Jess Laird.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In the rooftop bar Evangeline, a cast-concrete bas relief by Montreal-based artist David Umemoto. Photography by William Jess Laird.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n