The Best of The Americas (Hospitality) Vol. 2

Blur Workshop Make The 2021 Shortlist

Versailles Restaurant & Bar is the new concept for the three-meal restaurant at the Chateau Elan Winery and Resort. The resort is located north of Atlanta, at the start of Georgia’s wine country in Braselton, and is owned by Wheelock Street Capitol of Greenwich, CT.  The renovation of this 7000-sf restaurant was complete in March of 2020 and seats 179 guests.

Shortlisted for Restaurant – The Americas and Restaurant Within A Hotel – Global Award

Designer in Profile: Brooke Copani and Brittany Spinner of HBA International – San Francisco

Tell us a little about your background in design (education, experience, etc) 

Brooke Copani: I was born in California, grew up in Buffalo, New York, and attended college at the University of Florida, where I earned a Bachelor of Design in Interior Design and Business Administration/Marketing in 2004.  Since then, I’ve had the privilege of working with firms from San Francisco to NYC. As an NCIDQ certified professional, my diverse background and industry experience have helped me to build a distinctive project portfolio, specializing in interior architectural design for hospitality environments worldwide. My project history includes luxury resorts, boutique hotels, restaurants, themed nightclubs, corporate offices, and institutional public spaces.

Brittany Spinner: Interior design has been an all-consuming passion in my life since the time I was in third grade. When I was supposed to be learning math, I used the graph paper to instead draw floor plans of my dream homes. The squares turned into rooms, the rooms turned into a home, and I filled each room with all the desires of a future adult version of myself. In high school, I created an independent study course in Interior Design for myself to prepare my application for design school. Where interior design was not a common career path, I forged a path for myself to make it possible. The passion could not be contained, and I wanted to learn everything that I could to make this dream a reality.

Look Back At 2020

Lore Group – The hotel sits in the former home of Washington, D.C.’s Riggs National Bank. Built in 1891, the landmarked building holds a place on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the last few Richardsonian Romanesque Revival-style builds still standing in the city. The property originally housed the Washington Loan & Trust Company before being acquired by Riggs National Bank in 1954. Known as the “Bank of Presidents”, inheriting a historical building can be risky, but Lore Group was successful in creating a hotel that celebrates both the legacy of the building and the history of Washington, D.C. through several creative touches.