The Best of The Americas (Hospitality)

AO Make The 2021 Shortlist

Located in the picturesque coastal town of San Juan Capistrano, the hotel overlooks the historic 240-year old Mission San Juan Capistrano and represents the cultural destination through carefully curated architecture, timeless design and storytelling. Fully embracing its context and community, this four-star Autograph Collection Hotel delivers understated elegance while showcasing the history of the land and significance of the adjacent Mission.

Shortlisted for Hotel Under 200 Rooms – The Americas Award

Designer In Profile: Lauren Cao, Design Director of Lang and Schwander

How would you describe your personal interior design style?

We are guided less by specific styles and more with a process. We work as a team to establish a logic behind the design decisions, so we aren’t just motivated by what looks good but also by the framework of the narrative. So many of our clients come from different backgrounds and locations, so its important for us to be adaptable and utilize different palettes and styles. It helps that we are also diverse, so we can come to the table with different perspectives. Design is communication at its core, so having a clear process or logic, instead of just an applied style, helps the end user understand the conversation.

Look Back At 2020

Flick Mars – Whiskey Row in Louisville presented Flick Mars with a rich history and palate to inspire the look of the property. Knowing the historic facades that would be worked into the architecture, the team focused on the original use of the historic buildings. Through research they found that building housed the bourbon distilling process and were also used to showcase and sell the products.