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GRANDOISE PLANS
On Perfumes
The Scent of a Hotel
Why luxury hospitality needs to be
celebrating art and smell distinctive.
BY SINDHU NAIR
OF ALL THE SENSES, the sense of smell is the most underrated. But the
newly opened St Regis Dubai took the path less traveled and decided to
celebrate their new setting through the sense of smell. A bold move one
would reckon, but why not when the art of perfumery is an applied art like
sculpture, music and painting? Scent critic Chandler Burr is of the opinion
that a luxury setting is lacking if the olfactory senses are not given their due.
The frozen sensory void, the tragic absence of any thought given to scent
design, is what you encounter in almost all hotels, says Burr. It's
astounding that 99 percent of the hospitality industry, of all industries, still
doesn't understand that pouring resources into visual design and audio
28 T Qatar: The New York Times Style Magazine
Clockwise from top left: the facade of St Regis Dubai; perfume creator Carlos Huber; and the
grand stairway in the lounge of the hotel.
design and doing nothing for olfactory design is irrational. It's the equivalent
of a restaurant putting all the attention into the dcor and silverware and
none into the food. As a species, we are not meant to exist in a scent void.
Entering The St. Regis Dubai now means entering a hotel where attention to
luxury is complete, says Burr.
St. Regis Hotels & Resorts Dubai, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and
owned by Al Habtoor Group, debuted their brand with the opening of this
hotel that introduced eight exceptional culinary venues, the first Iridium Spa
in Dubai, a fleet of Bentleys, as well as the first Bentley Suite in the Middle
East, which is yet to open.
While living in the Middle East makes you immune to grandiose interiors
and ostentatious regalia, The St. Regis Dubai doesnt disappoint your
senses: a dazzling chandelier comprising 1,200 pieces of hand-cut crystals
illuminates the majestic grand staircase of the hotel, while beautiful artwork
adorns nooks and corners of the French-inspired architecture. The St. Regis
commitment to art and design is brought to life with outstanding artwork
throughout the hotel, including a vintage Bentley-inspired mural in the St.
Regis Bar an intense real-life representation of the owner of the Al
Habtoor Group on horseback brought to life by a local Emirati artist.
But while the beauty of your surroundings creates an aura of luxury,
there is one more sense that elevates you to a dream sequence of your
choice. And Carolines Four Hundred, the brands first-ever bespoke scent
created by Carlos Huber, a self-proclaimed history geek, who attributes
his love for scents to his upbringing in Mexico City, pushes you into a garden
of sensory delights.
Some people think of history as basking in nostalgia. For me its more
about understanding where we come from, and where we might end up,
says Huber, scent designer and the founder of Arquiste. Scent has the rare

ability to transport us to another time and place
in the most intimate way, he says. It has been
an honor working with St. Regis to capture the
brands rich history and its modern sophistication in one
olfactory experience.
For Burr, there is nothing novel about the collaboration of scents and
hotels. Hotels and perfume houses have worked together for decades to
create distinct sensory experiences for guests, says Burr. What piques his
interest is how Huber has pieced together the history of the brand to
include the founding Astor family when creating the scent.
Huber is an architect specializing in historic preservation, and I find it
fascinating that he has captured the history of The St. Regis a young
ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF ST. REGIS DUBAI
United States, the St Regis founding Astor family in Carolines Four
Hundred signature scent, says Burr. He applies a deep intellectual
curiosity to all of his works, and he did the same here, which is a novel
approach. No other hotel has chosen an architect and historic
preservationist to summon in olfactory dimension to their historical form
in this case the history of Caroline Astors complex era and her luxurious
and extraordinary life.
This is not the first hotel olfactory collaboration for Burr, who has
worked on signature scent collaborations for the Park Hyatt Chicago. I
feel that the scents and aromas enrich the guest experience to make a hotel
THE ODOUR OF THINGS
Clockwise from top left: A seven-
course scent-inspired dinner for
invited guests as each of the
elements of Caroline's Four
Hundred was celebrated through a
dish created by Chef Stephane
Buchholzer, culinary director of Al
Habtoor City; the main painting by
Roberto Rad that reflects the
natural elements of the UAE: the
desert, the bedouin on an Arabian
horse with a falcon and Saluki dogs;
Chandler Burr introducing
respective perfumes that inspired
each of the gastronomic creations;
the final Caroline's Four Hundred;
and Iridium Spa interiors.
stay more memorable, he says.
For Huber what is significant is the story-telling
process, something that Arquiste, a young, luxury,
niche brand specializes in. It means that for The St.
Regis, Carolines Four Hundred is much more than
just a scent: theres a story behind it, a collaboration,
and above all, the exaltation of an experience, says
Huber. In the world of perfume we always talk about
a scent having a signature. A scent must have this
distinctive, unique, but recognizable character that
announces itself, it should stand out and become unique in
your mind. Scent has the rare ability to transport us to another time
and place in the most intimate way.
For a hotel brand to consider 'scenting its public spaces is not
necessarily a first. But it is significant that with Carolines Four Hundred,
St. Regis has decided to create one signature scent across all St Regis
Hotels and Resorts in order to makes guests feel at home - wherever in the
world he or she may be, Huber says.
But its the collaboration of all the senses that makes hotels special; the
smile on the doormans face, the huge space of welcome cheer and the few
touches of personalization that make us want to go back to these spaces,
not just the perceived sensory explosion.
Ive always loved seeing a big bouquet of flowers when you walk in, an
elegant arrangement that brings the most beautiful aspects of nature in.
Theres nothing more beautiful to me than that connection to nature. In
unison with a friendly smile, a warm welcome, those delicate gestures
really create the best mix of hospitality, agrees Huber.
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