Best Large Hotel
Mark Luscombe-Whyte
G Hotel, Galway, Ireland
by Douglas Wallace Architects and Designers in collaboration with Philip Treacy
With bold lighting and colors (including hot pinks and inky purples) and a self-consciously eclectic mix of styles and patterns, from Swinging Sixties-meets-Dr. Seuss carpeting and Louis XVI-style chairs to high-Modern glass-and-chrome furnishings and elaborate Venetian-plaster moldings, Galway's G is nothing if not eye-popping. The entertaining and theatrical public spaces are balanced by subdued guest-room interiors and a comfortable, moody spa, finished in stone and wood, that overlooks a Japanese garden.
Honorable Mention
Gramercy Park Hotel, New York City, by Julian Schnabel and Anda Andrei
Address Book
G Hotel
Wellpark, Dublin Rd., Galway, Ireland; 353-91/865-200; www.theghotel.ie; doubles from $506.
Gramercy Park Hotel
2 Lexington Ave., New York City; 212/920-3300; www.gramercyparkhotel.com; doubles from $595.
