As the renovations at Disney’s Newport Bay Club draw to a close, work begins on Disneyland Paris Wild West themed hotel. Some 215 rooms have already been completely re-done and are welcoming guests, and the rest will be completed in five additional phases between now and the end of 2017. We were shown around by Laurent Cayuela, Imagineer at Walt Disney Imagineering.
“We wanted to revisit the design decoration of the hotel rooms and common spaces, to update them and make them more cozy – just like we’ve done in the Hotel Santa Fe, Sequoia Lodge, and Newport Bay Club Hotels,” explained Laurent Cayuela as he showed us the new rooms. Sylvie Massara, the artistic director in charge of redesign, also took account of new norms to be followed (particularly regarding mobility) and of guests’ expectations.
For example, the decor now features Toy Story characters in wall murals, picture frames, and light fixtures. This new theme is also present in smaller, more subtle smaller ways – the trademark of Disneyland® Paris and Disney Imagineering. “The curtains are inspired by Woody’s and Jessie’s shirts and the sheriff’s badge is in the hallway wallpaper,” Laurent points out. The traditional Wild West ambiance is still present, through woodwork on the walls and in the bathrooms, as well as the use of cowhide or synthetic leather in the decorations. The hotel’s classic charm isn’t going anywhere!
More comfortable for guests
Regulars of this beloved hotel will recognise the cowboy boot-shaped lamp on the desk, but the rest has been redone! The bunk beds have been removed from rooms, as they were impractical for certain guests and for our housekeeping teams. Instead, trundle beds are being installed so that four people can comfortably stay in each room. This innovation is also a big space-saver. The furniture has been rearranged, with a large bench instead of a chair, and a big flat-screen TV to replace the previous models.
The space will also be improved as the carpeting is replaced by hard-surface floors, and new fixtures will shed some brighter light around the rooms. This difference is particularly noticeable in the corridors, which seem wider and more attractive. Concurrent to the room renovations, the door locks are being replaced by RFID locks as Disney’s Newport Bay Club.
Aiming for the future
Out of almost 1,000 hotel rooms at Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne, over 200 have been completed. To keep the impact minimal, the works are being done building by building. For the Construction teams led by Abdel Saidi and Frédéric Marchand, who are overseeing the project’s phases together with Sylvie Massara, the goal is to have finished all Guest room construction by fall 2017 with the refurbishment of the restaurants being completed later in 2018. Additionally, the lobby and the hotel’s exterior façades will also be refreshed and so once the project is complete our guests will enjoy the feeling of staying in a new hotel!
