Once the structure had been recaptured, the hotel was adorned with a surreal new dimension, becoming fertile ground for a mental game imagining and reinventing the history of the building. Philippe Starck imagined a Yacht Club by the lake. An imaginary club, yet clearly present in the wealth of sentimental objects evoking a nautical universe: chiseled red wood reminiscent of the hull of a boat; photographs and paintings of sailboats and captains like a gallery of family portraits scattered throughout the hotel; bronze Venetian gondola forcole (oar rests); a collection “half-hull” boats frozen in resin; oars placed here and there as if forgotten after a regatta; light wood floors with wide planks urge urging / inviting to walk barefoot before dashing off for a swim.
