We popped down to the coast a few weeks ago to check out Stuart Scott’s and Carly Houston’s first collaboration together, a boutique hotel near the Brighton waterfront.
One Broad Street is the first venture into hotels for both of them. Stuart had previously worked on a number of co-living projects. Coming from a design background, he has always taken design inspiration from bars and cafes for his properties. Moving into the hotel sector was a natural progression.
The pair say they worked together on the design concepts, settling upon an industrial theme, contrasted with the use of rustic materials. Exposed brick walls sit alongside wood panelling and earthy hues.
‘Design pays,’ says Stuart. ‘This did have a slightly higher budget than the co-living projects so it meant that the grade of quality is one-up.’
Developing a guest house suited to modern living was a key goal for Stuart and Carly. ‘We wanted to modernise that traditional guest house,’ Carly says.
‘We wanted to make it as tech savvy as possible. We’ve got really fast WiFi, smart TVs in the rooms and USB points in all the sockets. All the locks are digital.’
The project has inspired them to try their hand at more boutique hotels.‘There’s an opportunity for us to disrupt the market. There’s a niche for it in Brighton,’ explains Stuart.
‘We’ve got the skills to execute and deliver this. We’ve learnt to be hoteliers.’
Follow their project on Facebook: One Broad Street