Hotel Design by Bigtime
Bigtime has designed and renovated hotels and resorts from South Beach and Key West, San Diego, Maine, and the Berkshires, for owners and operators including Morgans Originals, The Carlyle Group, The Wardman Group, and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust.
How we design a hotel
We respect the building. At Washington Park Hotel in South Beach, we restored the 1943 exterior and kept the Art Deco district’s energy inside. At Seven Hills Inn, a Gilded Age estate on 27 acres in Lenox, we kept the moldings, the leaded windows and the fireplaces, and replaced the dust. At Southernmost Beach Resort, four guesthouses from 1885 and 1920 got a light hand.
The lobby is the pitch. The reception desk at Postcard Inn in Islamorada is built from over 700 hand-picked books. The Gabriel in South Beach has a 30-foot Mr. Brainwash mural over brushed brass. A guest decides in the first minute what kind of hotel this is, so we design that minute on purpose.
The hotel, the bar and the restaurant are one project. At The Balfour, we designed the hotel and Sofi Coffee. At The Betsy, we put the B Bar speakeasy in the basement. At Postcard Inn, we designed the lobby, the cottages, the guestrooms, the Tiki Bar and Ciao Hound.
Brand standards without sameness. For Morgans Originals at The Balfour, the redesign had a reputation to protect in South of Fifth, and it won the 2025 INT Award for Hotels. For Pebblebrook Hotel Trust at L’Auberge Del Mar, the design narrative said it plainly: this is not our grandfather’s beach resort.
Rooms are for staying in. Villa Bagatelle’s guest rooms and suites run from 370 to 2,100 square feet, among the largest in Miami. At Amara Cay, the rooms are built for doing nothing, beautifully.
Rebrands come with the rooms. At Ocean Gate Resort in Boothbay, Maine, we redesigned 65 rooms and led the full rebrand, identity and voice. The place sounds the way it looks.
What we do for hotels
- Concept and storytelling
- Lobbies, guestrooms, suites and public spaces
- Hotel restaurants, bars and coffee venues
- Naming, branding and graphics
- Custom furniture and lighting
- FF&E specification and procurement
Hotels and resorts we’ve designed
The Balfour Hotel, Miami Beach. Winner of the 2025 INT Award for Hotels.
The Gabriel Hotel, South Beach. Art Deco through a contemporary lens.
Southernmost Beach Resort, Key West. A $15 million renovation of 243 rooms and four historic guesthouses.
Seven Hills Inn, Lenox, Massachusetts. A Gilded Age estate, grandeur kept current.
Postcard Inn Beach Resort, Islamorada. A lobby on the site of a former gas station, plus cottages and guestrooms.
Washington Park Hotel, South Beach. A restored 1943 exterior, a park for a lobby, and a #5 ranking in Miami from Condé Nast Traveler.
Amara Cay Resort, Islamorada. Sand, seafoam and sky blue.
Hadley House Resort, Islamorada. Eight low-rise buildings and a 15-slip marina.
Fisher Inn Resort & Marina, Islamorada. Crisp whites and Keys blues.
Ocean Gate Resort, Boothbay, Maine. 65 rooms and a full rebrand.
L’Auberge Del Mar, San Diego. California Modern meets coastal transitional.
Villa Bagatelle, South Beach. From bread to bed.
The Press Hotel, Portland, Maine. Lobby concept for the 1923 Press Herald landmark.
The proof
- The Balfour: 2025 INT Award for Hotels.
- Washington Park Hotel: ranked #5 in Miami in Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards.
- Five-time NEWH TopID firm: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2026.
“Bigtime Design is one of those spontaneous and intensely creative studios that has the ability to take a simple concept or idea and develop it into a masterpiece. There are not too many people out there like them.” — Dirk D. Goldwasser, Co-Owner of the Betsy Hotel, South Beach
Questions we hear
What does a hotel designer do?
We turn a brand and a building into a place people want to stay: the layout, the lobby, the rooms, the bar and restaurant, the furniture and lighting, and the story that ties them together.
Do you renovate historic hotels?
Yes. Washington Park Hotel, Seven Hills Inn and the Southernmost guesthouses are all historic buildings. Our rule is to keep what makes the place worth saving and fix what makes it hard to stay in.
Do you design the hotel’s restaurant and bar too?
Yes. Doing it together keeps the whole property telling one story. The Balfour, The Betsy and Postcard Inn are examples.
Do you work outside Florida?
Yes. Our hotel work includes Massachusetts, Maine and California.
How much does a hotel design cost?
It depends on the number of rooms and the scope. Our project form asks about your budget up front, so we can tell you quickly whether we’re a fit.
More of what we design
Let’s talk about your hotel
Tell us the building, the city and the budget. We reply fast.