Hilton launches audio guides for five landmark properties

Presented in a podcast form, with a focus on architecture and design, the guides will tell the hidden story behind

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Hilton hopes the podcasts will encourage guests to see the buildings as more than a place to lay their heads.

Selected by Hilton’s in-house architecture and design team, the chosen hotels includes iconic restoration projects in Paris and Hamburg; a refurbishment inspired by a little known corner of Dublin; a London conversion on the city’s artistic South Bank; and a first of its kind, design-focused concept in Reykjavik.  

In a press release, Hilton explains how it has significantly expanded its dedicated team of experts focused on the architecture and design of each property, working across the entirety of Hilton’s portfolio to create hotels that reflect their specific location, i.e district, neighbourhood or street, not just the city or country.

This attention to design and architecture sees Hilton incorporate local artwork, local furnishings, and the preservation of historical artefacts, among other touches at its properties.

is a new-build hotel located in a district renowned for its street art. The hotel features work from a number of street artists. Music is also prevalent at the hotel, with over 1,000 records available for guests to play in the hotel’s Canopy Central Café.  

reflects the South Bank’s industrial heritage and the neighbouring Tate Modern. The hotel features nods to its history throughout, including the Penny Wall in the hotel’s Distillery Bar - a reference to the building’s previous life as a Bank of England warehouse.

has taken inspiration for its €13 million (approx £10.9) refurbishment from the beautiful Iveagh Gardens opposite – one of the finest and least known of Dublin’s parks and gardens designed by famed landscape gardener Ninian Niven.

opened in January 2015 after a €46 million (approx £38.3m) refurbishment and is the epitome of an upscale Parisian hotel. It was originally built in 1889, the same year as the Eiffel Tower, for the Exposition Universalle (World’s Fair) to provide opulent accommodation for wealthy visitors. It later became a safe hold for the resistance during the Second World War.

underwent a €30 (approx £25m) million renovation in 2015 to restore the art deco gem to its original glory. Designed by Heinrich Mandix in 1910, the building was inspired by the luxury transatlantic ocean liners of the time and later included a number of original features from the era of the ‘Golden Twenties’.