Polish hotel Puro Poznań is a design-forward delight

We usually expect to find design-forward hotels in cities such as London, New York, or Copenhagen. So when Puro Hotels opened its first property in Wrocław, Poland in 2010, we sat up and took notice. The company has since grown to include seven hotels across Poland (including Puro Warsaw, Puro Kazimierz, Puro Gdansk and Puro Łódź), putting the country on the design map thanks to a vibrant approach that blends the local heritage with a bold, contemporary aesthetic, created by studios such as Conran and Partners and De Salles Flint.

Tour Puro Poznań hotel

Puro Poznań recently emerged from a top-to-toe overhaul, just in time for its tenth anniversary. As with the brand’s other properties, the design, led by London-based studio Holloway Li, has been informed by the hotel’s location, drawing on its home within the city’s historic Old Town.

‘We chose to introduce a natural material palette and focus on a series of new key elements that would have the most impact along a guest’s journey,’ explains project designer Grey Grierson.

The result is undeniably lovely to look at, with these key elements emerging through details such as the striking curved reception desk, elevated on three sculpted limestone plinths. ‘We wanted to create an eye-catching moment as guests enter the hotel,’ notes Grierson. Clad with glossy red tiles, the desk adds a pop of colour to an otherwise subdued colour scheme, while textural details come by way of a hand-tufted rug, its patterns and colours inspired by the nearby public square.

Each space is peppered with regional references. Take the decorative glass in one of the meeting rooms, handmade by local manufacturer Riwal, which echoes Poznań’s art nouveau townhouses. Or the circular cut-out in the partition between the lounge and the reception, which references the early-20th-century locomotives produced in factories in and around the city.

Guest rooms, meanwhile, are kitted out in calming neutral tones, featuring richly textured fabrics, glazed ceramic tiles and carved limestone bedside tables that flow into the curve of the fabric headboards.

Given the hotel’s location (it’s a mere five-minute stroll to the Old Town Square), there’s no excuse not to head out and explore this buzzing city, but if you’re looking for excuses to stay in, then the in-house restaurant might be one. Nifty draws a regular crowd of locals and out-of-towners, who flock here for its contemporary take on regional staples.

During the day, sunlight streams in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, while after dark, soft lighting casts a diffused glow over the leather dining chairs by Norwegian furniture brand Eikund. Long toffee-coloured banquettes and a sculptural artwork by Piotr Łakomy add another layer of interest.

Up next for Puro Hotels will be the launch of its second Warsaw property, designed by Copenhagen-based studio GamFratesi.

Puro Poznań is located at Stawna 12, 61-759 Poznań, Poland, purohotel.pl

A version of this article appears in the January 2025 Next Generation issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.