Transforming Industrial Heritage into Boutique Wellness Luxury for Mornington Hotel

Mornington Hotels isn’t just about providing a place to sleep; they are about curating a lifestyle. In the competitive landscape of Stockholm’s hospitality sector, they have carved a niche for travelers who appreciate character over cookie-cutter consistency. However, they faced a spatial conundrum at their city location.

They approached Blink, a premier retail design agency in Sweden, because they didn’t just want an interior decorator; they needed a partner who understood commercial strategy. They possessed a dormant asset—a historic coal cellar buried beneath the hotel—and a vision to monetize it. They needed Scandinavian retail design experts who could look past the dust and cobwebs to see a potential goldmine. Their goal was audacious: to build a gym that felt less like a fitness center and more like an exclusive underground speakeasy where you just happen to lift weights.

Before picking out swatches, we donned our detective hats. As store interior design specialists, we believe design without data is just art—and we are in the business of commerce. Through site audits and analyzing user journeys within the hotel, we uncovered three critical insights.

Our strategy was built on the concept of "The Polished Gritty". As a leading retail design agency in Sweden, we approached this project by applying retail psychology to a wellness space. We wanted to create high-contrast tension.

We decided to leave the industrial bones exposed—the concrete, the history, the weight of the building—and juxtapose them against hyper-luxurious materials. It’s the architectural equivalent of wearing a tuxedo with combat boots.

Unlike competitors who try to mimic daylight with fake windows and bright white walls, we leaned into the darkness. We treated the gym equipment not as machinery, but as sculpture within a gallery. The strategy was to create a "Third Place"—not quite home, not quite work—where members felt part of an inner circle. This approach positioned Mornington not just as a hotel with a gym, but as a lifestyle brand hosting a wellness club.

Turning a coal cellar into a luxury club is as difficult as it sounds. As store interior design specialists, we are used to tight constraints, but this was next level.

The biggest challenge was infrastructure. Ventilation in a subterranean space is a nightmare, but essential for a gym (nobody wants to smell 100 years of coal mixed with yesterday's cardio). We had to route complex HVAC systems without ruining the aesthetic ceiling heights.

Furthermore, getting materials like heavy Carrara marble slabs and custom steel rigs down narrow, historic stairwells required logistical gymnastics. We managed the project with military precision, ensuring that the "Raw" elements remained authentic while the "Refined" elements were installed with white-glove perfection. It required close collaboration between our design team, structural engineers, and the Mornington stakeholders to ensure the vision wasn't compromised by the reality of the basement.