Inspiration • Websites ExamplesJody Moss • August 24, 2012

As with pretty much all areas of business and consumer branding, hotels are increasingly becoming almost completely dependent on the internet for their bookings and subsequent sales. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial that the hotel’s website gives off the right impression to potential visitors.

After all, first impressions always count. Therefore a bold, busy website could suggest that the hotel itself is loud and perhaps a little rough around the edges. This might be ideal for backpacker’s, but if you want 5* luxury, it’s a minimalist design all the way.

Here are some of the best hotel websites going at the moment; ranging from classic designs, to more modern and polished styles.

Minimalist Hotel Web Design Examples

Wynn Las Vegas

This website lets the amazing architecture of the hotel speaks for itself – an amazing image dominates the screen, and all website options are kept neatly out of the way. At first glance, the standalone image almost represents a postcard. The only thing not so great is the cheesy automatic voiceover as you enter the website.

Swissotel

Swissotel is an international hotel chain with hotels situated all over the world – from Berlin to Beijing. The website is the epitome of class, with clean, neutral colours and neat lines. The text is also very Swiss, and consistent throughout the website; adding to the overall clean feel of the website.

Preferred Hotel Group

The Preferred Hotel Group have a range of hotel brands across the world. One of the standout brands is the Summit, which showcases a selection of well-lit photographs of their hotels upon a simple, elegant website – all information is easy to see and pleasing to the eye.

Aria Hotel

In comparison to other hotel designs in the list, this one is fairly busy, with the options to sift through the featured photographs at your own leisure, rather than an automated carousel. Despite this, it is still fairly minimalist. Offers are displayed neatly in the bottom corner, and you can keep track of the local weather in the top.

Hollmann Beletage

This website brings a new twist to the traditional hotel web design, with overtones of oranges and welcoming quotes on the opening page. It may not present the same degree of luxury as other hotel websites, but it does add a great sense of fun, whilst keeping in mind its target demographic.

Epic Hotel

Anything with ‘epic’ in the title has a lot to live up to, and the website for this hotel is definitely a good start. Sleek, sophisticated design, coupled with notably crisp images of the grandiose architecture, do a worthy job of bringing out the epic. Showcasing the best in hotel web design; this website combines an attractive minimalist design with an easy to navigate system.

Hotel Oxford

Whereas most of the sites in this list use slick photography to speak volumes, Hotel Oxford instead opts for simplistic colour tones. In this case, beige is used to further emphasize relaxation.

The White Barn Inn

Upon entering this website, you are met with stunning photos of what the hotel has to offer; set upon a background of a vintage inspired patterns and neutral colours that seamlessly alter in tone.

Faena Hotel

Not only a hotel, but an arts gallery; this website moves away from the cream and white tones, often featured in hotel websites, and elects for a darker, more dramatic theme to the overall look.

The Peninsula Hotels

Again, this website uses darker tones as its base, but juxtaposes it with a carousel of black and white documentary-style photographs. The most unique thing about this aspect is how the images aren’t representative of the hotel rooms, instead favouring to show its staff in a playful light. The luxury element is further accentuated with its use of gold serif typeface.

Maritime Hotel

A set of various vintage print types atop a table might not be the most obvious connotations for a hotel, but this design somehow makes a lot of sense. Al most like the contents of an old briefcase, The Maritime Hotel combines the cool, retro image of New York with a clean, modern feel.

Sabi Sabi

Combining luxury and the natural beauty of the Congo in the website, this design manages to bring a whole new meaning to the word safari!

Hotel Martinez

You’d struggle to find a hotel in Cannes that doesn’t scream class, and this web design shows this hotel is no different – clean, fresh and elegant – everything you’d expect from a holiday in Cannes.

Cambell Gray

The design for Campbell Gray is comprised of crisp, clear images of the hotel and its surroundings, set upon a tonal grey. The white a black text further compliments the minimal use of colours. Visitors are met with beautiful images of the hotel and its surroundings, as well as clear options to help you book a room in the easiest way.

Hoxton Hotels

This hotel combines elegant hotel web design with the cool image of East London – as the majority of the page is dominated by fun, subtle cinemagraphs of the hotel. Unlike the other examples, however, the photography takes up the entire page and is decidedly grainy. Options to book and view hotel rooms are limited to the top of the page, which makes it clean and easy to use.