SHERIDAN, WYOMING — July 03, 2026 — The Hopper Hotel St. Josef in Cologne has completed a redesign covering all 65 guest rooms and parts of its public areas, including the library and lobby. The project was carried out by LFPI Hospitality Group, which has operated the hotel since 2022 inside a heritage-protected building dating to 1891. LFPI has partnered with BWH Hotels under the WorldHotels Crafted brand since 2025, positioning the Cologne property within a wider collection of independently managed hotels. The redesign focused on preserving existing architectural elements while introducing new materials intended to improve guest comfort.
A Renovation Built Around Preservation, Not Replacement
Rather than stripping the hotel's interior back to a blank slate, the design team worked around materials already present in the building, including wood, parquet flooring, and natural stone. These elements were treated as a foundation to build on rather than features to remove. New, durable materials and textiles were added around them, a decision consistent with the building's protected heritage status and its late-19th-century construction.
Wall Treatments and Textiles Define the Room-Level Changes
Guest rooms received new curtains, cushion textiles, and rugs made from natural sheep's wool, alongside reworked wall sections throughout the property. The entrance area was updated with structured wallpaper, giving arriving guests a different first impression than before. Leather furniture and new lighting solutions, including handcrafted silk lampshades, were added to round out the interior. The lighting choices were intended to create a warm, understated glow rather than a brighter, more clinical look.
Director Frames the Work as Comfort-Driven, Not Cosmetic
Hotel director Christoph Nüesch described the existing interior fit-out as already high quality before the renovation began, framing the project's goal as preserving that underlying substance while measurably improving guest comfort. That framing suggests the redesign was driven less by a need to modernize an outdated interior and more by an effort to layer additional warmth and functionality onto a structure the operator already considered sound.
Interior Architect Ties the Concept to Emotional Atmosphere
Alexia Stathopoulou of XIAWORKS, the interior architect responsible for the project, said the existing materials — solid wood, parquet, and natural stone — already formed a high-quality, timeless base, but that the rooms lacked an inviting, emotional dimension. She said the design concept was built to create an atmosphere that respects the building's architectural restraint while introducing a tangible sense of warmth. Sustainability was described as a central consideration throughout, with an emphasis on materials chosen for how they age and their suitability for long-term use, rather than for their initial appearance alone.
Original Artwork Rounds Out Each Room
Each guest room now includes individual artworks integrated into the new design, a detail intended to complete the overall concept rather than serve as a standalone feature. Combined with the retained architectural elements and newly added materials, the artwork contributes to a room-by-room identity that the operator positions as distinct from a standard hotel renovation.
Part of a Broader Shift in How the Property Is Positioned
The renovation follows LFPI Hospitality Group's move to align the Hopper Hotel St. Josef with WorldHotels Crafted, a brand within BWH Hotels aimed at independently operated properties with a distinct design identity. For a heritage building operating under an international hotel brand relationship, a redesign that emphasizes material preservation and long-term durability signals an approach built around differentiation rather than standardization — a strategy relevant to other independent hotels considering similar brand partnerships.