Australian architect was a master of the vanishing act

In hotel design, it’s all about the arrival. That moment when the car pulls up and the guests step out is when you can dazzle with your design skills, conveying in an instant a message about the place that they have arrived at and how it will – depending on the brief – seduce, cocoon or thrill them.

So it’s notable that when you arrive at One & Only Desaru Coast, what draws your eye isn’t the hotel – it’s what lies beyond. Your gaze glides smoothly past the stone and glossy timber of the entrance pavilion, out to the green waters of the tree-fringed pool and on to the ocean that laps the horizon. The hotel performs a vanishing act, letting you revel in the magnificent natural surroundings.