The Westin Valencia Gardens and Patio

The Starwood Westin Valencia Hotel is one of the most luxuries hotels in Spain. It is located in the Mediterranean city of Valencia, and occupies a restored old building that was originally constructed in a modernist style dating from 1917.
The central Patio is a 1,800 m2 surface and the entire surface is over the underground parking and Spa,  except 400 m2 that is located in the centre of the patio. So, we had to work with roof garden techniques but with a very thin soil layer.
We worked closely with the Starwood Design Team to achieve the garden they wanted, a classic vintage Valencian garden that complements the refurbish building style.

When we started the design, a very big eleven meters high Canarian palm was in the middle of the patio, so it was the main starting point for the final design. From this point we designed the garden trying to maximize the small area with deep soil in the centre of the patio. All the big trees and the new palms had to be located in this small central area with deep soil, with the aim of simulating a continuous garden, avoiding the idea of two different gardens, one with deep soil and one without it. We think now, after five years, that it has been successfully achieved.