6 Ways Hotels and Restaurants Are Turning Outdoor Spaces into Experiences
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Outdoor areas have become far more than additional tables or somewhere for guests to wait when the weather is good. For hotels and restaurants, terraces, courtyards, rooftops and gardens can become destinations in their own right.
The most successful spaces give people a reason to stay longer, take photographs, meet friends and return at different times of the day. Rather than treating the outdoors as an afterthought, hospitality businesses are increasingly applying the same level of design thinking to these spaces as they do to their interiors.
1. Creating Outdoor Rooms Rather Than Open Seating Areas
Placing tables and chairs across an empty terrace may provide extra capacity, but it doesn't necessarily create an experience.
Hotels and restaurants are increasingly dividing larger outdoor areas into smaller zones with distinct purposes. One section might contain dining tables, another comfortable lounge seating and another a bar or quieter corner.
Planters, changes in flooring, screens and furniture placement can establish these boundaries without physically closing areas off.
The result feels more like a collection of outdoor rooms than one large seating area, giving guests different ways to use the space throughout their visit.
2. Using Lighting to Change the Mood After Dark
An outdoor space can look impressive during the day and lose all of its character as soon as the sun disappears. Thoughtful lighting allows hospitality venues to create an entirely different atmosphere in the evening.
Instead of relying on extremely bright overhead illumination, designers can combine different sources of light around tables, pathways and architectural features. In covered areas, City Lights offers outdoor pendant lights that can provide focused illumination over seating and dining areas without taking up valuable table or floor space.
Combined with wall, landscape and pathway lighting, this layered approach can make an exterior area feel more intimate while still providing the visibility guests need.
3. Turning Views into Part of the Experience
Some hospitality venues already have an obvious advantage: their surroundings.
Rooftop restaurants might overlook a city skyline, while coastal hotels can have uninterrupted ocean views. Countryside venues may instead be surrounded by gardens, mountains or open landscapes.
The key is designing around those features rather than competing with them.
Seating can be positioned towards the best views, while lower furniture and carefully positioned planting can prevent unnecessary visual obstructions. Even venues without dramatic surroundings can create focal points through landscaping, water features or interesting architecture.
Sometimes the most effective design decision is simply making it easier for guests to appreciate what is already there.
4. Designing Outdoor Spaces Around Food and Drink
Bringing parts of the food and drink experience outdoors can make a terrace feel considerably more interactive.
Outdoor bars are an obvious example, but hospitality businesses can go further with open kitchens, pizza ovens, barbecue areas or dedicated cocktail stations.
Guests aren't simply sitting outside. They can watch drinks being prepared or food being cooked nearby, turning part of the service into entertainment.
Hotels can also use outdoor spaces differently throughout the day. A terrace could host breakfast in the morning, relaxed lunches in the afternoon and cocktails in the evening, allowing one area to support several different experiences.
5. Using Landscaping to Create a Sense of Escape
Planting can completely change the character of an outdoor hospitality space, particularly in busy urban locations. Large planters, climbing plants, trees and living walls can soften hard architectural surfaces while creating greater separation from surrounding streets or buildings. Thoughtful planting can also help define seating areas and make individual tables feel more private.
The aim doesn't have to be creating an elaborate garden. Even relatively simple greenery can help a city terrace feel removed from the environment immediately outside it.
For guests, that sense of separation can become part of the attraction.
6. Making Comfort Part of the Design
Beautiful spaces only work if people actually want to spend time in them.
Hospitality businesses therefore need to consider practical details alongside aesthetics. Shade can make sunny terraces more comfortable during the day, while appropriate heating may extend the usefulness of outdoor areas into cooler evenings.
Furniture matters just as much. Comfortable chairs, suitable table heights and enough room between seating areas can determine whether guests want to stay for another drink or leave immediately after eating.
Weather conditions also need to influence material choices. Outdoor furniture, fabrics and lighting should be suitable for the environment in which they are being installed.
When comfort is integrated into the design from the beginning, it doesn't have to compromise the overall look.