How do you improve upon a hotel classic? In the case of the Radisson Collection Hotel, Royal Copenhagen the answer is: slowly. But after nearly a year Arne Jacobsen’s Danish masterpiece is now in the final stages of its extensive renewal to become, once again, a showcase for design.The celebrated Danish architect built the hotel for Scandinavian airline SAS in 1960. He designed the entire hotel, determining everything from the façade and the interiors to the furniture, including the iconic Swan and Egg chairs, right down to the crockery. Combining functionality and sophistication, this was the world’s first design hotel. Mid-century design inevitably fell out of fashion and the hotel carried out a number of lacklustre updates over the years. But the most recent, by award-winning Danish design company SPACE Copenhagen, is different. It pays tribute to Arne Jacobsen’s legacy, restoring many of the original features such as the curved central staircase, while moving the design on into the 21st century. It is perhaps what Jacobsen would have done if he were alive today.In one of its final touches five new Signature Suites by Republic of Fritz Hansen have just been added. Signature Suite 1106, above, is directly inspired by Arne Jacobsen, featuring the architect’s most iconic furniture in new materials and colours. There’s an Egg chair covered in soft leather, a deep violet wool sofa and for the first time ever, the Swan chair has been upholstered in velvet and the Jacobsen coffee table topped with marble. Signature suite 1006, above, is inspired by Danish furniture designer Cecilie Manz. Against a colour scheme of pink, white and pale grey, there’s a Cecilie Manz pouf in new colours and her Minuscule chair in new fabrics. The Essay table in solid oak and the Caravaggio lamps which illuminate the room fit nicely with the Earthenware ceramic collection, all of which create a homely and inviting atmosphere.One suite which has remained unmodernised, however, is Room 606, which is just how Arne Jacobsen left it, decorated in a colour palette of grey, green and blue, with his signature wooden panelling and all of the original furniture in place.Other rooms, meanwhile, aim to reflect the Danish designer’s legacy rather than replicate it, with an abundance of natural light and functional, stylish furniture. Another nice touch is the newly opened restaurant Café Royal which serves afternoon tea on Royal Copenhagen porcelain inspired by Jacobsen himself. 

The new Signature Suites cost from around £630 per night.

BY MAGGIE O’SULLIVAN