Anna & Bel
Anna & Bel is a minimalist boutique hotel located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed by B March. In Philadelphia’s Fishtown, a faded black and white checkered floor tells a story of temporal dialogue. These carefully selected tiles in Hotel Anna & Bel’s entrance hall serve as both a bridge and a declaration – connecting the building’s 18th-century mansion origins to its contemporary incarnation while asserting a distinct design vocabulary that will unfold throughout the space. It’s a fitting introduction to a project where preservation meets reinvention, and where the ghosts of past residents – particularly the women of the Penn Asylum for Indigent Widows – seem to whisper through carefully preserved architectural details.
The hotel’s design approach, orchestrated by Foyer Project in collaboration with B March, demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of adaptive reuse that goes beyond mere preservation. “We wanted to elevate the beauty of the rediscovered interiors of the building with contemporary touches that further feminize the space in subtle ways,” explains Galli Arbel, Director of Brand at Foyer Project. This undertone manifests not just in the hotel’s name – a reference to both its location and heritage – but in thoughtful material choices and spatial arrangements that honor rather than erase the building’s history as a women’s sanctuary.
The material palette reads like a carefully composed sonnet to craft traditions: exposed brick walls unveiled during renovation, original wood beams, and marble vanities with Turkish stone create a layered narrative of authenticity. These historical elements are met with contemporary interventions that feel less like interruptions and more like conversations across time – Hudson Valley Lighting fixtures cast new shadows on old walls, while velvet and linen furnishings add tactile luxury without overwhelming the space’s inherent character.
Particularly compelling is the designers’ treatment of transition spaces. The “intricate maze of hallways and bridges” doesn’t merely connect different sections but serves as a physical metaphor for the building’s evolution. Each passage becomes a moment of discovery, leading to unexpected treasures like the wellness room housed in the former Penn Home barbershop – a thoughtful repurposing that maintains the space’s historical role as a site of self-care.
The courtyard design demonstrates how contemporary luxury can be grafted onto historical foundations without compromising either. Its blend of French Quarter aesthetics with Mediterranean influences creates what the designers call a “peaceful urban oasis,” but it’s more than that – it’s a masterclass in placemaking that acknowledges both global design influences and local context.
What makes Hotel Anna & Bel significant isn’t just its preservation of physical artifacts – though the original window seats and grand staircase are impressive – but its preservation of narrative. In an era where boutique hotels often default to a kind of placeless luxury, this project stands as a testament to how design can honor female histories while creating thoroughly contemporary spaces. The result is neither museum nor mere hotel, but rather a living document of Philadelphia’s evolving urban fabric, where each design choice serves both memory and momentum.
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