Some people travel for business only rarely, perhaps attending one conference a year outside their home country to fly the flag for their company. Others fly regularly, meeting others in offices across the world, and with the meeting concluded, travel on towards the next one.
Whether you’re a serial business traveller or enjoying a rare chance to escape from the office, traveling abroad, stopovers, delays and missed connections create stress and mean a lot of waiting around. In that case, it helps to be travelling through somewhere that offers some luxuries for the business traveller. Places where the architecture and interior design are specifically intended to help pass the time, and offer comfort, distraction and even some unique shopping opportunities while you wait for your next plane, train or automobile to bear you onward.
Munich Airport
Part of this busy international airport has been made over to offer comfort for business travellers, or anyone who’s experiencing a stressful journey. Everything in the Munich Relax Zone, from the neutral colours, the rounded lines of the furniture and the natural materials is intended to create an oasis of calm for the busy traveller.
The design projects maturity and professionalism, subtly steering children and loud groups away from this area, allowing adults to relax as they need. The area is divided into circles, with different levels of privacy serving the needs of those who need to wall themselves off and work, as well as travellers looking for some quiet chat to pass the time.
Heathrow Terminal Three
Air travel can be stressful and confusing, especially in a busy international airport like Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic has created a safe haven for its Upper Class passengers with the Clubhouse in Terminal Three.
Created using luxury materials, and the sort of design sensibility that wouldn’t be out of place in an exclusive members’ club in Pall Mall; The Clubhouse includes perfected examples of airport standards like a bar and restaurant, as well as luxuries like a well-stocked library, that make waiting for a plane a pleasure.
The Paris Eurostar Lounge
It’s worth travelling business on the Eurostar just to experience the new lounge at the Gare du Nord. This classy, contemporary space has been designed with the needs of business travellers particularly in mind, with areas to focus and work set away from more open social spaces, flooded with natural light.
The lounge also includes a cocktail bar and Michelin starred restaurant for when work is done and you’re able to relax even further. It might even leave you hoping for a cancelled train just so you have the chance to enjoy the ambience.