She works hard and plays hard. Spending the best part of the last sixteen years as sole designer of Travco group’ssuccessive developments including hotels, Cruise Ships, and restaurants, Dora El Chiaty adopts a hands-on creatively involved approach on all aspects of design, from inspiration to execution. Encouraged by her husband to pursue her passion for interiors, the social figure and self-confessed workaholic welcomes Lounge into her world of Moorish magnificence, Asian Fusion and long weekends…

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When did you discover your passion for design and interior design?
I’ve long enjoyed a passion for interiors and interior design although this area was not my field of study,having come from a Mass Communications and Anthropology background. It was my husband who saw the passion I had for it and it was he who asked me to give it a go with my first hotel ‘Sol Y Mar Club Makadi’ ten years ago. My children were in school at the time, I found myself with lots of time on my hands so I thought why not. It was a great success and I’m pleased to say that the rest is history!

What are you working on at the moment?
I have several projects on the go right now working on five of the group’s future projects including M/S JAZ Omar El Khayyam, one of the group’s luxury Cruise Ships in Lake Nasser, as well as four other projects in Magaweesh, Almaza Bay, Madinat Makadi and Marsa Alam and Sharm El Sheikh.

As you can see, I’m very much into working on a host of varied projects simultaneously. I do have a great team working with me comprising some very talented architects and young designers. I work very closely with them, ensuring that they become accustomed to my tastes and needs.

You designed and decorated the interiors of Travco’s first two Nile Cruise Ships, M/S Royale and M/S Regency. Can you describe their esthetics and design influences in a few words?
Neo-classical. They were my first projects over twelve years ago, and at that time neo-classical interiors were all the rage. However, even at that time I was keen to apply an existing trend but with my own touch, which meant that I adopted my own version of the theme. Years later when we refurbished, we kept the original theme but brought the whole opulent tone down, replacing rich colored materials with earthy hues, reflecting our changing tastes.

Which of your works best shows the importance of your surroundings in the design process?
All of my projects do. The Iberotel Coraya Beach Resort in Marsa Alam for example perfectly illustrates my Moorish influence; a trip to Morocco prior to design had inspired me and I think you can see it in the interiors’ details;
from the palette of reds, to the use of lanterns and the use of Moroccan designs on the floors integrating various types of Marble.

What is it about Asian Fusion that you are particularly attracted to?
I’m drawn to the use of color and I like the geometrical design and you can see some excellent examples of this in several of my works including the Makadi Star bar area and Bliss Imperial boat. After having traveled to places such as Shanghai I was very taken by the calming effect of such design. With such busy lifestyles I think walking into a space with such Zen-like qualities makes for a very de-stressing effect, and I like that.

What is it about Asian Fusion that you are particularly attracted to?
I’m drawn to the use of color and I like the geometrical design and you can see some excellent examples of this in several of my works including the Makadi Star bar area and Bliss Imperial boat. With such busy lifestyles I think walking into a space with such Zen-like qualities makes for a very de-stressing effect, and I like that.

With so many simultaneous projects on the go, how hands-on are you in the design execution process?
Very much so. From the moment you step into one of our hotels, you’ll see my work in it all from the floors, color schemes to absolutely everything. I’m not sure how I do it, but I do! I am constantly making on-site visits throughout the execution process and obviously my team including an engineer helps with making things happen upon my instruction. It’s important for me to follow-up throughout the processes on each project and I have daily meetings to that effect. Even when I’m away I’m always online and always in touch to make sure I don’t miss a thing. I’m very dedicated to my work and wouldn’t have it any other way.

As a strong successful working woman, what message do you hope to relay to young girls starting out in the design field?
I’d advise young designer and anyone interested in the field to read as much as possible and to observe and take in your surroundings. Our eyes are such in invaluable tool. Anywhere in the world I am, I look, take in, and see things in a different way. I open my eyes to everything around me and see ideas in many things that perhaps go unnoticed for many.

With so many successful projects behind you, what keeps you motivated?
The end result of my projects. Sometimes when I can’t be there for a hotel opening my husband will call me from a ribbon-cutting event and say ‘You did it again!’ This means the world to me and serves as a one-of-kind motivation.

What are your dream projects?
That is a difficult question since after doing so many projects from hotels, boats and our homes and also –I did our group’s new headquarters in Sheikh Zayed City, I’m not sure what there might be left for me to do! I suppose the opportunity to take an old Cairo villa somewhere and re-do it might be interesting; that’s something I think I might like to do one day. But for now it feels like I have enough projects on the go to last a lifetime. In fact, very often I am asked by other companies to lend my skills to a design project, but the truth is I simply have my hand full with all the Travco Group developments at the moment!!!