Leonardo Hotels
Why: Leonardo Hotels Annual Exceptional Employee Awards
location: Royal Tower Bridge Hotel, London
industry: Hospitality
The challenge
Every year, Leonardo Hotels brings together 240 of its top performers, general managers, hotel managers, HR and operational leaders, for their Annual Exceptional Employee Awards. An awards night that represents real achievement.
A seat at this event isn’t just an invite. It is arrival. Status. Proof that your contribution matters.
This year, they wanted more than a dinner – a memorable experience that transported people somewhere else entirely.
The best immersive experiences have a clear theme with heart, theatre and pride woven through every detail.
This was our first time working with Leonardo Hotels, and there was understandable nervousness. Prestige mattered. Substance mattered. And they had never pushed the creative this far before.
From a shortlist of three, the Senior Leadership Team chose Great Gatsby, the perfect vehicle to transform a familiar London hotel into a world of glitz, glamour and escapism.
From the first digital invitation to the final dance, we held a strict black and gold identity:
- Gold cutlery and black linens
- Dramatic, cinematic lighting
- A beautiful stage setup for high quality award photography
- Edible menus, a playful, sustainable twist guests adored
- Waiters in braces and flapper caps.
And boy, did it work.
The event took place at Leonardo’s Tower Bridge Hotel, a proud moment for the General Manager, but a space many guests knew well. Our job was to make it feel entirely new.
We turned the lower ground entrance into a smuggler’s den:
- Wooden barrels and warm, amber light
- A prohibition style bar
- Jazz floating through the space
- And a once unremarkable corridor became the Instagram moment of the night: a pea lit tunnel draped in gold that led guests through cascading curtains into a speakeasy world.
We staged the arrival like a scene from a film, designing moments that felt elegant and transformative - but never gimmicky. This level of entertainment marked a bold step for the Leonardo team, but one that paid off immediately.
- Flapper dancers welcoming guests and setting the energy
- A perfectly timed opening sequence to start the awards
- A Champagne Tower poured by the owner of Leonardo Hotels, a simple but powerful ritual of unity and celebration
By starting with a high-impact, spectacular arrival experience, we set the tone for the evening, and grounded the night in emotion and anticipation.
