Function and atmosphere in Curacao

For the Van der Valk Kontiki Beach Resort Curaçao, in-lite was allowed to completely renew the exterior lighting this year. The lighting specialist used its expertise to ensure that the atmosphere at night is at least as pleasant as during the day.

Making outdoors special is what in-lite aims to do. Senior LAB Specialist Thijs van Zessen: "The owner of the Kontiki Beach Resort was renovating his own house and garden. He discovered our products and thought that perhaps we could also mean something in Curaçao." This first acquaintance went so well that the in-lite specialists were invited to Curaçao. 

"You can't set up a resort remotely. In one week, we looked at what was needed to properly illuminate the Kontiki Beach Resort. The resort breathes a real Caribbean atmosphere and has a jungle vibe. This is very soothing, but this atmosphere did not quite come into its own at night. The lighting was outdated and often not properly adjusted. Different types of light were combined and sometimes the lighting was really too bright."

In-lite set out to extend the relaxed vibe of the resort into the night. "From there we started designing," says Van Zessen. "Initially we captured everything with film and photos, in the Netherlands we created a comprehensive plan in 2D and 3D. We found that 3D really helps to convey our vision better than on a floor plan. Partly because of this, the owner of the resort was quickly convinced during presentation."

Lighting matched

"In the old situation, three spots illuminated a very large area. We chose to use more smaller spots. This increases the contrast and there are fewer large spots of light." 

Especially for this project, in-lite also developed a new spotlight: "We call this the SCOPE WIDE, in it we combine the wide lens of the BIG SCOPE (intended for high wide trees) and the regular SCOPE. This is because we needed wide, but not high lighting here." 

Van Zessen is very happy with the light intensity and colors of the lighting. "These are now comparable to each other, before there was overexposure, where you walked from light spot to light spot, now not anymore." 

"In the plan, we deliberately sought a good combination between functionality and atmosphere. Here we have used the fixture SWAY. This is a fixture that does not stand out at all among the planting during the day and playfully illuminates the path at night." 

A conscious decision was made to give extra emphasis to the main route through the hotel. "That's where the intensity is highest; if you deviate from the main route, the intensity toward your room naturally decreases." 

Van Zessen sees the success of the choices made, among other things, on the resort's social media channels. "At first, the photos were really only of daytime, but now much of the content is shot at night." In-lite is also involved in the resort's expansion.