The Architecture Of Ink & Stone

Some places are built, while others are dreamed into existence. When we first began sculpting the Hazelnut Inn, my pointing trowel met more than concrete — it met the edges of stories.

We were designing boundaries: lines between a deep interior magic and the modern world scratching at the windowpanes. If you look closely at the North Star Suite’s celestial ceiling and secret-keeping corners, you will feel the distinct influence of the many fantasy worlds I’ve explored through the years.

I’ve always loved reading and I’m particularly fond of Naomi Novik’s work — her fierce, deeply empathetic characters have stayed with me long after the final page. If you are packing your bags for a stay under our stars, here are two of her books that I recommend for your nightstand.

The Perfect Match: A Deadly Education

Our North Star Suite is a sanctuary — a safe harbour with a private garden and a soothing soaker tub. The room’s midnight velvet tones and celestial motifs perfectly mirror the dark weight of Novik’s narrative. But real magic requires contrast; it needs a hint of peril to make the comfort feel earned.

That vital contrast comes alive in the pages of A Deadly Education. The novel introduces the Scholomance: a living, shifting school whose darkness is actively trying to eat its students. Reading it here creates a delicious friction. You can explore those dangerous, monster-filled corridors while safely tucked inside a suite built to shield you from the world. It’s the ultimate luxury: experiencing literary chaos inside a fairytale haven.

The Alternate Path: His Majesty’s Dragon

If dark academia isn’t the escape you're looking for, slide Novik’s His Majesty’s Dragon into your satchel instead.

This story trades claustrophobic danger for historical grandeur and the thrill of the open skies. The suite’s deep ocean hues and sweeping celestial ceiling mirror the endless horizons of Captain Laurence and Temeraire’s journeys. Reading it here feels like charting a course across the stars from the comfort of your own private captain’s quarters.

Each of our suites is a personal invitation to step out of the ordinary and into a story of your own. We built the architecture; we welcome you to bring the ink.