/ / / / /

Some People Just Don't Respond Well To Giant Chess Pieces In Their Hotels

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: 933 Skokie Blvd [map], Northbrook, IL, United States, 60062
February 28, 2012 at 9:06 AM | by | Comments (0)

Though we've seen the chess board put to fairly creative use in other places (Forty 1 North, Gamboa Rainforest Resort), we cannot say the same for Renaissance Chicago North Shore.

The hotel recently underwent a complete renovation of guest rooms and meeting spaces—everything from new carpeting to refrigerators to artwork was installed—though when we hopped over to the website to inspect new photos, we noticed one pre-existing design motif that had been left in place: ten foot tall chess pieces in the lobby.

To say the little statuettes stick out like a sore thumb would be an understatement (in a Renaissance? really?), but don't just take our word for it. We found a user review from a previous guest who seemingly had his whole world shattered by the offensive knight and rook sculptures.

Take a look at his assessment below:

The Yelp-er starts by acknowledging the lack of harmony between the hotel's art and the hotel itself:

"It looks like Las Vegas and chess  had a baby and it got sick and threw up all over the place- no joke there are 10' tall chess pieces in the lobby and the carpet all makes me sick"

OK, fair enough. The colors are a bit much. But is that reason enough to sound off on Yelp? Apparently, yes:

"The catering did not try that hard.  Meh.    BUT PEOPLE!  10' CHESS PIECES.  ONE NIGHT IN BANCOCK - DID ABBA STAY HERE?  WTF"

And while he does admit he would come back to stay here for his birthday:

"It is going to be awesome to get D'D up and play 10' chess"

...he ultimately warns prospective guests to stay the heck away.

"if I was staying at a hotel with 10' chess pieces or having a meeting and people came in I would be so embarrassed I would have to die."

And there you have it. Not just an awkward design that would deter him from spending time in the lobby, but so shame-inducing that he would have to die.

What about you? Have you spotted any features in a hotel recently that touched a nerve? Or that made you like the hotel so much you recommended it to all your friends? We wanna hear about it!

[Photos: Renaissance Chicago North Shore]

Comments (0)

Post a Comment

Join the conversation!

Not a member? .
Use of this Site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (effective 3/21/12) and Privacy Policy (effective 3/21/12). © Condé Nast. Your California Privacy Rights. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.
Ad Choices