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Wondering Where We Wandered?
It is time once again to Guess the Hotel. Where did we wake up? Well, here's a clue. See the magic eye-like photo we posted above? That is actually a view into the newest type of peekaboo bathrooms which are on display at this very hotel. Not sure what magic eye photos are? Then you must not have lived through the 90s.
Instead of the "full sight" open bathrooms which briefly dominated the hotel scene for earlier this decade, this hotel decided to attempt Peekaboo Bathrooms 2.0. What is the difference? There is a one way mirror in the bathroom where the person outside the bathroom can look in while the person inside the bathroom just sees their own reflection. Furthermore, the toilet is in its own separate room and the shower is behind a glass door, thus neither is out in the open like commonly occurred in peekaboo 1.0.
Still wondering where we woke up? Well, we suggest re-reading this post and applying the same theory one would use when staring at a magic eye picture. Focus on one point and the picture will reveal itself. Or rather the hotel bathroom. Think you've figured it out? Put your guesses in comments below.
Tags: Snapshot / Hotel Bathrooms / Hotel Openings / Kimpton Hotels / → All Tags
The Vu Hotel Lives On at Ink48...on The Bath Towels
Yes, we spent the night at Ink48 and our in-depth review will be coming on Monday but we just had to show you this snapshot of the towels inside the bathrooms at the hotel. What do they say? VU. As in The Vu Hotel, the hotel's original name.
We've inquired about this embroidery mishap and we're waiting to hear back. But we have to say, we really loved the VU name and it was very apropro. The windows in the rooms (which look pretty much identical to what you see on the website) really do offer up some great Manhattan views.
Ink48 is a cute name and is also a shout-out to the building's history as a former printing warehouse but we were a little disappointed there were no ink blotters on the desk.
All the juicy detes on what is at Ink48 will come on Monday so tune in then.
Tags: Hotel Bathrooms / Hotel Bathtubs / Bangkok Hotels / Sofitel Hotels / → All Tags
Centara Bangkok's Circular Soaking Tub Would Round Out Our Week
We don't know about you, but we feel like it's been a long week. And one of our favorite ways to unwind at week's end? A soak in the tub. One of the first things we do when entering a hotel room is to duck into the bathroom to check the shower/bath situation. Tubs—or rain showers and extra jets in shower-only setups—usually elicit whoops of glee. So when we saw this photo of the tub from a guest room at the Centara Grand Bangkok we swooned. We may have seen bigger tubs in our hotel travels, but this one is just so damn cute in its roundness. (All that space around it is pretty appealing, too.)
Tags: Hotel Bathrooms / Bowery Hotels / Hotel Hype / Manhattan Hotels / → All Tags
Itsy-Bitsy LES Hotel Rooms Feature See-All Showers
To prevent the 10-foot-6-inch-wide rooms at the Bowery's new Lower East Side Hotel from looking cramped, the Office for Design & Architecture, the folks behind the Grand Street Hotel, got rid of the bathrooms. Instead of having a private place to do your business, the hotel puts the glass flash-all-your-bits shower in the middle of the room and the toilet sits in the corner for all to see.
The architects' mission was accomplished, since the shower, which looks like a Voss water bottle—you know, those tall fancy glass bottles of water that clubs sell for, like, $10—is the main focus. Here's what the architects said about the design:
"With the skin of the bathroom removed, the guts of the fixtures were exposed and celebrated. The guest could now experience the entire room from the door threshold."
Tags: Guess The Hotel / Hotel Bathrooms / → All Tags
Guess The Hotel's Bathroom Wallpaper Flourish
Sigh, we tried to make this Guess The Hotel harder for you but short of photographing the rug, there simply wasn't any way. Nevertheless, we will carry on with the pretense and play the game.
Dedicated readers of HotelChatter know the drill but in case you're new, here's how it works. We put up a snapshot of a hotel somewhere in this great wide world and drop a few hints about the place. Then you put in your guesses in comments below. And away we go.
· These are new accommodations in Las Vegas.
· There are floor to ceiling windows in the room, six pillows on the bed and a $7.00 resort fee.
· At the hotel we saw a little boy watching his mom and dad get tattoos.
· Music is everywhere.
Think you know the hotel we're hinting at? Start putting in your guesses in comments below and we'll unveil the hotel's identity tomorrow.
Tags: Anti-View / Art Hotels / Hotel Bathrooms / → All Tags
(Bath)Room With an Anti-View: We're Not Sure We're Okay With This
This could be a Killer View, we suppose, depending on how you look at it. This is the view from the urinals in the public men's room at 21C Museum Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. And those are real people. And they could be you!
Alright, we get it. 21C is an art in a hotel that dually functions as a public art museum but its "gender-specific latent exhibitionist fetish features" within the lobby bathrooms are a topic we've discussed before, and now that we're seeing a real (read: non-PR) shot of the view from in the little boys' room, we're not so sure we're okay with this.
Allow is to explain what's going on here:
The men's restroom has a two-way mirror that allows users of a long urinal to contemplate passers-by outside the restroom. Both the men's and women's restrooms have tiny LCD screens displaying a multitude of different, open eyes in the mirror above the sink area that make washing up or primping a communal affair.
Dudes peeing in urinals while looking at us. Does that not make you a wee bit uncomfortable? Think about it. Really.
Anyway, rooms here start around $185 if you're interested in booking your own private bathroom without these exhibitionist features.
[Photo: gregverdino]
Tags: HotelChatter Reviews / Thompson Hotels / Hotel Bathrooms / Checking In On / → All Tags
Why One Dude Loves The Smyth Hotel's Bathrooms
We often travel alone and spend the night in hotel rooms alone but on a recent trip to New York City, we managed to have a few travel buddies come along with us. Our mother stayed with us when we visited The Plaza (she loved the rooms but misses the old feel) and a dude very close to our hearts, who we'll call Mr. Z, stayed with us during our two nights at Smyth Hotel in Tribeca. Thanks to him, we learned what dudes look for in hotel bathrooms.
Tags: Hotel Bathtubs / Hotel Amenities / Hotel Bathrooms / Sleeping in Seattle / Seattle Hotels / Hotel Video Tours / → All Tags
About That Bath at Hotel 1000
Over the weekend we spent a few days in Seattle checking out the city's coffee shops, fish markets and, of course, the hotel scene. This week we'll be putting forth our reviews and observations on Seattle's hotels, of which there are plenty. Got any questions or suggestions? Let us know.
Yesterday we gave you the full review of the Hotel 1000 in Seattle but we don't feel as if we spent enough time talking about the tub. Yes, we want to talk more about the tub. This is a free-standing bathtub where the controls are on the wall to the left and the water pours down from the ceiling. It's soooo cool.
At first, we had no idea how to work this thing. When we peered in there was only a drain but no hot or cold handles. Then we spotted the control on the wall and we moved it. A large splat happened behind us and we jumped. That's when we realized the noise was coming from the ceiling.
It took a few tries to get the water temperature right but once we did, we poured in the bubbles and waited until the tub was full. Then we just relaaaaaaxed.
Tags: Snapshot / Hotel Bathrooms / Hotel Design / Airport Hotels / → All Tags
Possibly the Worst Peekaboo Bathroom Yet
Last we checked, it seemed that nobody really enjoyed the whole "peekaboo" bathroom trend. This new seethrough-restroom thing that hotel designers seem to be into nowadays appears to appeal to very few of the folks who actually need to use these seethrough-restrooms, and having our jiggly bits displayed to our hotel room-mates — and, good lord, our private business exposed — does not particularly scream sex and sensuality. If there are places to forgo function for style, we think everyone is in agreement that the commode and body-cleaning area is not the place to do so.
But this one may be one of the worst we've seen: check out this snapshot of the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport in Singapore, dropped into the HotelChatter Flickr Pool by lyh1. Doesn't this sort of remind you of what would happen if an aquarium, a bathroom and one of those picture frames you used to make at summer camp (back when Hawaiian prints were super trendy, by the way) all got together and had a baby?
Tags: Hotel Bathrooms / Hotel Design / New York Times / → All Tags
Does Anyone Actually Like the Peekaboo Bathroom Trend?
The Sanderson Hotel, London.
Call us old-fashioned, but we're still not at peace with the whole peekaboo-bathroom thing. As the NY Times also mentioned recently, the idea of having a shower, bathtub or even a toilet that's viewable from the rest of your hotel room is just not everybody's idea of a great design trend.
The NYT article mentions the Hotel Le Germain in Toronto as one voyeuristic bathroom culprit. In this case, there are blinds to cover the glass wall of the shower but you can't operate them from inside the stall — so if you're not prepared in advance, your bathing habits will be exposed for your companion (who, in the NYT's case, was a 26-year-old woman's father. Eek).
Apparently designers think they're doing us a big favor by upsizing bathrooms and making them prominent (and visible) parts of the room. There are various justifications, including making it luxurious and experiential as well as helping you to orient yourself in an unfamiliar space (a problem we never knew we had).
We'll just wait another decade or so and hope for a big trend in closed, private bathrooms.
[Photo: Jonathan Player / NYT]
Tags: Hotel Bathrooms / Brussels Hotels / Belgium Hotels / → All Tags
The Bathroom Mirror at the NH Hotel Brussels Boosts Our Self-Esteem
Mirror, mirror, on the wall--or at least hanging in the bathroom in the NH Brussels hotel. Apparently we're not the fairest of them all, but this mirror still has a friendly message for us:
I see a lot of faces and I have never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful.
The nice part is that guest reviews make the NH Brussels sound like one of the best hotels in town, so we probably would be smiling at this mirror. And more so now that we've discovered a stay at this place won't break the bank, with rooms starting at €64.50 (a strangely not-rounded price but that's what the hotel's own website promises; it's less than $85).
If the mirrors are so complimentary about our beautiful smiling faces, then we're just wondering what the staff will have to say about our great dress sense and gorgeous luggage, too. And who said Belgium was only good for the chocolate?
[Photo: kattebelletje]
Tags: HotelChatter Reviews / Sydney Hotel Reviews / Ibis Hotels / Hotel Bathrooms / → All Tags
Ibis Darling Harbour Gives You "Four Minutes To Save the World"
Someone told us not to expect any kind of view when we checked into the Hotel Ibis Darling Harbour in Sydney, and when we booked a last minute special for A$89 ($60) we definitely expected to be shoved into a room resembling a corner closet.
But no--the Ibis Darling Harbour really surprised us. Sandwiched between the more expensive Novotel and Grand Mercure Apartments, the Ibis turns out to be great value for such a sought-after tourist spot. And our cheapie room even had a view--not over Darling Harbour but in the other direction towards the Star City casino complex and the "other" bridge in Sydney, the Anzac Bridge.
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