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Tags: Hotel Design / Hotel Industry News / Taste Envy / Hotel Restaurant / → All Tags

Have You Ever Wondered Who Designed That Hotel Restaurant Menu?

Where: 306 Dexter Ave. N. [map], Seattle, WA, United States, 98109

The Aquarius restaurant menu at the Dream Inn in Santa Cruz, Calif.

Usually we don’t even notice a menu design…unless it’s ugly, unwieldy or unappetizing. But if you're a hotel geek like ourselves then you've probably caught yourself staring at a menu before and wondering who did the design? Most likely, it wasn't someone at the hotel.

When we talk about design in the hospitality industry, we almost always mean décor. However, there is a whole world of materials that have to be designed, and that is where the design firm Taste Envy comes in.

Founded by husband-and-wife team Jason and Nadine Stellavato Brown, Taste Envy creates menu covers and other "branding materials for design-minded restaurants, hotels and hospitality brands." Jason formed a similar firm in 1994 called Lost Luggage, which designed and created folders and other supplies for clients, but it makes sense that the two branched out into menus—all you have to do is check out their blog to see what big foodies the two are.

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Tags: Bad Rate / Seattle Hotels / Bumbershoot Hotels / → All Tags

Bad Rate :: Courtyard Marriott Seattle for Bumbershoot Festival

Where: 925 Westlake Avenue North [map], Seattle, WA, United States, 98109

[Ed. Note: This is the Bad Rate in our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature. The screenshot above was taken on August 22, 2006 and rates are subject to change. Enjoy.]

When did Courtyard Marriotts leapfrog over the price of a suite hotel and start costing as much as a 4-star hotel? Find a better option for Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival.

We've got nothing against the Courtyard chain really. It is what it is. Their rooms are a servicable place to spend the night while on a business trip, a place to sleep and get some work done between meetings. But if you're coming to rock out at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle and you want to look forward to coming back to your room, is this really worth $169 a night and up?

The Bumbershoot festival in Seattle takes place over Labor Day weekend, which is not always the easiest time to find a hotel deal. Sure enough, the expected weekend rate drop is definitely not happening at this hotel. It's roughly the same price per night as the nearby Westin and the swanky and artistic Hotel Max. And it's $34 a night more than our "Good Rate" Summerfield Suites. This is if you book it through the Marriott site too (without breakfast--with is $184). At any other booking site we checked the nightly rate is $189 a night.

Related Stories:
· Courtyard Lake Union reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Good Rate: Summerfield Suites for Bumbershoot [HotelChatter]