Lobby or no?
Dec 5, 2023, 12:39 pm
#1
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Lobby or no?
We here on this thread sporadically have noticed of late the disappearance of the lobby in luxury hotels. Now comes the Wall Street Journal opining on this trend:
“Lately, however, travelers are striding into high-end hotels to find…no lobby at all. These properties claim that jettisoning the grand entrance and front desk provides a more personal sense of “coming home.” But is the trend genuinely luxe or just stingy minimalism masquerading as “elegance”?”
Full-text WSJ article (12/01/23) here: https://archive.is/8rEvq
I firmly am Team Lobby — how about you?
“Lately, however, travelers are striding into high-end hotels to find…no lobby at all. These properties claim that jettisoning the grand entrance and front desk provides a more personal sense of “coming home.” But is the trend genuinely luxe or just stingy minimalism masquerading as “elegance”?”
Full-text WSJ article (12/01/23) here: https://archive.is/8rEvq
I firmly am Team Lobby — how about you?
Dec 5, 2023, 1:10 pm
#2
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I guess it depends on the hotel. If the hotel is just 5 tents or bungalows set atop some mountains and has a restaurant/ bar facility which is only used at certain times of the day, then fine. Large city hotels which try to do away with the lobby just look and are being cheap, in my opinion. Just as nobody asked to take away the desk or the closet from modern rooms, nobody is asking for hotels to take away lobbies - they're just trying to squeeze in more rooms.
Dec 5, 2023, 1:24 pm
#3
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Then, there are some hotels having it both ways. For example, The Peninsula Beverly Hills but it actually has both a check-in desk and concierge desk and a FEW strategically scattered armchairs. Ditto The Lanesborough in London. The most egregious example of “no lobby” is The Newbury in Boston. Although it has not been remarked upon, I wonder if changes in security of travel are a factor in the no-lobby trend.
The inclusion in the article as exemplar of Single Thread with only five rooms is just silly and proves squat. [But does give the venue high-profile puff PR in the almighty WSJ.]
The inclusion in the article as exemplar of Single Thread with only five rooms is just silly and proves squat. [But does give the venue high-profile puff PR in the almighty WSJ.]
Last edited by KatW; Dec 5, 2023 at 1:46 pm
Dec 5, 2023, 1:47 pm
#4
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100% in the lobbyworship crowd.
Avalon in Palm Springs might rival the Newbury for such dubious honors, Kat.
Lobby doesn't have to be right at - or even near - the hotel's entrance, though that does seem to have been a winning format for a very long time.
Even the most crammed of urban hotels should have some sort of calm communal area with at least some seating, if not a 'welcoming' area. A place where a guest (or guest of a guest) can sit and not be expected to order food/beverage.
Anywhere else? Distant island? Arabian desert? Give me a 'lobby tent'. A 'lobby float'.
A hotel is represented by many attributes.
But for me, the lobby is the one interior space that should fairly emblemize the hotel's entire.....mission statement.
At least in terms of physical spaces.
The decor, art, fixtures, layout, lighting, smell, floors, all of it.... "this is our vibe, condensed to one communal space."
Avalon in Palm Springs might rival the Newbury for such dubious honors, Kat.
Lobby doesn't have to be right at - or even near - the hotel's entrance, though that does seem to have been a winning format for a very long time.
Even the most crammed of urban hotels should have some sort of calm communal area with at least some seating, if not a 'welcoming' area. A place where a guest (or guest of a guest) can sit and not be expected to order food/beverage.
Anywhere else? Distant island? Arabian desert? Give me a 'lobby tent'. A 'lobby float'.
A hotel is represented by many attributes.
But for me, the lobby is the one interior space that should fairly emblemize the hotel's entire.....mission statement.
At least in terms of physical spaces.
The decor, art, fixtures, layout, lighting, smell, floors, all of it.... "this is our vibe, condensed to one communal space."
Dec 5, 2023, 2:07 pm
#5
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The Ritz Hotel Paris opened in 1898 did not have a lobby as Cesar Ritz did not want people loitering in a lobby. I was surprised to see this when I first stayed there in 1982. One checked in and was immediately escorted to our room
Dec 6, 2023, 8:16 am
#6
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And if the room is not ready when you check in?
Dec 7, 2023, 12:57 am
#7
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I think city hotels should definitely have a proper lobby. Whenever I visited a city hotel that didn’t have a proper lobby, I felt like something is missing. This argument that it makes you feel like you are “at your home” is nonsense.
properties like Naviva are obviously different, I wouldn’t need a lobby there or any property with a similar set-up (villas or tents only)
properties like Naviva are obviously different, I wouldn’t need a lobby there or any property with a similar set-up (villas or tents only)
Dec 7, 2023, 11:51 am
#9
Join Date: May 1999
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The Peninsula chain is known for the elegant lobbies with live music and food service. The Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok (IMHO about the best hotel in the world for service) also has an active lobby with chamber music in the evening. The FSGV, the same. In general it is a way of saving money by not having a lobby and or discouraging locals from hanging out.
Dec 10, 2023, 2:51 pm
#14
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The Peninsula chain is known for the elegant lobbies with live music and food service. The Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok (IMHO about the best hotel in the world for service) also has an active lobby with chamber music in the evening. The FSGV, the same. In general it is a way of saving money by not having a lobby and or discouraging locals from hanging out.
