SkiAdcock

Bolding mine. So not specific to MAR then. Perhaps we should extend the people who design rooms are idiots to all chains

Cheers.

htb

A large red arrow to the left instead of a paragraph of does and dont's that nobody will read before breaking the door might have been more practical.

HTB.

bitterproffit

The Hamptons by Hilton in Europe have this same concept. The frosted door that slides that doubles as the closet door. Add the lack of a bureau or dresser or luggage stand and everything you own is either on display in the now exposed closet or your luggage is sitting open on an ottoman or armchair.

I stayed in a renovated Hilton Garden in the US that had the barn doors. But I think they were solid wood. They clearly didn't get the memo about how smoked glass silhouettes are millennial demands.

stc

Well, sadly, the glass actually came in handy once. It was an Aloft in the UK (Excel) and I was traveling with a "friend". There was a frosted glass that would see into the shower. The "friend" was taking a shower. I heard a thud and could no longer "see" the "friend" although the shower was still on. After calling her name once, I opened the non-locking door and found that the "friend" was having a grand mal seizure on the shower floor. She probably wouldn't have drowned, but it was better to deal with it sooner rather than later. She turned out to be OK and didn't even wind up going to the hospital. (I had known she was epileptic although I think this was the first time I witnessed a seizure first hand.)

ehallison

I have a barn door to the WC in my master bedroom at home. I can attest to the fact that they give the *illusion* of privacy but not much else.

Seemed like a good idea at the time...

Antarius

Why the use of quotes around friend. Especially given that with or without them, the point of the story remains unchanged.

Dr. HFH

W Bangkok does not have doors on the toilet rooms. They have curtains which can be drawn to separate them from the rest of the bathroom.

EuropeanPete

One reason I've never been back after my first couple of bookings.

My friends will verify it would take quite a lot to get away from a party hotel brand in Bangkok...

arlflyer

Yep. And, given that hotel designers' default option has in my experience to use swinging doors that require me to stand on the toilet or in the bathtub in order to have room to open and close them, I'll take the lesser of the two evils.

DELee

Uh, perhaps the bathrooms should be configured so a) a swinging door can be used as default and b) sized so that a bathroom user is not jammed in anyway.

David

brianinok

If a designer insists on using a barn door, they need to do it as far away from the bathroom as possible. As the poster above notes, there is only the impression of privacy, but no real privacy. Furthermore, barn doors on barns are not helpful in the least; they quit sliding well after a short amount of time in the elements (I know from experience) and become a constant maintenance issue.

Second, glass in doors that go to any bathroom or bedroom is not smart, for obvious reasons. It doesn't matter if the door swings or slides.

Maybe someone can convince Marriott to built a hotel with all forms of ridiculous design right next to a Marriott with proper design, make sure both hotels advertise their differences (no desks, no drawers, no closets, glass barn doors, idiotic-but-cool-looking-sink that splashes water on you, etc. in one building; the opposite in the other), and charge the same rates. See which one actually sells rooms better.

RogerD408

... and guess where they would send the walks.

KRSW

Even easier -- ask your Lifetime Tits & Plats to stay in mock rooms and give their feedback. These are the people who are giving Marriott the most money and are most familiar with the product. I was speaking with the sales manager of a hotel ownership group and she was telling me about their upcoming renovations. I expressed my frustrations with the "West Elm" style SpringHill design. The "turquoise" style may not be the most visually attractive, but it's much more useful. Like the movable coffee/end/over-couch tables (I'm buying these when the local SpringHill gets rid of them!), to the color of the carpets. I don't have anything in my bags the same color/pattern as the turquoise carpets so it's easy to make sure I've grabbed everything. Everything blends in with the brown/black West Elm theme carpeting, and many other things. The sales manager was looking over what I said and was shocked and fully understood what I was bringing up. From the way she described the process, it sounds like mock rooms are created in warehouses, but it sounds like they're not fully-functional rooms. This would account for many of the annoyances we're encountering.

Duke787

Lots of haters it seems on this thread.

As a millennial (now 30) -- I think I'm the target demographic with this type of room and I love them so can't really fault them for this design. Functional, compact, clean, no nasty carpet that looks 30 years past its prime and has who knows what in it, Nespresso machines. Absolutely no issue with this design (with the actual door that's supposed to be there installed).

I've had a few good experiences with AC in Europe and now seek them out (though all have been solo and not with my wife -- so would probably book away if traveling with her but for my solo business travel absolutely no complaints).

To each their own -- but in this case, I completely understand what they are trying to do with this brand and think it's spot on

Points Scrounger

I haven't found Nespresso machines in the rooms, but at breakfast yes.