Marysunshine:
That's a simple idea but I haven't seen it done in any hotels. What we need is a flip-up mirror hidden in the drawer of the work desk by the window. If the desk is on castors that's even better. The desk lamp must have a high stem or adjustable head, with minimum 40 footcandle on desk top.
Some hotels provide a small make-up table outside the bathroom. The lighting is not particularly good. And it's a toe-killer for your midnight bathroom trips.

--henryw-- As you are a toronto-based architect--strongly suggest you visit all of the four seasons in Canada and elsewhere(the Prague property is very impressive). . The Four Seasons has defintitely figured out what the consumer wants. For another opinion as to the perfect hotel room, please chec k out the Connaught in London. The newly-renovated rooms, are, in a word, perfect. The best use of space I have ever seen and the essence of comfort.

You guys have been great! I'll e you my suuvey results version 2000 tonight for your leisure reading. Version 2003 will be better and cover more material. Keep your comments coming.

More than anything:

Magnetic key cards that fail after one or two uses. This happens repeatedly at one Sheraton that I frequent.

Also:

Fluorescent bulbs. Please, please use incandescent. Much healthier for everyone's eyes, and the light is better too.

One or two hangers in a room. There should be a dozen hangers. And standard hangers, too, please.

Staff that "hang out" in the exercise rooms the VIP lounges, or other guest areas. Chatting, watching TV, etc. The exercise room situation seems to be a problem at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.

The many cards and informational "tents" that are all over a room. I move everything that is potentially annoying, including alarm clock, bedspread, and all hotel ads and booklets onto the closet floor immediately upon arrival.

Sounds big an expesnisve. I suppose if you stay at very high end hotels all the time, you have a point. But don't lots of these types of hotels have both a tub and a seperate shower?

If you only have room for one, tub with shower is the way to go. Just make the tub area a little wider.

jsm, most new hotels have 4 piece bathrooms now, 3 stars and up. It's more common in Asia where they had most new hotel construction activity since the 90's while we were pretty slow here in North America.

Our old breed of hotels, high end included, have 6x8 or 7x8 bathrooms and are difficult to expand. Yes, we are stuck. The tub/shower combination will stay. Starwood introduced the Heavenly Shower concept -- double heads, curved-out shower curtain rod to give you more elbow room.
I would relly like to pull the tub another 8" away from the wall to create a sitting ledge(8"+ the 4" lip of the tub will give you a 12" ledge) where I can have a sit-down shower.



[This message has been edited by henryw (edited 05-22-2002).]

Well, I don't ever stay in high end hotels, so I wouldn't know. But I *do* like a good shower. The Heavenly Shower sounds cool. Too bad I don't get a chance to stay in Starwood properties. (somewhat odd, since I think it is the preferred chain of my employer)

But I got your survey. I can provide moe details on *my* specifics if it will help you out. I'm not really up on hotels much, since I stay at the exact same place all of the time. Don't know what is "high end" 3 star, 4 star, etc. Those ratings don't meant much to me.

China, the revolving restaurant capital of the world. It's everywhere. It was hip. It never works. They're still building it.
The bamboo gate opened to the world in the early 80's. The first batch of international hotels - Garden, White Swan and China Hotel - were completed in Guangzhou (Canton) in 1982-4. These mega hotels attracted thousands of upcoming hotel investors and architects from all over China to come to learn. The Garden Hotel, managed by Peninsula Hotels, had the first revolving restaurant in China. It was a marvel of modern technology at the time and quickly became a tourist attaraction. The restaurant did not have a kitchen. With the small warm-up kitchen it could only serve buffet. Henceforth many new hotels all over China end up having a revolving restaurant with no kitchen on top. After a while the attraction bacame stale, businees was down, and many were converted to discos. The music and noise vibrate through the whole hotel. Non-guests venture into guest floors.
But they are still building it. In Chongqing one recently completed hotel had a revolving restaurant added on top afterwards.
Have you folks seen any similar fiascos in developing countries?

I answered the survey and reading this list has reminded me of two more items:

Inadequate lighting in the tub/shower so that when the curtain is drawn I can't see what I'm doing or if I do take a bath, there isn't enough light to read in the tub.

The noise of ice machines, which I can sometimes hear in my room, the noise of busses idling in front of the hotel and delivery trucks idling in the back which I can always hear in my room if overlooking where they are idling, the noise of exterior fans/pumps which I can always hear in my room if overlooking them.

Sylvia

Very interesting discussion. What a novel concept: hotel architect taps knowledge base of savvy frequent travelers for design input!

Favorite hotel room features:

1) Separate vanity with sink outside the closed-in bathroom. I guess architects don't consider how important it is that both people in a traveling duo be able to "get ready" at the same time. All rooms with two beds should have an extra vanity with sink.

2) Storage niche at shoulder height in the shower, for shampoo, bath gel, razor, etc. I hate having to balance these items on the edge of the tub and bend over constantly to access them.

3) Wall-mounted and lighted mirror for makeup application. Would be nice to have light on magnifier side (makeup) and no light on plain side (hair styling, using main mirror to view side and back of head).

4) Separate light and fan switches in bathroom. I detest same-switch operation, fan noise is so obnoxious. Sometimes you want the bathroom to get steamy, like when you are trying to de-wrinkle just unpacked clothing.

5) Multi-bar drying/towel rack above the tub or shower. This is where you hang hand-washed laundry items, so it must be mounted fairly high to allow for a full length nightgown or dress on a clothing hanger. It's nice to have a second one of these in the main part of the bathroom to actually keep the towels on, and hang items to "steam." (see above about steaming out clothes) Be sure rack bars will accommodate the hangers from the room closet!

6) Hand-held shower head on a vertical rod, adjustable for both tall and short users.

7) Niche on wall at vanity, like a home medicine cabinet, for cosmetics and so forth.

Pet peeves:

1) Tub/shower faucets which don't allow user to control volume of water delivery. I hate the ones that throw water full-blast with no other setting.

2) The "unfathomable faucet," when the guest can't figure out how it operates.

3) Poor lighting, mentioned by many people.

4) Those heating and a/c controls that don't have a thermostat, just the low-medium-high switch.

Wish List:

1) Built-in steamer in the bathroom, next to the towel rack to hang the clothing being steamed. I have one of these freestanding steamers at home and LOVE it, hardly ever use my iron anymore. Have never seen this in any hotel, revenue generation loss I guess.

2) Built-in nightlight in bathroom, with a switch. This should be a no-brainer. I hate having to carry my nightlight everywhere I go.

3) Big sign on back of entry door with fire safety and security tips.

Henryw, thanks for this interesting thread and your commentary. I'm headed out tonight for my favorite hotel in all the world, the little Alam Jiwa just outside Ubud, Bali. At this hotel you have a friendly tokay lizard in the rafters for bug patrol, mosquito netting over the bed, marble floors, fabulous carved wood doorways, vanity and mirrors, the shower comes out of an urn perched on a lady's shoulder (statue of course...), and the staff places floral offerings in palm-leaf trays outside your room entrance to appease both good and bad spirits---ensuring a happy stay. Same-day laundry service is about 50� per item, the huge breakfast is included in the room rate and served at the time you designate on your verandah, and you awaken in the morning to a majestic view of the mighty holy mountain, Gunung Agung, rising in the mists across the brilliant green ricefields. I definitely recommend a research visit to Bali for any hotel architect!

Thanks, Dianne. That's great info! Most of our hotels in North America were built before there were corporate women travellers. Most design firms were and still are owned and directed by middle-aged men. Most of them have been married too long and, frankly, are no longer sensitive to women's needs. As well, there were many design errors by tradition which the younger designers, male or female, just inherit without even thinking. For instance, few designers take into account how a pregnant woman shaves her legs in the bathroom and what furnishings she would need.
In the past decade there was a flood of social, demographic and economic factors which affected the whole landscape of hotel design. The customer profile changed significantly -- aging baby boomers, increased women travellers, new breed of dot.com travellers and matured customer expectations.
Most of all, the laptops propelled the hotel industry from low-tech to high-tech. Now the guests use their rooms to work besides sleeping. Therefore they need larger work desk, ergonomic chair, bright light, power, Internet, more space as a work zone. The computer also changed our work habits. We are no longer a 9-5 breed. Work/lesiure/office/home all merged. Most of our generation sit in front of the computer till they go to bed. We actually feel guity relaxing at home. With that comes more stress. With stress we need sanctuary. The updated and nicely furnished bathrooms provide instant escape, even for a few moments.
All these factors explained why the guestrooms in new breed of hotels are what they are. Architects must tune in and keep track of the guest needs.

Dianne, on your Far East trip please take a look if you see any surveillance cameras on guest floors. They are small brown hemispherical encloses mounted on the ceiling, usually at the elevator lobbies.

See FlyerTalk/Travel/Women Travelers/Safety and security in hotels.

Henry, I stay in small locally constructed and owned hotels that usually don't even have phones in the rooms, let alone security cameras. Security is a guy who walks around at night, if he's not sleeping under a tree... In these hotels it's the prestige and importance of the owner in the local village that affords "protection" against theft or other problems for guests. These gemlike hotels usually have no more than 8-12 rooms or freestanding bungalows. Room rates, including breakfast and the 21% taxes and service charges, run $35 - $75 per night.

Next week I'll be at Villa Orchid for $35 a night, in a "luxury" bungalow that are rented to people who stumble on their website, when the two rooms aren't being occupied by friends and relatives of the owners. I believe the website is villa-orchid-bali.com . Will post some kind of report at the end of this trip. Flyertalkers who venture to Bali often stay in Hyatt or similar on awards, but should also visit some of these local hotels, which are truly unique.

Henry:
Hey, we may be cousins, Anthony Wong here!
With both interior design/architecture and travel as my two favorite interests, this is a great thread for me!

I love your specialty; hotel design. It was actually modern hotel designs that got me interested in architecture. When I was young, and I would travel with my family on summer vacations, I would make my family got to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in each city,just to admire the architecture.
Sadly, though, many of those same Hyatt Hotels that were innovative and dazzled the eye in the 70's have not survived the test of time. I think that is due to the insensitivity of hotel interior designers to 'renovate' hotels in the spirit of the original design esthetic. If you look at any of the John Portman - designed Hyatts (or his Marriott Marquis in NY's Time Square) you will see that the interior finishings - floor & wall tratments, color palete, furniture, graphics ; bare no relation to the architectural surroundings.
U.S. hotel interior design seems to have no creativity or flair ( The exception being SOME of the 'W' hotels and the Ian Schrager hotel group). I have found much more creative designs in Australia & Germany.
Oh - and to add to your hotel design flaws:
* Hotels ALWAYS have only ONE luggage rack, so what happens to the 2nd guests luggage? Same with the bathrobes.
Loe to chat with you some more, Henry.

You know, much of that is directed by the chain's perception that guests in North America only like neo-classical decor. There may be some truth in it, as is reflected in the style of furniture in furniture stores everywhere. In my last project I tried to used more modern approach with clean lines. The scheme got shot down in the first week.

Europeans are more in tune with modern design -- IKEA, Italian design etc. Another factor is that majority of hotels there are not chain-affiliated. Hence there is more design freedom.

The W caters to the high-end market segment that is fashion-conscious, who would appreciate high style of design. The W is hip and beautiful. I think they are still learning to find the right furnishings that would stand the wear and tear in a hotel environment. I don�t think the solid colour carpet works.