What truly distinguishes one hotel from another? Be it the reasonably priced budget hotels catering to backpackers with frugal wallets or the swankiest, priciest, most exorbitant hotels in the world – they all have their own USP and individuality.
Some do it by the means of sheer opulence whereas others resort to quick, prompt and professional services like you’d see in regal palaces several hundred years ago. Then there are those that have made a name by virtue of all the big names that have stayed under their roof while still others boast of the best dine-in options in the whole country.
This article looks none of these hotels, focusing instead on the ones that are probably not as well known as the Ritz or the Plaza, but yet can lay claim to unusually designed rooms that are different from anything you’ve seen before.
For instance, take the relatively modest looking Winston Hotel in Amsterdam. Many would pass by this hotel not knowing it even existed and few would step in to ask about the room tariff. However, this budget hotel located on what happens to be the oldest street in Amsterdam and close to its red light district has a few surprises up its sleeve for those who choose to venture in.
Previously owned by late Frans Verlinden, The Winston hoped to recreate a bohemian atmosphere for its guests. It was not uncommon to see the likes of filmmakers, journalists, artists and even hookers trooping in and out in the 80s and 90s. Verlinden commissioned artist Aldert Mantje, who selected a few of his talented colleagues and set about decorating the rooms in their own eccentric style. Some even had temporary exhibits installed in them. Guests of yesteryears, in some cases, may have had to spend the night with an animal corpse kept on display. However for better or worse, things have mellowed down in the recent years.
Among the more interesting rooms at The Winston is the Playnation room that has been inspired by the anime theme. In addition to swirls and patterns done up in psychedelic colors on the wall, it also has a maze that Pac-Man would feel right at home in and a gigantic 3-D robot that stands guard in one corner.
If you are looking for something slightly more subdued, the New Majestic Hotel in Singapore comes to mind. Artist Sandra Lee has decorated the walls with Marker-and-acrylic murals and several of them have a lovely, simple charm about them. If you aren’t fascinated with the massive, leafy tree sprouting in one corner of the bed, your children will love the fairy tale like depiction of a girl flying towards a turtle in one of the other rooms.
In Berlin, the Arte Luise Kunsthotel was little more than a neoclassical building that provided refuge to artists after the fall of the Berlin wall. Only in the early 21
st century did it evolve into a fancy glass-and-concrete hotel at which point, many artists offered to decorate the rooms with their original work.
Now several rooms have vivid colors splashed on the wall or a psychedelic monotone running throughout the room. One artist went bananas in the Royal suite, and I mean this in a purely literal way since he’s painted several bananas on the walls. I can see what that could do to your appetite.
And back home, the Hotel des Arts in San Francisco deserves a mention for the work done by artist Jet Martinez. A native of Mexico, he decided to imbue a bit of the local Mexican element in the rooms. His theme is that of a modern fairy story, complete with forests of gold leaf and bright flowers with silver moon shimmering in the backdrop and there are colorfully painted Mexican characters as well.
Like I mentioned before, these aren’t the best or fanciest hotels in the world. And yet they have an appeal that is rarely seen even in the most posh names of the hospitality business. Next time you are travelling, skip your usual haunts and give one of these a look over. It makes for one hell of an experience, to say the least!
