Why are all Hotels the same?

Thats a different one...but I guess a lot of McDonalds look that way there.

reply to post by Skyfloating

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this is my very first visit/post in the land of BTS

so, I'm going through the categories/recent posts - and, since I love a good rant - I end up here - I needed to see just how far this rant could really go :-)

and then you show me these ice palace pics

I was fine - just fine - with everything the way it is...

and now I need to travel

so, thanks for rocking the boat of my complacency :-)

meanwhile - staying there would be like staying inside art

to contribute to the rant - I've wondered if maybe hotels aren't mostly the same because people aren't comfortable with feelings - not even good feelings

I've actually come to realize - finally - that some people are afraid to enjoy themselves

and some people really do prefer everything to be the same - everywhere - and different is an annoying poke in the brain

this rant could actually apply to everywhere these days (at least - in the USA)

if it weren't for a change in the actual geography - or climate - you couldn't tell the difference from one city to the next

the same restaurants, stores - everything - the same from sea to shining sea

reply to post by seagrass

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I love Santa Fe

actual love

it's been too long since I've been there

I never stayed there - (La Fonda) but have been there - beautiful - I agree

Did you get to eat at the La Cantina? The place had singing broadway waiters!! Loved it.
The La Fonda is beautiful. I painted my french doors like the restaurant in another house I lived in... I went with the whole southwestern idea after that. I still have a framed print of the restaurant. I love the artsy part of Santa Fe, but not the snooty part. I had a really good time. It was snowing and all the stores had their fireplaces going. Went to Taos too. Nice.

I drive people crazy when I rearrange my house like a rubiks cube... I get tired of looking at the same things, sell my old knick knacks and buy new ones. I do like going to houses where they dont change things, but I couldn't live like that. When I walk into the two bed rooms with the lamp and nightstand with the picture over the beds... I go Ohhh. and not in a good way. I think they are just lazy to buy all that crap in bulk. There are so many artists out there who don't charge too much to make an original...I hate seeing the same framed print over and over... I don't get it. I also think Hotel carpet is an abomination. Those patterns.... Besides...it's gross.

Oh, and congrats on the BTS post... you can let your hair down here!!

[edit on 22-11-2008 by seagrass]

reply to post by seagrass

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I am repainting all my walls at this moment

well, not this exact moment

I'm a color addict - or an atmosphere addict

I need change - and though I whine about it - constantly - I think I must actually like the chaos

but it drives other people crazy - one friend actually told me she didn't like coming over because I had too much to look at - too much going on - and it irritated her :-)

the flip side of that is - her house feels like a tomb - not enough going on for me

so people are different - but I think most people really don't like change - or being overstimulated maybe?

reply to post by seagrass

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no - but I did see it

maybe next time I visit I'll make a point of going there -

but I did stay at a couple of other places - much smaller - but also unique - and charming

I think you and I would get along fine. I know the paint people at the store.. and I own one of those chip fans... I am constantly changing colors...even before I have finished a room... Right now I am painting a mural on my daughter's wall.. Woodland creatures and trees.... I like color too, and paint is fairly cheap. It's almost obsessive. I know people with Tomb homes.. I can't stand that. I also dont' like super clean houses.... things you can't touch. I don't like ornate stuff.. I like casual stuff.

reply to post by seagrass

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color

is there anything else?

I don't know the laws of this land BTS - but - this must be way off topic?

but, there should be a thread about color - somewhere :-)

anyhow - I'm guessing that the reason you like Santa Fe - and that hotel - going by the photo - is color

which - if we were going to get into it - why are all hotels the same - I would say the absence of color is a recurring theme

color is pretty personal - so the absence of color might be more acceptable - or comfortable - for the most people

I swear - even the art they choose has no color most of the time

the reason the photos of the ice hotels really got to me is - it's the combination of light and color - sends you directly into an altered state - and really makes you feel like you are in a different place

Yes, I think so, they go for the average taste. I read somewhere that men like light colors on walls. White, there are even shades of it, believe it or not. Some don't even blind you. It would be easier to clean with less "stuff", but even the stuff in the bland hotels are boring.

I rarely see any OT messages from mods over here... Pretty lax here. But there are still some rules. You can't start game threads without approval... that's the only slap I have received and it wasn't from a mod.

reply to post by seagrass

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someday I'm going to live in a house with all the walls in slightly different tinted shades of white

so - yes I can believe it

if you factor in the different light from different directions (north light vs south light, etc.) as well as the light at different times of day - then tint whites to compliment or mix - with all the different colors reflecting onto each other - you could be standing in the same room - and it would be constantly changing light/value/color all day

of course - maybe that wouldn't be so much a home as a project

I visited a home of friend who had had their house in a magazine. It was beautiful. She owned antique stores and had fixed it up really nice. One room was done for guests in a pansy and violets theme. Sounds horrible, but it was really cute. The walls were painted a purplish pink color. I promptly went home and began my purply pink project.... OMG it was HORRIBLE. I've made lots of mistakes with color.

reply to post by seagrass

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current project - 1 wall, 3 colors - in 2 months

2nd wall - 2 colors

3rd wall - color splotches all over - test colors

bad, bad, really bad decisions were made

I had to abandon a mural when I realized - that would become my entire life if I didn't make myself stop

had to paint over it - but couldn't live with it unfinished - couldn't finish it

:-)

I understand - sometimes you have to do it/see it to know for sure

but it's only paint

reply to post by Spiramirabilis

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Not that any of what you're saying about painting your walls is on topic...but a friendly welcome to BTS anyway.

reply to post by Skyfloating

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:-)

maybe I function better in a highly structured environment, with more rules - and consequences

in real life - I'll ramble on into god-knows-where if nobody stops me

but - back on topic (or at least closer) - aside from what you mentioned earlier - about the poetic and zen-like hotel - what is your favorite stay to date?

or, was that the one?

what was the absolute worst?

reply to post by Spiramirabilis

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The absolute worst "stay" was as a teenager for one night on a park bench at below freezing temperatures, trying to cover myself with a potato bag. Its been all uphill since then

Best stay was a private Island (one of the Fiji Islands) owned by my host. I got my own Bungalow, my own beach, and my own waterfall to shower (no kidding). The only downer was the weird insects.

Your best and worst?


[edit on 22-11-2008 by Skyfloating]

reply to post by Skyfloating

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that first part just brings a tear to my eye

I once spent the night on the floor of a laundromat - but that's still a 5 star stay compared to the your park bench and potato bag

as far as the private island - how did you even make yourself leave?

well, I am not all that well traveled - which is a little ironic because when I was young - that was the only thing I ever wanted to do

so, not as many experiences to sort through

my best is easy though - because i was young - and it was my first time out of the country - probably like your first love to some extent - left a big impression

it was Mexico - but not coastal, resort Mexico
- it was Mexico City and surrounding towns - and all of it was pretty cool

we got to our hotel in Taxco in the middle of the night - so you couldn't really see anything - and there's the whole exhaustion thing - so - didn't really notice anything

but the next morning I woke up to find that my room was literally hanging over a valley - facing a green, green hill (I come from a place with not so much green) and there were birds everywhere - it felt like it was hanging in the sky

I wanted to live there

I've been in some nice hotels since then - but that's the one

the worst - can't think of an experience that really stands out as just awful

I think wall color has a lot to do with the topic, after all, lack of creativity is part of this hotel problem. If I had a furry ashtray chair in my house, my dog would love that.. my rats too, as they are always taking my cigarettes out of my ashtrays. Paint color is part of what makes the walls of those bland hotels so boring. (and the icky patterns) And why are we even spending time in a hotel? I took a cruise and it was like staying in a giant floating hotel.. I wanted out of there on the second day.
That was my worst trip. stuck in a floating hotel with a hurricane at your back, everyone else while I was fine. All the outdoor areas designated for people were empty, so everyone was stuck inside.
The best I already mentioned.... but i have a second runner for the worst and that would be pretty much any of the hotels I stayed in in Russia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.

reply to post by seagrass

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first of all - you have rats? :-) - I've known people who've had them - they are charming

2nd - maybe getting past my personal obsession with color - definitely - a lack of creativity is why so many hotels feel like cubicles

I do think they're shooting for a common denominator - not what would please the most people - but what would bother the least amount of people

I've never been on a cruise - but, I've never been attracted to them - all those people trapped together in a floating steel warehouse - ?

I love the ocean - so, there's something about the idea - of staying out on the water - but, there are other ways

I love traveling - and have done more low budget - rougher, road trip type trips than luxury trips - and have to say that sometimes hot and cold running water and a place to lie down are sometimes all I need. If the place is clean - then I'm extra happy

but, I'm not philosophically opposed to nice sheets, a room with a view - and candy on my pillow :-)

Some of my best trips were spontaneous road trips!! Not having the itinerary and such. Never knowing where you'll stay or if they'll allow pets.
Yes I have rats... now that's OT. Wouldn't want those at my hotel though.
My rats are charming... Very cool pets actually. Low maintenance and they eat whatever I eat. My husband freaked out when I brought them home and thought we'd get the plague... Now he's the one who can't wait to give them a treat in the morning. He talks to them like he's a little kid.
No more cruises for me.. I took two of them to finally figure that out.