The Happier the Hotelier, The Happier the Guest
That’s a good idea: Open an architectural monument for a stay! Then you can enjoy the look and feel of the creation of the architect.
The Davidson House in Buffalo, US, a design of America’s foremost Arts and Craft movement architect Frank Lloyd Wright is open for a stay with a minimum of 2 nights.
Some of my prior posts in the Dutch Design category I forgot to number. I found the correct number:-)
Dutch designers Colin Finnegan and Gerard Glintmeijer of FG Stijl have had a important influence in the design of the Amsterdam College Hotel. I now have access to press material from their site and also, after setting up my new computer, I am able to resize their high resolution photos without getting the famous blue screen. Therefor I now can offer my dear readers some additional photos.
I do like this style. The College Hotel is partly staffed by students from a local hotel school. Therefor the service is sometimes not entirely up to the standards that FG Stijl has set for this hotel.
Update May 14, 2008:
Recently the owner of the Hotel (the Amsterdam school ROC) was forced by the Dutch Government to sell the school. Dutch Government deemed the risks of owning a hotel too high for a state funded school….The buyer is Michael van de Kuit’s Nedstede Groep BV. Contrary to many property tycoons, Michael van de Kuit wishes to stay as anonymous as possible. To that extent he even has retained a PR adviser to keep him off the journalists’ hooks.
In my prior post I asked: “What is a Director of Sleep?”
I probed a bit further.
Usually a Director of Sleep is someone in a Hospital, a Mental or a Geriatric Institution who has specialized in sleep deprivation.
Thanks to the Learning Journey Blog and Cater Research I now know a bit more about the Director of Sleep of Travelodge.
As first Director of Sleep at a hefty UK pnd 60,000 Travelodge appointed Wayne Munnelly in January 2006: “To ensure that guests get a good night’s sleep in the hotel group’s 25,000 UK beds.” Apparently he was succeeded by Leigh McCarron.
He does not “sit on” the Board of Travelodge and he is not “married with children”. Puns intended, because although English is not my mother tongue I doubt Travelodge is using proper English on their site.
So where other hotels only have a Pillow Menu, Travelodge has real pro and he shows it:
According to an April 7th, 2008 Press Release Research by OnePoll in March 2008 carried out among 2248 Britons showed that the top 5 artists getting Britons sound asleep are:
1. Coldplay
2. James Blunt
3. Snow Patrol
4. Take That, and
5. Norah Jones
I kind of like it. I may even continue with a separate category: “The Director of Sleep Sez”
Today a short review of Pension Manfred Klauss, because one of our Austrian relatives called for their address and I want to be able to find its address back here at my blog.
This little Inn (“Pension” in German) is located between Wurzburg and Nurnberg in Germany.
This is about half way between The Netherlands and Vienna in Austria which we visit frequently. It is also nicely half way if you like to go skiing in Austria from The Netherlands.
We have stayed there many times. It started more than 40 years ago when my parents in law stopped for a couple of hours of sleep at the Motel Steigerwald next to the gas station Steigerwald along the A3 / E45 motorway in Germany, see the map. The motel had no vacancies and the attendant at the gas station directed my father in law along a rural back road (actually only allowed for local traffic) that brought him just 500 m from the motorway to a very peaceful little inn operated by his parents in law. The gas station attendant still works for the gas station (more than 40 years now) After his father in law passed away, his wife and his mother in law still run the place. Last December I stopped at Steigerwald under way to Vienna to refill my car and I visited them for a cup of coffee, while I offered the hostess a couple of roses to stress our enduring relation. In recent years we use to fly more than to drive to Vienna so we see each other less.
They offer you a very clean bedroom with a good bed nice crisp sheets and an excellent breakfast. I if you arrive late, you can buy a nice bottle of local wine: The Wurzburg Nurnberg region has excellent wines that the locals like so much that you can hardly find them outside the area. All for a very decent price. So although it is not a luxury hotel, it offers you the luxury of a clean comfortable bed to crash in and go on with your traveling. In addition, in a nearby restaurant they serve excellent food. Reservations for both the pension and the restaurant are recommended.
Off Topic
This is my first post from a computer with the Linux operating system. It is the Suse 10.3 distribution. It is a steep learning curve, but I am glad that I may be able to say good bye to the Windows operating system….
I discovered Unique Small Hotels.
It seems a derivative of Booking.com, but because it unveils very little about itself I’m not sure.
As owner of a unique small luxury hotel I am always looking for small luxury hotels and B&B’s.
After checking out some of their offerings I can agree with many of their picks. Maybe I should look at them first for my next Nothing Zen series of posts.
Update February 2009: It turned out that they had teamed up with Booking.com. This affiliation was terminated and now sadly all what remains is a website under construction. Maybe to sell the Domain? I have removed various links here that were obsolete.
Update January 2020: They seem revived again.