The Art of Hotel Be

It has been too long since my last post. Since I have just started this blog recently, it will be interesting to see how I can keep it up, keep it relevant, etc. Time will tell. So, where were we?
Ah, I remember, the design of Hotel Be was the topic. Once we had decided on three rooms, I decided with the design team of Ivan and Lisa to let them work on the floor plans, materials etc and that we would have each room be identified with a different artist. Through Linga Bar and The One Hotel I have previously worked with, and admired the work of, John McDermott, Sopheap Pich and Loven Ramos.

I worked with John for the photography for our websites and of course he did a great job. Also, his gallery is a part of The One Hotel building and is integrated into our place. Sopheap designed a gorgeous rattan form that is the light source above the bar at Linga. He also designed a table lamp that is a signature piece in The One Hotel. Loven has done graphic design for us (Hotel Be logo, The One Hotel brochure etc.). In addition, his artwork has been integrated into Linga Bar as a permanent display. So, it was easy to choose these three to work with for the three rooms of Hotel Be and thankfully they all agreed to be a part of the project.

No doubt the hotel industry has evolved and tries to be more innovative today, in attempts to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Just look at the by now tired idea of "boutique" hotels. I love hotels and the idea of new and interesting places to stay. But the problem is so few places can pull it off. W Hotels are my leading example of trying to be mass market trendy which is such a contradiction in terms. Case in point snapshot: At the wanna be hip bar at the W Hotel San Francisco picture the conventioneer, with name badge, wearing shorts (khaki of course) with a bottle of Budweiser being held with his finger in the hole of the bottle. True story, and completely turned me off of the trendy hotel trying to be all things to all people. Then there are the small hotels that are interesting, cool but designed and run by people with no hotel experience. While they can sometimes capture something unique, you are left wanting for the small but necessary details that get left out. Like the hotel in Phnom Penh where I stayed that had glasses for drinking water but did not provide any water to drink (and you don't dare drink the tap water). Places in Bangkok are comical in their attempts to be trendy, they even try to put it in there name: Bangkok Boutique Hotel, Citi Chic Hotel. You know it is bad when they have to tell you what they are trying to be by their name.

Then there are a growing number of Art themed hotels. I stayed at one in Bangkok called Reflections (gone now) that was way over the top in terms of the art theme. Funny and unique for sure, but a bit too much for practical purposes. Then there was the hotel in Singapore that had an art theme that was so minimal as to make you wonder why they even bothered. The room was fantastic: excellent linens, Bose radio, great bath amenities etc. But where was the art? So, my task was to take my hotel experience and attention to detail and amenities and meld it with the art of these three artists. And, at Hotel Be we do not do room numbers, all three rooms have different names. After all, the last thing you want to be to a hotel is a number, right? Well, unless You Are The One at The One Hotel of course. Did we succeed? Come and stay with us and you can be the judge. We are not perfect yet, but I love the rooms and we have received great feedback so far.