RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘Hotel’

Disney’s Star Wars Hotel Will Make Each Guest a Character with a Storyline

20 Jul

[ By SA Rogers in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

Fans visiting Disney World’s upcoming Star Wars Land expansion, set to open in 2019, will have the opportunity to immerse themselves even more deeply into the fictional universe in an almost Westworld-style experience. At its D23 Expo in Los Angeles this week, Disney announced a new Star Wars-themed hotel where every window will offer views of ‘outer space,’ every employee will be in character, and every guest will be the protagonist of their very own Star Wars storyline.

Premiering as part of the new Disney 360 vacation concept, the hotel will be a ‘living adventure.’

“It’s unlike anything that exists today,” says Bob Chapek, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. “From the second you arrive, you will become a part of a Star Wars story! You’ll immediately become a citizen of the galaxy and experience all that entails, including dressing up in the proper attire. Once you leave Earth, you will discover a starship alive with characters, stories, and adventures that unfold all around you. It is 100% immersive, and the story will touch every single minute of your day, and it will culminate in a unique journey for every person who visits.”

Disney also unveiled models of the new park along with its name, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The park will also be an interactive experience with each guest as a character – so you don’t have to stay in the resort to enjoy that aspect of the action, but it certainly seems like it would add to the overall effect.

“One attraction will make you feel like you’re on a Star Destroyer inside a hangar bay. It’s an attraction built on a scale we’ve never done before.

The second attraction will give guests the opportunity to fly the Millenium Falcon, piloting the ship, shooting blasters or preparing for hyperspace – all while completing a critical mission. But how you perform on the mission holds even bigger stakes: perform with skill and you may earn extra galactic credits, while bringing the ship back banged up could put you on the list of a bounty hunter. End up on Harkos’s list and you may face a problem if you show up at the local cantina!”

Share on Facebook





[ By SA Rogers in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Disney’s Star Wars Hotel Will Make Each Guest a Character with a Storyline

Posted in Creativity

 

Hyperloop Hotel: Zoom from City to City in a Luxury Lodging Pod

22 Jun

[ By SA Rogers in Drawing & Digital. ]

Hyperloop transit is about to make the world a whole lot smaller, and with it could come a system of luxurious private pods outfitted like high-end hotel rooms so you can zoom from one city to the next in unprecedented comfort. While it might seem like there’s little need for such cush train cars when your trip takes less time than ever, the Hyperloop Hotel aims to solve the problem of where you’re going to stay while traveling.

Developed by Radical Innovation Award winner Brendan Siebrecht, the Hyperloop Hotel consists of shipping containers that double as traveling guest suites, able to ‘dock’ themselves at any of 13 different hotel stations in cities like Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Austin and New York City. While the nightly fee hasn’t been set yet, Siebrecht reveals that for a fee of $ 1,200, guests can even visit multiple cities in a single day. That’s right, you could maintain a comfy home base while having breakfast on the East Coast, lunch in the South and dinner on the West Coast.

It might sound too futuristic to be real, but Hyperloop One is already being tested in Las Vegas and could be carrying passengers by the year 2020, so it’s actually not that far away, assuming the technology stays on track (pun intended.) But the hotels definitely wouldn’t come cheap – it would cost about $ 10 million to build each one. The pods themselves feature a bedroom, office, bathroom and living room, with a glazed wall that can be covered while you’re in motion.

“I believe the Hyperloop One is the next big innovation in transportation in the United States and possibly the world,” Siebrecht told Business Insider. “I wanted to explore ways in which this technology could transform the overall travel experience and hospitality.”

Share on Facebook





[ By SA Rogers in Drawing & Digital. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Hyperloop Hotel: Zoom from City to City in a Luxury Lodging Pod

Posted in Creativity

 

Trainspotting Hotel: Stacked Shipping Containers Overlook the Rail Tracks

16 May

[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

The phrase ‘Trainspotting Hotel’ probably doesn’t conjure visions of a cozy, comfortable and safe place to lay your head at night, but this hotel gets its nickname from its location overlooking rail tracks rather than anything relating to the heroin-charged cult classic film. Obviously, that’s a good thing for guests who want to enjoy a peaceful getaway on the Elbe River near the town of Litomerice, Czech Republic at this unusual pop-up structure by Artikul Architects. 

The hotel is comprised of just three shipping containers, with one forty-foot crate stacked atop two twenty-foot crates in a perpendicular arrangement to create a covered space underneath. The two ground-floor containers house the bathrooms, storage and one of the guest rooms, while four more guest accommodations are set into the top layer.

The client commissioned Artikul to produce a modular design that can be easily taken apart and moved when desired, and would have a light footprint on the land. The hotel has its own built-in water reservoir for the showers and sinks, and utilizes waterless toilets, and the bedrooms are compact but warm and welcoming, fitted with bunk beds and lined with birch plywood.

Artikul is known for producing sustainable structures, so it’s no surprise that they did something creative using recycled and natural materials. Barely any modification to the containers was necessary, preserving the ability to load them onto a truck. The top container is sheathed in reclaimed wood and features a terrace and awning so guests can hang out in the open air and enjoy the views.

Share on Facebook





[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Trainspotting Hotel: Stacked Shipping Containers Overlook the Rail Tracks

Posted in Creativity

 

Stacked: Cleverly Designed Chinese Hotel Gives Everyone a Unique View

04 May

[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

Despite sharing a tiny footprint of land with other guests at this Chinese hotel, you can practically forget anyone else exists altogether thanks to a clever stacked arrangement that points each level in a different direction. Step out onto your private balcony – located on the roof of the room below – and look out onto the peaceful forest of rural Huang Shan, Anhui Province, China. Designed by Shanghai-based architecture firm Bengo Studio, the Qinyushan Tree House is a beautiful use of space.

A spiral staircase runs up through the center of the hotel, which includes two guest rooms, two bathrooms, one living room, and a ‘landscape room’ located at the top of the building. Each room has its own roof access with a glass railing to avoid interrupting views of the trees.

Elevated off the forest floor, the hotel features curvy volumes fanning out in different directions from the central core, capped on each cantilevered end by floor-to-ceiling windows. Guests ascend an enclosed glass hallway to either walk down into the lowest bedroom and bathroom, or ascend to the upper levels.

Its vertical wooden cladding helps it blend into its natural environment, and the minimalist design is an interesting take on modern treehouse-inspired structures.

Share on Facebook





[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Stacked: Cleverly Designed Chinese Hotel Gives Everyone a Unique View

Posted in Creativity

 

The Walled-Off Hotel: Banksy-Designed Rooms Overlook West Bank Barrier

07 Mar

[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

The Walled Off Hotel Banksy

Contemplate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as you take in “the worst view in the world,” ensconced in Banksy visuals in your room at The Walled-Off Hotel. Yes, this ‘art hotel’ is real, with fully functioning ensuite facilities and car parking, designed and financed by the elusive England-based graffiti artist and operated by the local community, and anyone can book one of its nine rooms overlooking the West Bank barrier. Banksy painted the rooms (and commissioned other artists, like Sami Musa and Dominique Petrin) and outfitted the hotel in dystopian decor, like security cameras mounted on a wall in the style of taxidermy trophy heads.

banksy walled off hotel 3

banksy walled off hotel 4

the walled off hotel 9

Banksy is well-known for painting right on the barrier itself, including a recent work depicting a girl being pulled by red balloons, and last year he painted four street murals in Gaza. Guests who stay at the hotel will get “privileged out of hours access to Wall*Mart next door,” a graffiti supply shop, so they can make their own mark.

banksy walled off hotel 1

banksy walled off hotel 2

the walled off hotel 11

And if you think you’re going to get away with booking a room and sawing Banksy’s work right off the wall to make a buck, expect to pay for it: the hotel takes a hefty deposit for the duration of your stay to safeguard against theft, and inspects rooms before guests leave, warning that anyone found attempting to steal or deface hotel property will be arrested and prosecuted.

banksy walled off hotel 5

banksy walled off hotel 6

the walled off hotel 12

The hotel will open to guests on March 11th, with rooms starting at just $ 30 per night. Accommodations range from ultra-budget-friendly bunk rooms to a ‘presidential suite’ complete with a cheesy faux rock hot tub. An adjacent gallery, open to the public, offers a collection of works from notable Palestinian artists from the last 20 years, and a ‘homemade museum’ offers a biography of the wall.

banksy walled off hotel 7

the walled off hotel 10

On the choice of location, Banksy says, “This place is the center of the universe – every time God comes to earth it seems to happen near here. The architecture and landscape are stunning, the food delicious and the current situation remarkable and touching. This is a place of immense spiritual and political significance – and very good falafel.”

Share on Facebook





[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on The Walled-Off Hotel: Banksy-Designed Rooms Overlook West Bank Barrier

Posted in Creativity

 

Open-Air Hotel: Infinite-Star Accommodations on the Swiss Alps

28 Aug

[ By WebUrbanist in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

open air hotel

Above and beyond your typical five-star hotel, this open-air room sits at nearly 6,500 feet in the mountains of Switzerland with panoramic views of the Alps.

wall free bedroom

A bed, side tables and lamps are not quite all visitors need to enjoy their stay at Null Stern (translated: Zero Star), but bathrooms are just a few minutes down the slope and meals are delivered by a butler. The name is a little misleading, since in most hotels one would have greatly reduced access to the infinite stars in the night sky.

boutique mountain hotel

At around $ 250 per night, the space and its amenities are a steal and reservations are refunded in case of inclement weather. The wall-and-ceiling-free room is available in spring and fall but closed during the winter.

wall free hotel

The Null Stern is part art experiment and part boutique hotel, using the sky as a ceiling and mountains as walls.

alps panoramic view

“Even though this version is radically different from the first one in the nuclear bunker,” a previous project by the same creators, “the essence and the spirit of the concept remains the same,” said one of the artists behind Null Stern “To put the guest at the centre of the experience and to focus on the intangible by reducing everything else to the minimum.”

Share on Facebook





[ By WebUrbanist in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Open-Air Hotel: Infinite-Star Accommodations on the Swiss Alps

Posted in Creativity

 

Interview: Celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart speaks to us about The Purpose Hotel

20 Jul

Imagine staying at a hotel where everything in the rooms – and the nightly rate of the room itself – benefited someone in need. That’s the idea that lodged in commercial and editorial photographer Jeremy Cowart’s imagination, and which has since evolved into ‘The Purpose Hotel’.

With a Kickstarter campaign launching this week, Cowart hopes to open the first Purpose Hotel in Nashville within three years. So why would a successful photographer switch from taking pictures of some of the world’s biggest celebrities, to get into the hotel business?

We spoke to Jeremy recently about his work, and his plans for The Purpose Hotel.


What is the Purpose Hotel?

It’s going to be a hotel where everything in the building is connected to a cause, or a non-profit. So everything you’re interacting with is helping someone, somewhere in the world. Our tagline is ‘Change the World in Your Sleep’.

The Purpose Hotel will be a for-profit hotel, so in that regard it’s a normal hotel business, we just have a very serious cause at the core of our mission, and that cause is to help as many organizations as possible.

There are a million hotels out there, and obviously some are trying to think more along the lines of giving something back, but I’m not aware of any hotel that’s doing it at the level that we’re aiming for.

What inspired you to create the concept of the Purpose Hotel?

I was on a photo shoot four years ago, and I was staying at the Standard, a hotel in LA. And the room number was designed like a name tag – it said something like ‘Hello, my name is Room 121’. And for whatever reason that inspired me, and I took it a different direction, and wondered what if that room number was a story that you felt connected to? And what if that story was a child’s face, and what if by staying in that room you were sponsoring that child?

So it started with that simple idea, and then as I was looking around that hotel room I started thinking, well, I know there are non-profits that make soaps, and shampoo… what if the TV showed inspiring documentaries from filmmakers all around the world… what if the Internet fee went to fight human trafficking… what if room service was connected to Food for the Hungry?

I just had this lightbulb moment – what if everything was helping something? And it grew from there. 

Instead of going out and buying soaps and shampoo from whoever, or artwork just to fill the hotel, we’re going to go and source those from companies that are already supporting non-profits.

$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_8161897269″,”galleryId”:”8161897269″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”standalone”:false,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”startInCommentsView”:false,”isMobile”:false}) });

Is photography core to the concept of the Purpose Hotel?

In a way, yes. It’ll obviously still be a hotel, but as a photographer and an artist I want there to be an amazing display of both, in the hotel. I can’t wait to personally curate those galleries because I have so many friends and peers in the industry whose work I really want on the walls of the hotel.

My dream is for the whole hotel to be a living, breathing art gallery, where we sell the artists’ work, and that money goes to them. I want to help artists make a living through the hotel, and I hope that we can also give a percentage of sales to organizations that do art therapy. So that kids around the world can process their past, their history, through art therapy. I got to do that in Uganda and it was amazing.

At this point, would you say you’ve made a transition of sorts, from making a living purely from photography, to more of a philanthropic way of life?

Sure, it could be called philanthropy, it could be called being an entrepreneur. But at the end of the day I think of myself as an idea chaser. When we have those whispers of ideas, a lot of people don’t pursue them because they think they’re impossible or they think they can’t, but I love the challenge of chasing those ideas no matter how big they are.

I’m passionate about the intersection where creativity and helping people meet. If I can help the community and do it in a really interesting, creative way, I’m passionate about that.

Was there a single experience, or trip that lead you to be more interested in philanthropy?

It was a sort of building, escalating thing. From my first trip to Africa in 2005, followed up by many more trips, doing projects overseas. I’m the founder of Help Portrait, which is a non-profit where we have photographers all over the world giving portraits to people in need. So yeah – I’ve found so much fulfillment from all of those projects. 

Do you see yourself potentially making a living out of projects like this, or will you always be a commercial photographer as well?

Good question, and I’m not sure about the answer. I’ll always be a visual artist first. I think that will continue to morph into different forms – I’ll always have a camera in my hands, I’ll always shoot, but I hope that there are humanitarian projects and personal projects in my future.

What has your photographic career taught you?

Every photographer wants to build a name for themselves, and wants to be famous and all that. But I’ve learned that it’s a lot less fulfilling than you think it is. It’s not that great, it’s not going to change your life. I like to say that greatness should be used to serve a greater purpose. So how do you use greatness to do something even bigger than yourself? That’s a lesson I’ve learned, and I’m continuing to do things that are bigger than me, and which aren’t about me.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Interview: Celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart speaks to us about The Purpose Hotel

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Minimal Luxury: Monumental Concrete Hotel by Tadao Ando

24 May

[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

setouchi aonagi 6

Master of minimalist architecture Tadao Ando has remodeled a small boutique hotel on Japan’s Shikoku island in a refreshingly spare yet luxurious aesthetic, with few distractions to break up his trademark expanses of concrete and glass. The seven-room Setouchi Aonagi perches on a mountain overlook gazing out onto the glassy surface of the Seto Inland Sea, its narrow rooftop swimming pool extending in the opposite direction like a telescope to focus on the distant skyline.

setouchi aonagi 1 setouchi aonagi 2

setouchi aonagi 4

setouchi aonagi 13

In recent years, the Setouchi International Art Festival has brought tourists and press from around the world into this quiet corner of Japan, with the central venues all shining examples of Ando’s work, so it was only natural for the Setouchi Aonagi to ‘join the lineup’ as another architectural masterpiece. The building previously functioned as an art museum and private residence, and was outfitted with interior furnishings the architect deemed unnecessary. His transformation strips away all distractions, giving each spacious suite its own subtle theme.

setouchi aonagi 3

setouchi aonagi 5

setouchi aonagi 7

setouchi aonagi 8

In addition to the cinematic rooftop pool, there’s an indoor pool dubbed ‘The Cave’ that can be reserved for private use. The hotel notes that the ‘luminous light’ that pours into the building, as well as the view of the sea, are art in and of themselves – but that a selection of minimal contemporary art is also on hand, sparingly displayed to keep the focus on the architecture and surroundings. One example is a mossy garden installation by Yutaka Ono, mimicking the look of the islands when seen from afar.

setouchi aonagi 12

setouchi aonagi 11

setouchi aonagi 10

setouchi aonagi 9

The rooms range from about $ 820 per night for the Garden Suite on the bottom floor to $ 1450 for the Aonagi Suite, which might sound a bit steep until you consider the general cost of travel in Japan and the fact that each room sleeps 3 to 5 guests.  Plus, staying in a Tadao Ando creation is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience, after all.

Share on Facebook





[ By SA Rogers in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Minimal Luxury: Monumental Concrete Hotel by Tadao Ando

Posted in Creativity

 

Expanding the ISS: Inflatable Space Hotel Room Sent into Orbit

13 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

space hotel room

A new space hotel room will be the first addition to the International Space Station in years, part of a test to see whether inflatable rooms can serve as more compact and space architecture on demand, unlike rigid frame space hotel concepts.

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) developed by an aerospace company in Las Vegas is comprised primarily of a light and flexible fabric that unfolds when inflated, creating a bubble-shaped room. The eventual plan: use this as a prototype for space tourism, creating housing when and where it is needed both attached to and beyond the ISS.

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver is given a tour of the Bigelow Aerospace facilities by the company's President Robert Bigelow on Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, in Las Vegas.  NASA has been discussing potential partnership opportunities with Bigelow for its inflatable habitat technologies as part of NASA's goal to develop innovative technologies to ensure that the U.S. remains competitive in future space endeavors. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Launched into orbit with help from SpaceX, the module is lighter and more compact, thus more cost- and fuel-efficient to ship, and, when not in use: it can also fold back down for storage. A testing period over the next few years will help researching astronauts evaluate its performance, including its ability to withstand micro-meteoroid impacts, radiation and temperature fluctuations.

Share on Facebook





[ By WebUrbanist in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Expanding the ISS: Inflatable Space Hotel Room Sent into Orbit

Posted in Creativity

 

Sweet Dreams: Nightmare Robots Replace Hotel Employees

11 Aug

[ By Steph in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

robot hotel 2

In this edition of ‘Androids Are After Our Jobs,’ a Japanese hotel replaces all of its front desk clerks, porters and other employees with robots, including a hairy nightmare dinosaur wearing a bellboy cap. In fact, should you choose to stay the night here and approach the desk furthest to the right in the lobby, you might question for a moment whether you accidentally ingested some LSD and are mentally recreating a scene from “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”

robot hotel 1

robot hotel fear and loathing

Don’t want to face this guy when you check in? Too bad, because he’s the only one who speaks English. “If you want to check in, push one,” he says, and you type your information into the touch screen and let it snap your photo. The porter robot accompanies you to your room with all of your luggage onboard, and you’re allowed entrance once your identity is verified with facial recognition software. Is that cute little bedside concierge watching you as you sleep, or evaluating your performance in other activities? You’ll never know.

robot hotel 3

robot hotel 6

robot hotel 4

The Henn Na hotel is a real place in Nagasaki, Japan, that aims to slash costs by automating nearly all services with a whole lot of help from technology. Owner Hideo Sawada runs the hotel as part of an amusement park, and says that while the robots may be a tourist draw, they’re not purely gimmicks. Cutting down on staff enables the hotel to rent rooms for as low as $ 80 a night, a rarity in the country.

robot hotel 5

robot hotel 7

robot hotel 8

The technology that makes this actually work is still in progress, so naturally, the robots can’t do nearly as many things as human employees, like calling cabs or giving you directions. You’ll have to figure that stuff out yourself. Mentioned almost as an aside is the creepy fact that the few human employees who are present in the hotel are hidden, watching you silently  through a series of security cameras as you pass through the hallways and common rooms. Please enjoy your stay!

Share on Facebook





[ By Steph in Boutique & Art Hotels & Travel. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Sweet Dreams: Nightmare Robots Replace Hotel Employees

Posted in Creativity