Black & Gold

Czerń i złoto to chyba najbardziej wpółgrające dla mnie zestawienie, wydaje mi się że sprawdza się w niejednej dziedzinie życia, zarówno w modzie jak i design'ie. Sama uwielbiam to połączenie kolorów i wykorzystuję je gdzie tylko mogę. Po niżej kilka przykładów tego zestawienia kolorów...

doobybrain.com

duesenberg.de

In wonderland, obviously

zcache.co.uk

 I na sam koniec coś co niesamowicie przypadło mi do gustu Czarno- Złoty znajdujący się w Nowym Jorku : Bryant Park Hotel...

panoramio.com

Art Deco Buildings

A Star Without Soap

A Star Without Soap

I stayed recently in the Meridien Etoile hotel for the first time in a decade and it was interesting to revisit the recently refurbished hotel.

The rooms are tiny but compact and have been given a bit of design buzz albeit with that infuriating form over function which is bizarrely prevalent in so many hotels today. It wasn't that the room was inhospitable (it was pretty cost for a contemporary look with a bit of retro-disco era feel) with some cute lamps beside the bed (above) and a Parisian illustration on the glass to the bathroom (top).

 The television was neatly encased in a silver and black housing which was good if a bit infuriating insofar as maintaining a signal to change channels with the remote control...

However, the critical gaffe was to be found in the bathroom. Here, on the other side of said Parisian young lady, the hotel has headed into that irritating format of having lots of showers and no bathrooms (how very 2 star). Moreover, once in the shower it quickly became apparent that underneath the shower head surrounded by a profusion of jet black tiles...there was nowhere to actually set things like the soap.

Now call me old fashioned but I rather like soap in the shower while finding shampoo and suchlike can be rather useful in said environs too.

...thanks to design dimness such as demonstrated in the Meridien Etoile, it may suggests stars but there is a complete lack of soap and other practical facilities in the shower. This is one of the more scintillatingly stupid examples of design dimness where practicality is avoided for the sake of the look I have discovered in recent months. I do hope Starwood hotels didn't pay the designer for such a daft set-up.

Sensational Seoul

Sensational Seoul

For Europeans who want to see the future, it remains a truism that you need to visit the mega cities of South-East Asia. Tokyo is sensational, Singapore and Hong Kong incredible in their own ways and then to mention a fourth (without touching the Chinese mainland) there is Seoul.

From Walker Hill you can see the "DMZ" (DeMilitarized Zone) which runs across the border with North Korea, barely an hour away from the massive bath (which if you need help, the staff even offer to come and fill for you!)...

Welcome to the "W" Walker Hill... a hotel which oozes a sense of the ultra-contemporary yet is actually over a decade old: the hotel opened in August 2002.

The rather unique design of the rooms speaks for itself and, as can be seen from the way the slippers are set out, there is a delightful attention to detail everywhere, including at 'turn down.'

The first "W" hotel from Starwood Group to open in South-East Asia, the hotel was simply incredible...utterly impeccable service and the rooms are fantastic. Restaurants and bars were fabulous but then again I am biased as the Head Chef is Ciaran Hickey, who hails from Dublin.

With a pool, fitness area, various restaurants, a health bar, and some great cocktails at the main bar, it was simply impossible to fault the W Hotel in Seoul...moreover for those craving the excitement of Gangnam, the district is barely 15 minutes away!