Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 4th, 2012

I have checked into the DREAM HOTEL Downtown while my apartment is being renovated: It certainly has brought up several thoughts about hotel rooms and hotel life…..living in a hotel in your own City is very different than being in a hotel on vacation.

I have always wondered what it would be like living in a building like the Time Warner Center or One 57, condominiums with hotel services from the hotels that are part of the building. The obvious perks such as room cleaning and room service are something I could get used to. But I have to say, regardless of how I would decorate my room/apartment, living in a hotel would not work for me. Its just a bit too impersonal for me, although now I understand better how some may find this lifestyle quite appealing.

I chose this hotel over several other more obvious choices because its location close to my office and apartment made the most sense…..The Dream Hotel is much more groovy and hip than I will ever be: the space-age nautical themed rooms with their large circular porthole style windows frame exceptional views of Midtown. While the suite is large with a pleasant seating area/living room and writing desk, there are certain elements of its design that should be re-thought, regardless of how hip the clientele is:

1)   Bed headboards are named that for a reason: they should support a head. These don’t.  The lighting above the bed is awful: its inadequate: Do hipsters not read?

2)  The one dismal light above the bed has a light switch just far enough away so that you have to get out of bed to turn it on or off….

3)  The closet space is sufficient for a 2 night stay….for one person. I have a rolling rack in the room to accommodate my 2-3 weeks worth of clothing.

4)  All the written materials are really, really small: granted I have poor eyesight, but with all the super-dim lighting everywhere, I imagine this is hard for most to read. Why do hotels insist on small fonts on the shampoos and conditioners in the bathroom…..should I wear reading glasses in the shower?

5)  As always, the tech requires a training program to operate: when will a hotelier understand that guests would like simple, easy-to-use televisions, light switches, phones, etc? Have they not seen a single Apple product to understand this concept?

6)  Many may frown at the shiny steel sinks and tubs: I frankly love the fact that there is no way any dirt could exist without being clearly visible. Washing your face with the high-design sink may prove too challenging for most.

7)  I ordered a lobster salad the other night via the very efficient room service……a lobster salad requires more than one piece of lobster in my opinion: maybe if I was more hip I would accept the one little chunk as its less to purge prior to hitting the town in a super-fitted ensemble?

8)  The staff are super-friendly and efficient, exactly the opposite of what you’d expect from a hip, designer boutique hotel. While a hotel of this style would be perfectly at home in Miami, high quality New York staffing would make it a total winner when compared to most Miami hotels with their rude inefficient staff.