Annals of architecture failures: the luxury hotel with exterior corridors and no art

by philg

A few photos from a newish $500/night Marriott hotel in Newport Beach, California:

Note the circular waterfall in the middle of the driveway.

One of the more interesting features is a massive video screen above the bar at the end of the pool:

Why can’t we have this in every room of our houses?

The hotel is built around an open central courtyard and, thus, the corridors are exposed to the elements to some extent. Perhaps because of this, the architects and designers apparently decided not to put any art in the outdoor hallways:

The result is a bleak depressing walk from a fairly nice room to the very nice lobby. It makes the hotel seem cheap and old. I’m trying to figure out how they could have failed so badly. The indoor/outdoor structure isn’t that different from Spanish colonial architecture throughout Central and South America. A hotel with exterior corridors in Mexico or South America would have interesting stonework and, most likely, beautiful tiles and other decoration in the parts exposed to the elements.

On the bright side, we were able to enjoy looking at a Z06 C8 Corvette parked in front:

8 thoughts on “Annals of architecture failures: the luxury hotel with exterior corridors and no art”

  1. That $500/night looks the same as several unimpressive ones I’ve stayed at over the years outside of Disney World for less than $100.

    • DP: Indeed. The “stark bare walls” look is associated in my mind with cheapness and the architects went to great lengths in the rest of the hotel’s public spaces to avoid a cheap appearance.

  2. To paraphrase Marshall McLuhan (“the medium is the message”): the architecture is the art?

  3. Why can’t we have this in every room of our houses? You could!
    the corridors are exposed to the elements to some extent… there are no “elements” in Newport Beach CA.

  4. Dreamed of TV’s becoming cheap enough to line an apartment with them & create a virtual world. Still not possible unless the space makes money. Cost is a silly reason for Greenspun of course.

  5. Thank you for sharing this. It does not make me want to stay in a Marriott. It can be hard to get good value for your travel dollar.

  6. Looks like a motel down south I usually stay in. Have not done it for a while. Before Bidenomics I have never paid over a hundred dollars /night for similar accommodations, even at popular locations. Usually $70/night. $500 is new $70 I guess.

  7. Next time you’re in OC, stay at the Royds suite at the Renaissance. Room 966.

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