Note: I’ve been out of the country for a few weeks. Hopefully now that I’m back we can get back to some normalcy around here.
Today HotelChatter posted some pictures of the new SLS hotel in South Beach Florida. Click the link and filter through the pictures for a few minutes. I don’t even know where to begin with this. If this is how SLS is going to theme their hotels, especially the one in Las Vegas, color me disinterested.
First off, that room is small and they did absolutely nothing to try to work with it. Those pictures make the room look impressively cramped. Throw in busy wallpaper and unecessary furnitures and fixtures and I have no idea what they were thinking. I get that the concept of a boutique hotel is trying to make something chic out of something old and drab. However, this just feels like lipstick on a pig.
If this is going to be their angle with the Sahara property, I really don’t know how you can convince people to stay there. The location and size of the property is going to be challenging enough (as I’ve said before). But after taking in those room pictures, I’m struggling to find what’s appealing about that room over something at Cosmopolitan.
Maybe they have a brand edge that I am not aware of, but the whole thing still feels incredibly misguided. Furthermore, I can’t imagine that this decorating style will age well. That means the place will seem dated in almost no time. I almost want to see it happen just so all these questions can be answered, but it feels like there are way too many challenges for them to overcome.
That looks like fabric wall coverings. So, basically it’s a white room? I guess that’s an easy, low cost way to update the room down the road, but I’m not loving it, either. Also, how do you keep that dust free? Do you take it down when you deep clean the room and vacuum it regularly? Seems like a pain.