Many people have asked me: What is the purpose of a lobby? What do you look for in a hotel lobby? Can you sit in a hotel lobby? Why do you love hotel lobbies? To understand what it is all about, I shall try answering the following simple question: What is a lobby of a hotel? According to Collins dictionary: In a hotel or other large building, the lobby is the area near the entrance that usually has corridors and staircases leading off it.
Hotel lobbies are much more than that for me. The problem that arose when I realized I had fallen in love with them was that staying in these palaces was over my budget. I eventually found a way to enter and discover them: by enjoying a nice cup of tea in a lobby.
Each lobby area taught me something, and this is the list of tips and tricks I gathered throughout the years:
1. Jump into the unknown
- The best way to find THE jewel hotel lobby in a city is through locals.
- Hotel names can be mysterious and invite you to a dream universe. Think about Aman, La Mamounia, Gritti Palace, Hotel Dukes Palace, Pillows Hotel, Hotel Danieli, and Pera Palace, for example.
- Creativity and curiosity are everything; discover places no one ever explored.
- Visit the best hotels for a drink in their sumptuous lobbies. I promise you will not regret it! Please do not be shy. You do not have to be a hotel guest to be allowed in a grand hotel. Make a click in your head and behave as if you were entering a café or a restaurant.
2. Look at the design
- Are you an interior design lover keen to discover the architectural trends of the places you visit? Hotel lobbies are the place to be. Their decor will balance from Art Deco to the Victorian Age, from Art Nouveau to the mesmerizing Walt Disney World or the Alice in Wonderland magic kingdom. The interior design of these gems, created by the world’s most famous and renowned designers, is pure bliss. Look at the ceiling, the Italian marble floor, and the seemingly empty corners.
- The way to the restrooms in a hotel will reveal its untold story. After this stroll, you will notice many details which, I am sure, will either completely seduce you or make you fall out of love with the visited palazzo. Indeed, I have been to two-star hotel lobbies that were enchanted dreams but visited luxury hotels whose energy and design were barely worth a three-minute visit. Pay attention to the corridors, walls, details, and decorations. You will be astonished by their particularities and artistic surprises!
3. Indulge yourself with cookies and tea
- The Afternoon Tea will remind you that it is critical to stop time for one moment. Indulge yourself in the magnificent atmosphere of authentic beauty.
- The tea and cookies served will open doors to various universes you could only dream about! You may suddenly be transported to your grandmother’s house while eating homemade cookies or be dragged to the Himalayan mountains thanks to the exotic taste of your tea.
4. Observe the audience and learn
- Every hotel lobby has its audience and ambiance; the nouveau riche luxury hotel, the Mafiosi palace hotel, historic palaces, glamour fashionable hotels, and one-night stand hotels.
- Observing a lobby guest can become a memorable (anthropological) exercise and broaden your mind toward different cultures and mindsets.
- Celebrities like to chill in hotel lobbies, which are common areas but include hidden and discreet corners. The latter is where they can peacefully meet their connections and business relations. They feel protected in such an environment. Believe it or not, while sitting and discreetly listening to fascinating conversations around you, you can uncover the lobby’s socio-political views and economic situation.
5. Remember staff knows everything
- Give a second chance to lobby visits; they might have a bad hair day too, and not everything is what it seems.
- When leaving a lobby in Israel, you will know the personal information of most of the staff; their family history, dreams, political views, salary, and wishes. When you leave a lobby in France, the personnel will know your first name (but will call you by surname), your family history, dramas, secrets, political opinions, and wishes.
- When entering a lobby, ask the staff to tell you its story. You will be amazed by the words and terms you may hear. Mata Hari stories, World War diaries, secret hiding places, or stormy romances.
- The direction of a hotel will tell you the place’s official story, but its staff will be its juicy conscience and bright eyes. Take your time to observe, greet, talk and listen to their fascinating stories. I wish to thank the staff for the mesmerizing and dreamlike gems I visited, as this would not have been possible without them. Their smiles, discretion, understanding, care, and incredible memory make this enchanted world go round!
6. What is a hotel lobby for me?
- Hotel lobbies have always been part of my life. I remember meeting my grandparents in beautiful hotel lobbies in Brussels, drinking delicious cocktails with friends in a lobby bar in Los Angeles, Athens, New York, and San Francisco, or chilling in an impressive Victorian lobby space in London.
- A hotel reflects the city’s philosophy, architecture, art, taste, and mindset. It will also teach you all you need to know about the culture, social status, and the do’s and don’ts of the place you visit. Some hotels were so impressive that I thought: If these walls could talk. I could guess their history was comparable to the best adventure books I had read just by looking at their structure, location, and age.
As you see, lobbies are beautiful gems. You can taste the savor of hotels the way you experience a castle, a mansion, or even a museum. These palaces have it all. The mixture of these elements and people is the past, the present, and the future of your enjoyment! Cherish it as if it were your home, heritage, and history!
