Successful Restaurant Design Review

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(More customer reviews)With 27 years of restaurant experience I know the importance of design to the success of a restaurant. What is often overlooked, however, is that the kitchen and dining spaces have to work together. The authors of Successful Restaurant Design are the first to point out the importance of a holistic approach to restaurant design. Their insights into the design process are a must read for anyone planning a new restaurant or renovating an existing facility. The chapter of interviews offers readers design tips from leading designers and restaurateurs. And the case studies offer a straighforward way of understanding simple solutions to complex issues. This book belongs in the library of every restaurateur and designer interested in keeping up with front and back of the house design.

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The design of a restaurant plays a critical role in attracting and keeping customers today. To create a successful restaurant interior, designers must understand the technical side of a restaurant operation and know how to create an ambience that satisfies a restaurant's owner and clientele. This book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date introduction to the process of restaurant design.

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Authentic Ecolodges Review

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(More customer reviews)Tourism is a double-edged sword, in that in can bring revenue into communities, but can also damage fragile ecosystems and social structures. Eco-tourism, when done well, is a thoughtful and careful way to ensure environmental and social objectives are met, while still offering visitors the opportunity to visit magical and inspiring places. But it is also a buzz-word, applied to any "nature tourism" destination. Hitesh's book looks at places where ecotourism is real, and where local people and communities are both involved in, and benefit from the tourism enterprise, as well as where fragile and beautiful ecosystems and wildlife are protected and carefully managed to avoid destruction. The photography is gorgeous and the book is inspiring and thought-provoking. It will help people who want to be responsible and thoughtful in their travel...and give plenty of ideas to visitors whatever their budget. It is also, just simply, a beautiful book.... the world is such an incredible place!

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Authentic Ecolodges is a stunning look at some of the most forward-thinking ecolodges in the world's most exotic destinations. Featuring more than three hundred full-color photographs, detailed architectural sketches, and a rating system specially developed by ecolodge and ecotourism expert Hitesh Mehta, this book is the definitive word on what makes an ecolodge truly authentic.

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The Worst Hotel in the World: The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel, Amsterdam Review

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(More customer reviews)Well-presented and entertaining, "The Worst Hotel in the World" is an encapsulation of some of the advertising campaigns that ad agency KesselsKramer has developed for the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel, an Amsterdam hostel devoted to setting low standards and then consistently failing to achieve them.
The Hans Brinker's claim to stomach-turning fame is simple really, offer as little as humanly possible to your "guests" and be completely honest and upfront about the lack of amenities. What you get in this book is a good sample of some of the more amusing and creative marketing campaigns that the Brinker has developed over the years.
A few of the ones that I really liked:
The "before and after" campaign that highlighted the detrimental effects of staying at the Brinker.
The "eco-friendly" campaign that positioned the hotel as being environmentally conscious because they went out of their way to offer the least in terms of facilities maintenance, like light bulbs.
The infamous flags in the dog poo. `Nuff said.
At first it all seems a bit counter-intuitive, but it does capture one's attention. It's also apparently very profitable to be this brutally honest in your advertising, as the hotel is consistently at or near capacity and has the profit figures to back it up.
I'll also admit that I found it kind of repetitive after a while. You can only get so much mileage out of bragging that you're the best at being the worst. It's obvious that this kind of campaign is aimed at a specific target audience, the bohemian youth-traveler looking to experience the seedier side of Amsterdam's notorious delights. It's cool and funny, but also a bit contrived, especially when you learn that the Brinker isn't as budget-priced as it lets on. Manager Rob Penris even admits at one point that there are 4-star hotels in Amsterdam that have more competitive pricing tiers than does the Brinker. That said, you'd have to be looking for sleazy adventure to want to put yourself through a stay at this rat-infested dive.
Still, it's an interesting book, nicely bound and printed and lavishly illustrated and photographed. The Brinker may be riding a one-joke pony, but they are certainly getting their money's worth out of KesselsKramer. It's a good representation of what they can do on a creative level, and it certainly works to get the word out to a lot of prospective clients.
Nice work. Recommended as a curiosity or even as a souvenir if you've had the bad luck to have had a stay at the Brinker.

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For 15 years, the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel in Amsterdam has gained worldwide recognition for its daring, confrontational, and occasionally just plain offensive advertising. Through press, posters, TV, and even flags stuck in dog poop, the hotel's advertising has been picked up on CNN, MTV, and other global stations, garnering awards and press on the most miniscule of budgets.The reason for all the fuss? Honesty. By daring to tell the truth and describe the hotel as the rat-infested dive it is, the campaign connected with its target market: young, cynical, media-savvy backpackers. Since launching the campaign, the hotel's dormitories are rarely empty, not bad for a place that doesn't even guarantee toilet paper. This frank and often humorous collection of the hotel's advertising celebrates everything that's good about a very bad hotel and proves that innovative, successful marketing requires neither a jaw-dropping budget nor a sugarcoated version of the truth

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Cool Hotels Ecological (Designpockets) Review

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(More customer reviews)Improved table of contents and index over other volumes in the series. However, the photos seem slightly dull in sharpness and color. Not sure if it's the printer or maybe just my copy. It's just a little annoying. The photography is still great. Nice reference for those who love to travel and stay in unique places.

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Vacations increasingly offer us more than just a chance to laze about and pursue our favorite pastimes. This handy guide profiles accommodations where your pleasure in your surroundings goes hand-in-hand with concern for the environment. Showcasing contemporary, eco-friendly lodging in locales as varied as the Caribbean and the Australian Outback, this guide profiles green accommodations across the globe.

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Haven: Cozy Hideaways and Dream Retreats Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this book as a gift from my wishlist here at Amazon. I was thrilled with it, not only for the fact that it's a really nice book, pretty cover, very heavy pages & beautiful photography. I wanted it mainly for decorating purposes and I did get alot of unique decorating idea's from it, but it is much more than a decorating book.. 20 different homes, vacation retreats and wilderness camps are featured.. Each one displays a gorgeous getaway spot that has been created to blend in with it's surroundings while still offering the luxury and comfort of home. Many have optioned environmentally conscious methods and offer ideas for using recycled or repurposed materials in their construction. Most of the beautiful, comfortable, romantic, scenic getaways are created to co-habitate with nature without causing further harm to it..
This is a book on the cutting edge of home design. Many of the homes and getaways shown are designed for nature enthusiasts and with popular past times in mind, such as camping, hiking, bird watching & the beach. Many different styles are represented as well, from spare minamalism to the eccentric whimsy as illustrated in an adult treehouse paradise that looks rustic on the outside but is a luxurious showplace on the inside.
Really wonderful book. An absolute gem. I don't think the description here on amazon properly conveys how useful this book is for creating homes or getaways that are environmentally friendly. I highly recommend this it to anyone concerned with the environment, even if not in the market for building a new home, there are a lot of great ideas for conservation in remodeling and just everyday living. It's also just a beautifully crafted book and makes a great conversation piece as a coffee table book. I have had sitting out for months and many friends have enjoyed it, commenting on it's beauty & unique-ness.

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Haven brings together unique homes in which the dream of retreat has been made a reality. Each of these twenty hideaways offers something for every taste—from a rustic barn to a desert oasis, from a modest tent cabin to an architecturally significant modern masterpiece. Throughout, the focus remains on communion with our natural surroundings and the peace it brings, on sanctuary from the noise and frantic pace of every day, on the sounds of nature and the gentle art of doing nothing. Each restful and rejuvenating interior illustrates how such relaxing spaces can be created in the home, with details such as an intricate stonework fireplace, a panoramic view through a wall of picture windows, or a tropical poolside cabana. Beautiful color photographs make Haven an escape unto itself—as well as a rich source of ideas and inspiration for making dreams of simplicity and retreat come true.

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By Design: Why There Are No Locks on the Bathroom Doors in the Hotel Louis Xiv, and Other Object Lessons (McGraw-Hill paperbacks) Review

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(More customer reviews)This outstanding book is said to be aimed at design students, professionals, or anyone else who could benefit from af uller appreciation of the design process. And yes, I have to agree, it is.
More important to me however is the presentation in this book of the essence of what design is all about. This is the kind of book that the financial people behind a new big hotel should read. It is the book that a product development engineer should read before he starts working with his industrial designer. This is the book that nearly any business manager from marketing, to engineering, to sales, should read.
The first time I travelled to Scandinavia I was struck with the simple elements of design that they do so much better than we do in this country. Simple things like the design of hotel doors, no more expensive than what we do here, just better.
And the sub-title, 'why there are no locks on the bathrobe doors in the Hotel Louis XIV' -that's a great story, it makes such eminent sense. A special problem, a great design, see page 179.

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An inspiring resource for design students, professionals, or anyone else who could benefitfrom a fuller appreciation of the design process, By Design vividly shows how design affectsour most significant human activities. A network of engrossing stories illuminate the processas it applies to architecture, industrial design, interior design, fashion design, graphicdesign, and the design of business and social situations. It is the perfect accompaniment toa broad area of foundation courses for designers-in-training. This new edition of the popularclassic features updated examples of timeless ideas, illustrated in full color. A concludingchapter discusses what has, and has not, changed since the first edition, examiningdesign responses to radical technological development and shifting consumer demands.--This text refers to the Turtleback edition.

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