When going on vacation, you plan the activities around yourself or your family. If you have children, you include fun things to do, such as theme parks or beaches. For adults, you would go to the regions known for its wine, beer or cuisine, aside from the scenery. In the past ten years, there have been vacations designed around a theme, and hotels have not only have taken part in these themes, but some have their own individual theme. Why would a hotel create its own theme? There have always been themed hotel rooms (e.g. the Honeymoon Suite), but aside from theme-park resorts, themed hotels have been few until recently. What sparked my curiosity is the number of themes. And each state has its own claim to themed hotels, from ones that are underwater to the ones in trees.
The popularity of themed hotels began in the past decade, with the increase of boutique hotels. More than receiving customer feedback that guests would like more fitness equipment in the hotel gym or even creating a hotel gym, these hotels decided to make themselves stand apart from their competition (e.g. hotel chains) and create their own guest experience. There are many hotels themes that are based off of pop culture (including movies and TV shows), such as The Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada, where everything is clowns. This will create smiles or cringes, since clowns have been made to be evil in some movies (e.g. It). Another theme is animals. The Dog Bark Park Inn is built to look like a huge dog. Located in Cottonwood, Indiana, the beagle-shaped hotel offers a low-tech stay with old-fashioned games instead of the latest TV in rooms. And there are themes based on nostalgia. The Legoland Hotel offers nostalgia for parents (LEGO is 86 years old) and plenty of fun for kids. The brightly-colored hotel located in Winter Haven, Florida, is an alternative to the beach hotels. It not only has themed rooms, but the entire resort is one big LEGO set.
Staying a themed hotel is not cheap, though. You can expect to pay hundreds of dollars a night. However, the experience is worth it, especially if it’s on a person’s bucket list. These hotels make every stay memorable without the guests paying for the activities in the town they are located in. They are easy to find since people post their experiences, which the hotel owners encourage since it’s free publicity. The number of themed hotels increases each year, and you can count on unique themes.
