Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – From heart-shaped bathtubs surrounded by rose petals, and circular beds with ceilings that mimic the starry night sky, to huge 7-foot-high whirlpool tubs in the shape of a champagne glass, accommodating two people.
That’s what you’ll find at Pocono Cove Resorts in Pennsylvania, once known as the “Honeymoon Capital of the World” thanks to its array of adults-only hotels and unconventional room features.
From the moment Margaret and Corey Bennert, both photographers, got out of the car and entered the Cove Pocono Palace Hotel, one of three hotels at Cove Pocono Resorts, they were in awe.
Margaret told CNN: “I saw a more than wonderful place, fun and interesting, and at the same time directed to adults as well – I felt as if I was in heaven as much as I felt absolute freedom.”
She added: “It was a very magical weekend. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. As soon as we left, I asked: When are we coming back?”
A heart-shaped bed at the Miami Princess Hotel in Miami, Florida.Credit: Margaret and Corey Bienert/Courtesy Artisan Books
It wasn’t just the quirky rooms that caught Margaret and Corey’s attention, it was the hotel’s 1960s atmosphere, such as organized games that tested your knowledge of your partner, bowling competitions, as well as impressive bars serving cocktails with “funny names,” as Margaret put it.
Rather than seeming old-fashioned, the atmosphere of Cove Pocono Resorts was inviting to the Benert duo, both in their 30s.
It wasn’t just a longing to return, the couple found themselves searching the internet to find other similar places around the country.
The champagne glass-shaped tub was designed at Cove Poconos Resorts in 1984. Credit: Margaret and Corey Bienert/Courtesy Artisan Books
Thus, the duo inspired a photo project, which they called “A Pretty Cool Hotel Tour,” which they shared on Instagram. It became increasingly popular on TikTok, and is now available to read in book form: “Hotel Kitsch: A Pretty Cool Tour of “America’s Fantasy Getaways”.
Cove Pocono Resorts debuted the heart-shaped hot tub in 1963. Colored in vibrant red and surrounded by walls of mirrors, the heart-shaped bath became a symbol of a bolder new era as the decade passed.
Hotels across the country soon began imitating the design, which Cove Pocono hotel owner and bathtub designer Maurice Wilkins had failed to patent.
Instead of getting frustrated, Wilkins set about improving his design. In 1984, he launched for the first time a huge basin designed in the shape of a champagne glass. He made sure his invention was patented, and soon there was a world-long waiting list for suites featuring a hot tub shaped like a champagne glass.
When Margaret and Corey came to Cove Pocono Resorts nearly four decades later, they were met with some modern, renovated spaces, but the main features that made the resorts famous remained the same.
Margaret says she initially thought the champagne tub was “funny” but then took a selfie with Corey as they sat in the tub and hugged, resulting in a romantic photo.
For Margaret and Corey, these images of the champagne vat became the basis for their photography project.
They began searching for similar destinations that were “full of fun, romance and just for adults,” as Margaret put it.
The goal was to find sites that “don’t take themselves too seriously and are completely dedicated to what they do.”
The “Northern Lights” room at the Don Q Inn in Wisconsin evokes an arctic landscape.Credit: Margaret and Corey Bienert/Courtesy Artisan Books
At the 1980s-built Gallery Holiday Motel in South Amboy, New Jersey, the couple was greeted by mirrored ceilings, velvet upholstery, heart-shaped bathtubs, a jungle-themed room, and a beach suite.
In the “California Victorian Inn” hotel, they discovered a bed in the shape of an antique car, while in the “Anniversary Inn” hotel, which was built in the 1990s and is located in the American states of Idaho and Utah, there is a bathtub with a majestic phoenix rising from the ashes above.
They soon realized that the heart-shaped beds were difficult to sleep on, while the funky chairs were not always particularly comfortable.
Not all of the hotels the duo frequent are considered antiques from the twentieth century. At the Designer Inn & Suites in Toledo, Iowa, which was remodeled in the early 2000s, the couple discovered the “Heart’s Delight” room, which features a velvet cupid-patterned bed with pink heart-shaped mirrors on the back. Roof.
Married couple Margaret and Corey in the Sea Cave Suite at the Black Swan Inn in Idaho.Credit: Margaret and Corey Bienert/Courtesy Artisan Books
They also enjoyed exploring the pink paradise of Trixie Motel, which debuts in 2022.
Nautical-themed rooms complete with clamshell beds at the Best Western hotel in Galena, Illinois, were another highlight.
For many of the hotels they document, although they are hot on Instagram, they existed before the ubiquity of cell phones, so they are often not well advertised.
To find potential places to visit, Margaret and Corey track down designers and ask them for listings of hotels where they created their work.
The couple also receives word-of-mouth recommendations from social media users, and Margaret asks them about the specific location. Then, with her partner, Corey, they identify destinations on maps and embark on vast road trips across the United States.
Inside the Rain Forest room at the Designer Inn in Toledo, Iowa.Credit: Margaret and Corey Bienert/Courtesy Artisan Books
The pair are keen to bring their cameras, a shared love of photography brought them together when they first met in college, and while their styles typically diverge, on this project, the two share a consistent creative vision.
The majority of the hotels highlighted by Margaret and Corey are located in the United States, but the book also highlights a few elsewhere in the world.
In Ibiza, Spain, Romeo’s Motel & Diner recently opened, inspired by old-school American hotels. Margaret and Corey say that designer Diego Calvo contacted them via social media platforms to inform them that many of their photos were present at the hotel.
When the couple went to visit the Spanish hotel and saw the heart-shaped bathtubs and vibrant decor, they fell in love with the space. The experience also made them think about the future of kitsch hotels, which once seemed tacky or outdated, but many young people today find their faded glamor attractive and interesting.
It helps that their images appear on social media platforms, but it’s also, as Margaret suggests, about people realizing how fun these unexpected spaces can be.
2024-01-02 07:02:30
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