Two weeks ago I was at the annual Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH) conference in Denver, Colorado. The conference was held at The Curtis Hotel. The hotel was chosen, in large part, because of the design of the hotel. It’s unique in that it actively promotes humor, levity, and a fun/positive environment. The lobby is brightly colored, with interesting décor, and each of the hotel floors has a theme that is announced as the elevator stops on the floor. I stayed on the 7th floor, appropriately titled “The Laugh Out Loud Floor.” I was reminded of the fun coincidence, or perhaps it was irony, every time I got off the elevator. For someone, anyone, who may want a different hotel experience, I highly recommend checking The Curtis out. It’s worth every penny.
While anyone who walks into the hotel will get a sense of the difference between it and most other hotels, what impressed me the most about it, was the careful way that humor and levity and fun were placed throughout the space. One of the things that I consistently teach people when they’re trying to find ways to bring more humor and levity into their life or environment, is to start slow. If you sow the seeds of levity, laughter will follow. The Curtis does exactly that.
As I mentioned, the lobby, pictured above, is brightly colored and the furnishings are fun. There are chairs made from skis, a nod to the ski industry in Colorado, and a small sofa made in the style of the old Volkswagen Beetle. It’s fun, but it doesn’t overwhelm you. It doesn’t demand your attention, but invites you to feel a little lighter. This is important because often times when we first enter into a hotel, we’re at the end of a good bit of traveling. We can be stressed, tired, and really just want to get to our rooms and take a load off. When people come into the lobby of a hotel they are really focused on getting their room and getting settled in. The lobby hints at the playfulness and levity, but doesn’t hit you over the head with it. This is crucial. The lobby lets you know what the hotel is about, but exactly how the humor and playfulness are going to come out is something you find out as you go through the hotel. In fact, the hotel’s design invites you to explore all the floors to see how the humor, laughter, and levity are explored and given substance.
The best way to show how carefully and cleverly the designers of The Curtis did their work is to take you through the first steps. Imagine you’ve checked in and are in the elevator going to your floor. You press floor 7, and if you’re like me, you watch the numbers change on the display as you go. But as you reach your floor, a voice comes over the speaker and announces your floor. You hear laughter, and then a voice announces, “Welcome to the ‘Laugh Out Loud Floor’”. Unexpected? Yep. A little cheesy? Sure. Fun and enjoyable? Absolutely. As you get off the floor, the carpet is a bit more colorful than usual and there are some pictures of clips from Saturday Night Live on the wall. Your room isn’t decked out with garish colors and crazy accoutrement; it’s a nice room with some fun decorations. Overall the experience is pleasant, fun, and while you’re enjoying all these little fun cues in the environment, you’re beginning to feel a little less tired or stressed. And that’s precisely the point. The levity, the lack of seriousness in the paint, in the carpets, on the walls, all work to help you smile and enjoy, even after a hard day of travel.
I want to end with some pictures of the 3rd floor bathroom. It’s here only after you’ve likely experienced some of the levity and fun of the hotel that the humor comes out. The humor in the bathroom isn’t subtle. It’s direct. It’s not vulgar, but it is humor in a bathroom so it skirts around some of the obvious topics. And this humor isn’t random, or put up in signs taped or hung on a wall. They are, as you can see, professionally done signs; signs that went through a design process. Here the humor is now full-blown. You’re ready for it. In a sense, you’re expecting it. But the humor isn’t just in the physical space, when you call the hotel, (303-571-0300), the voicemail prompts are themselves humorous and playful. The voice engaging, and message is in no way muddled. The humor augments the call. It doesn’t interrupt. When I say it’s humor done right, I mean it. If you want to experience it, book a trip to Denver and stay at the Curtis hotel. You will not be disappointed. You’ll have fun, and you may leave with some ideas of your own to help build laughter in levity on the spaces you frequent.
I plan to follow up this story with more. I am reaching out to the management of The Curtis to see if I can learn a bit more about the design process and how The Curtis came to be. If this would be something you’re interested in reading more about, please comment below. Till next time. Laugh often and much.
Great description, Mike. So great to see you in Denver!!! MK