Hotels I Haven’t Known

Welcome to day 11 of 31 Days of Heterotopias: Motels and Hotels, a month of posts about how motels, hotels, and inns function as heterotopias and liminal spaces in society.  (More about heterotopias and liminal spaces.)  Each post will look at these ideas from its own vantage point, which may not obviously connect with the others, and which may mention motels and hotels only peripherally or may focus on them without referencing heterotopia or liminality. I won’t attempt to tie the posts together. They’ll all be listed here, as they are posted.

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This must be a special class of heterotopia: hotels and motels that one sees, admires, perhaps even tours, but in which one never actually spends a night. I mean, talk about ships that pass, a crossroads of the familiar + unfamiliar, a place that’s also a non-place, a threshold that one walks right up to — but doesn’t cross; or does cross, and then crosses right back.

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This is the Hampton Inn & Suites, on Amelia Island (Fernandina), Florida, Dec. 2016. Those sherbet colours!

HamptonInnSuitessherbertcoloursFernandinaBeachFL21Dec2016

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Here’s the Norseman Inn, on a spit of land at Ogunquit, Maine, June 2015.

NorsemanMotelandbeach8pmOgtME18June2015

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I’ve eaten at the Bohemian Inn in Savannah, GA — Christmas breakfast one year, a dinner another year, drinks at Rocks on the River another year — but I’ve never stayed in the hotel. I’d like to but I am in love with the HIX there.

BohemianHotelandRocksontheRiverSavannah28Dec2013
Dec. 2013
savannahtandmatbohemianhotelrocksc25dec2010
morning of 25 Dec. 2010
savannahhotelbohemianrocksbrkfstb25dec2010
a blurry, modern elegance on the morning of 25 Dec. 2010

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The Westin on Jekyll Island, GA, is new-ish (2014?). It’s always been rather empty when I’ve been there.

TheWestinHotelfrontJekyll20Dec2015
Dec. 2015
Westin8pmJI11July2016
July 2016
HarrysObservationBarWestinnightclosedJekyll28Dec2015
Harry’s Observation Bar, outside, Dec. 2015
insidetheWestin8pmJekyll28Dec2015
inside the almost empty Westin, Dec. 2015

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This little Lighthouse Motel right on the beach in Pine Point (Scarborough), Maine was renovated recently and is now the Lighthouse Suites. It looks great. I’d like to stay here sometime.

pinepointlighthouseinnwithgrassesroses9Dec2011
pre-renovation, Dec. 2011
LighthousemotelbeingrenovatedPinePoint29May2015
in the midst of renovation, May 2015
remodeledmotelbybeachentrancePinePoint31March2016
almost renovated, March 2016
remodeledLighthouseSuitesmotelPinePointScarboroME18June2017
post-renovation, June 2017

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This is a Westin hotel in Savannah, GA, across the river from downtown Savannah; you can take a commuter ferry that runs every 20 minutes between it and downtown Savannah. I’ve taken the ferry a number of times, just for the fun of it, but never stayed in the hotel; it seems a bit inconvenient unless you’re attending a conference there.

Westinwith3ferryboatsSavannah28Dec2013
ferries lined up outside Westin hotel across from downtown Savannah, Dec. 2013
pinkcamelliasbenchesWorldTradeCenterSavannahGA18Dec2016
pink camellias in front of Westin hotel, Dec. 2016
pinkyellowcamelliabeeWorldTradeCenterSavannahGA18Dec2016
bee in pink camellias in front of Westin hotel, Dec. 2016
jisept2008savannahcruiseshipferrycityhallriverst
the Juliette Gordon Low ferry on the river, with downtown Savannah and the Georgia Queen boats in the background, Sept. 2008

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And finally, the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, an iconic place to stay on Jekyll Island, GA, but though we’ve been visiting the island since the 1990s, we’ve never stayed here. We have had a few Christmas brunches, some other meals, and a tour of the hotel, however. Looks nice!

JekyllIslandClubHotelpubcafeJekyll25Dec2015
Christmas Day, 2015
JICHXmasDayJekyll25Dec2015
Christmas Day, 2015
JIClubHotelJI22Sept2013
Sept. 2013
sunlightJekyllIslandClubHotelJekyllIslandGA24Dec2016
Christmas Eve 2016
XmaslightsJIChotelHistoricDistrictJekyll21Dec2015
Dec. 2015
jiJICHannex24April2012
the hotel annex, seen from a hotel room, April 2012
jijichcourtyard24April2012
courtyard, April 2012
jijichcroquetlawn24April2012
croquet lawn, seen from above, April 2012
jijich4thfloorviewofpoolriver24April2012
pool, and river view, seen from above, April 2012
jilanierbridgeviewfromJICH4thfloor24April2012
view of marsh and Sidney Lanier bridge, from a hotel room, April 2012
jijich4thfloorhallway24April2012
upstairs corridor, April 2012
jijichdiningroom24April2012
dining room entrance, April 2012
jifrontlobbybaratjich24April2012
bar, April 2012
jipartofafternoonteasetupatJICH24April2012
afternoon tea set up, April 2012
jiJICHtearoom24April2012
tea room, April 2012
diningroomJICHXmasbrunchJekyll25Dec2015
dining room for Christmas brunch, 2015
shrimppianoplayerhotdishesChristmasBuffetJekyllIslandClubHotelJekyllIsland25Dec2016
shrimp and other buffets, Christmas Day brunch, 2016
gravlaxandsmokedfoodsJICHXmasbrunchJekyll25Dec2015
gravlax and smoked foods, Christmas Day brunch, Dec. 2015

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I can’t wait to not stay at some other hotels and motels!

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Featured image is Holiday Inn at Jekyll Island, GA.

 

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