poser

i've been designing hotels for some time now, and in our presentations we always place images of the chic people that we imagine to be the future visitors of our creations.  the happy couple, the model-like business man, the chic single girl with that handbag we dream of but just can't afford.  people have a a way of bringing a space to life. after all, they are the reason we design. 

i find myself thinking of the spaces i've completed and wondering, are there really people there?... sitting in the perfectly positioned chairs covered in the fabric hand-picked by me, or are they just empty, statuesque, as people pass? 

who uses these lobby seats?  today it's me.  i've been living at this hotel for quite some time now and the lobby, over time, stopped being the lobby and became my living room.  why sit in a hotel room when i can be down here? the hotel room is stagnant. this place has energy, with the clanking of pool balls from the billiards tables in the corner, and the bustle of people coming and going. 

i used to think the only people that sat in the lobbies of hotels were those that posed in our renderings, illustrating how we dreamed the space would be used... but now i know them.  they are me, and somehow that makes it all worth while.  

armani goes hotel

 

only the tallest building in the world would be suitable for a hotel by a couture fashion designer like giorgio armani.  so i can only imagine the smile that slowly curled on armani's face when he saw the plans for a towering structure that tapered as elegantly as a stiletto reaching into the sky. 

so last time i was in dubai i was sure to check in; curious to see how armani's tailored sophistication translated into hotel.  and here is what i found:

true to form, pure armani.

end of august

here we are kids, the end of august, about two-thirds the way through ramadan, and nearing the end of summer.

with most everything closed during the day for ramadan there is a bit of a shortage of things to do on the weekends.  laying by the pool can be treacherous since no eating or drinking in public is allowed.  so this weekend i decided to hit up a very popular indoor activity in the UAE.... "spa"ing. 

hey, i design 5-star hotels, every once in a while i should be able to enjoy them right?! so i spent the day at the Chi Spa at the Shangri La Qaryat al Beri. 

here is the catch 22 of it all.  a spa is supposed to be an escape right?  the curse of a designer is that everywhere you go you are constantly critiquing, taking it all in and analyzing.  you have to keep telling yourself to shut your brain off and enjoy your massage, dinner, drinks, company... 

luckily for me, i was there long enough to take in the design and enjoy my treatments. 

here is a sneak peak at their wet relaxation area.

wedding mode

ok, so whenever i feel the need to kick my butt back into shape; i usually pick some date in the future, mostly in relation to some upcoming event and use it as my motivation.  i call them by "modes".  So far there has been "grammy mode", "vegas mode", lately i'm in what i am calling "wedding mode". 

you already know i attempted to kick start some better nutritional habits when i picked up the book skinny bitch. As outrageous as that book seemed to me, i have taken some things away from it.  i stopped drinking soda.  I really threw off the tea boy when i told him i didn't want anymore coke light's in the afternoon!  i started drinking the appropriate amount of water they say you should have every day.  and in an attempt to pick up a little part of the vegan lifestyle; I've currently switched to soy milk.  Silk is my favorite so far.

wedding mode also includes the gym, even on those days where i totally don't feel like going... today being one of them.

one of the great things about residing in a hotel (aside from someone making my bed for me everyday) is that there is a gym right here.  no excuses.  aloft abu dhabi has a great gym called re:charge which they sell memberships to for those of you living in the area!

i've also discovered a great brand of fitness equipment at re:charge called Life Fitness.  these machines are AMAZING, they have more settings than you know what to do with, an "on board" virtual trainer, and at the end of each workout session you can stick a USB flash drive into the machine and it stores your workout info so you can track your progress over time. i love it!

 

sunday funday!

back home, my family has a sunday tradition: cocktails by the pool, we all invite our friends, dad makes killer drinks with crazy names, and my bro Egan, the grill-master, cooks up some tasty snacks!

since the work week is sunday through thursday here, i guess we have...sunsaturday funday?!
doesn't have the same ring as sunday funday, but equally as fun i think :)

bringing funday saturday to aloft abu dhabi :)

bubbles and benedict

today i will be indulging in one of the more popular weekend activities in abu dhabi, brunch!

brunch just happens to be one of the most genius notions ever thought up, let me tell you why...

a: it incorporates the most important (and my personal favorite) meal of the day, breakfast!

b: it is served late enough that one can sleep in! and...

c: it is the only socially acceptable (culturally relevant of course) events in which you can partake in a little bubbly before noon without being judged!

tomorrow's brunch location, Shangri-La, Qaryat Al Beri, is rumored to have one of the best spreads in town, bon apetit!

a view from my current window

abu dhabi national exhibition center... also known as ADNEC.  my coworker says it in the tone of the Aflac commercials every time we drive past it :) 

home sweet hotel?

after an amazing weekend of family and friends, and a travel routine i am strangely getting used to i've arrived back to abu dhabi, greeted by a new home...(check that) hotel... welcome to my new digs!

 

aloft abu dhabi... aloft is a relatively new brand of starwood hotels, aimed at the 20s-30s travel/business crowd, such as myself, and being within my budget, i've decided to give it a whirl! but i'm only committing through to my next wedding trip of course :)

ferrari world

i moved "homes" this weekend, and by that i mean i moved hotels... since the apartment hunt is slow going!

here is the view from my new balcony at Park Inn, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

ferrari world is a theme park next door to abu dhabi's F1 marina circuit!