SEO and the Art'otel Cologne
On my recent trip to Cologne I was lucky enough to be shown around a variety of different hotels all with their own merits and selling points. One hotel however particularly stood out and left an impression on me. This was the trendy and indisputably quirky Art’otel.
Located on the river Rhine, in the stylish Rheinauhafen harbour, the hotel offered stunning views not just from the rooms but also from its roof terrace. With the Old Town just a short 10 min walk away you couldn’t ask for much more in terms of location.
Upon entering the hotel the first impression was that of the high ceilings and very modern feel. The reception staff were extremely friendly and helpful, and while we were being shown around, our guide explained that the hotel staff aimed to be more easy-going and relaxed rather than being rigid and serious, as is often the way in the industry. This resulted in a friendlier feel and was further emphasized by their neat but casual uniforms.
Our guide began our tour by taking us into the hotel’s pan-Asian restaurant chino latino. We were told enthusiastically that the restaurant offers the best sushi in Cologne. There was nonetheless another reason why we were being shown the place. This was because of the massive four-piece panorama-like picture which hung along an entire wall. We were told that the piece was created by the internationally successful Korean-born artist, SEO. At first glance most people, myself included, would think that this was a regular, albeit beautiful, painting. It was explained to us however, that it was in fact created by gluing tiny strips of different coloured pieces of hanji rice paper to the canvas. We were told that at least 10,000 strips of paper were used for each piece and that the method used by SEO involved a very complicated sort of ‘painting by numbers’, whereby more than 791 different colours were used, each with their own number.
We learned that Art’otel Cologne is inspired by and devoted to the artist SEO and displays an exceptional collection of her works with over 300 pieces and 18 large-scale originals. The originals were created specifically for the hotel over the last three years. I was really impressed by this and thought it was an interesting and appealing idea. As we were shown the rest of the hotel, it could be seen that the artwork had a huge impact on the ambience of the hotel. In the bedrooms for example, the wall that separates the bathroom from the rest of the room consisted of stained glass that replicated a section of the picture from the restaurant, which created a colourful glow when the bathroom light was on.
I thought that the Art’otel Cologne was a really original hotel and a great base to explore the sights of the city. I would go there again and recommend it to others.
