Margaret says the couple’s goal has always been for their “hearts to lead us to wherever we should go.” Some of the spaces are more unconventional interpretations of the concept of a hotel – think Love Cloud, a small airplane fitted out with a red-sheeted bed, or Don Q Inn in Wisconsin which includes a converted airplane that stays on the ground, but also offers an outer space-themed room and an Arctic-themed room with a surprise polar bear experience. While Margaret and Corey generally gravitate towards adult-only spaces, some of the hotels they feature – such as Wildwood Inn in Florence, Kentucky, home to a windowless, “arctic cave” room – are family-friendly and kids are welcome too. There are similarities between most of the hotels featured on Margaret and Corey’s social media and in the book, but there are occasional spots that might seem less obvious. “Sometimes they call them ‘secret’ rooms. “They can’t use the themed rooms in advertising or any promotional material,” explains Margaret. When Margaret and Corey discovered these rooms, they realized even chain hotels, at least those run by creative franchise owners, can have the odd quirky room or two. Under-the-sea themed rooms complete with clam shell beds at the Best Western in Galena, Illinois were another highlight. They also enjoyed checking out the pink paradise of the Trixie Motel, which debuted in 2022 and was designed by drag queen Trixie Mattel of “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” fame. At the Designer Inn and Suites in Toledo, Iowa – redecorated in the early 2000s – the couple discovered the “Heart’s Delight” room, featuring a velvet-cupid-embossed bed with pink-heart-shaped mirrors on the ceiling. Not all the hotels Margaret and Corey frequent are 20th century relics. Tracking down the power sockets often proved tricky. And quirky, themed chairs aren’t always especially comfy. They soon learned that heart shaped beds are difficult to sleep in. In the ‘90s-built Anniversary Inn, which has locations in Idaho and Utah, there’s a bathtub with an imposing phoenix rising from the ashes overhead. At the Californian Victorian Inn, they discovered a vintage car bed. Margaret and Corey Bienert/Courtesy Artisan BooksĪt the 1980s-built Gallery Holiday Motel in South Amboy New Jersey, the couple were met with mirrored-ceilings aplenty, velvet upholstery, heart-shaped tubs – but also a jungle-themed room and a beach suite. The "Northern Lights" room at the Don Q Inn in Wisconsin evokes an Arctic landscape. Not only were they desperate to return, Margaret and Corey found themselves scouring the internet to find other similar spots up and down the country.Īnd so was born a photo project, dubbed “A Pretty Cool Hotel Tour” that launched on Instagram, ballooned in popularity on TikTok and is now available to peruse in book form: “Hotel Kitsch: A Pretty Cool Tour of America’s Fantasy Getaways” via Artisan Books. Rather than appearing outdated, the Cove Pocono Resorts’ retro vibe was appealing to the thirty-something Bienerts. It was the throwback ‘60s vibe – think organized games testing your knowledge of your partner and bowling competitions – as well as the bedazzled bars serving cocktails with “funny little sexy names,” as Margaret puts it. It wasn’t just the quirky rooms that sparked Margaret and Corey’s attention. And after we left I was like, ‘Okay, when are we going back?’” “It was truly just a very magical weekend. “I think to see something so over the top, and playful and fun, but also geared towards adults – I was in heaven because it felt so freeing,” Margaret tells CNN Travel. Welcome to the Cove Pocono Resorts in Pennsylvania, once known as the “Honeymoon Capital of the World” thanks to its array of adults-only hotels and their quirky room features.įrom the moment married photographers Margaret and Corey Bienert stepped out of the car and into Pocono Palace – one of Cove Pocono Resorts’ three hotels – they were blown away. Heart-shaped hot tubs surrounded by rose petals, circular beds with ceilings that replicate a starry night sky and jaw-dropping, seven-foot-tall champagne-glass whirlpools for two.
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