Hotel Promo Pics: Expectations vs. Reality
If you think celebrities are the only things being photoshopped, think again. I'm betting you've faced many a disappointment when you arrive at a hotel, expecting luxury, and see something not quite up to par. Of course, hotels just want to show off their best side, even if they don't exist.
Oyster, a hotel review site that's known for its famous series of "hotel fakeouts," shared these photos with us. Slide right for the hotel promo pic, and slide to your left for the harsh reality. Caveat: some of these hotels have taken down their photoshopped pics, closed down, or switched owners. But the fact stands that these were all used as marketing materials at some point.
1. The Capitol is not as close as you think.
:upscale()/2014/07/10/934/n/1922441/07ca09f4d9070f4d_hotel1.jpg)
I think aliens might've been responsible for moving the Capitol building in the middle of the night closer to the Hyatt Regency in DC. Time to call in the Men in Black.
2. Should we ask the sexy lady in the bikini where everyone went?
:upscale()/2014/07/10/957/n/1922441/b57b181c2a6aeaae_hotel2.jpg)
:upscale()/2014/07/10/957/n/1922441/0f812ce2b70b2270_oyster2.jpg)
Hey girl, everyone at the ClubHotel Riu Negril's pool in Jamaica just couldn't handle your hotness . . . so they had to leave.
3. This hot tub can apparently magically expand.
:upscale()/2014/07/10/965/n/1922441/76f77f406af52f11_hotel3.jpg)
An engorgement charm must be responsible for the sudden expansion of the Sugar Cane Club's hot tub in Barbados. Methinks that the pool is also a doorway to the room of requirements à la Hogwarts.
4. Daylight just turns this hot tub into a different place . . . wait a minute.
:upscale()/2014/07/10/972/n/1922441/ae6f7210e10bb378_hotel4.jpg)
:upscale()/2014/07/10/972/n/1922441/9426ce1d81185234_oyster4.jpg)
Seriously, the power of daylight on the jacuzzi at Breezes Montego Bay hotel in Jamaica is quite transformational.
5. This king-sized bed just underwent surgery.
:upscale()/2014/07/10/976/n/1922441/c09b95dfd4cde3b3_hotel6.jpg)
The Riu Negril Club in Jamaica has two beds pushed together instead of the lovely king bed in the photo.
6. This tiny room looks bigger in the close-up.
:upscale()/2014/07/10/985/n/1922441/fa4a2d7c17790708_hotel5.jpg)
The Hudson hotel in New York knows it's all about the angle.
7. Holy cow, I think someone just stole the Washington Monument. Alert the FBI!
:upscale()/2014/07/10/007/n/1922441/ea1274d38f6f5c83_hotel9.jpg)
It seems the aliens have struck yet again. One minute you'll look out the window of your room at L'Enfant Plaza in DC and you'll see the Washington Monument, and the next minute, you'll see an unsightly wall — what's going on?!
8. Hypothetically speaking, a gym with a window overlooking the beach would be nice.
:upscale()/2014/07/10/021/n/1922441/c804fb4d4b279251_hotel11.jpg)
Oyster puts it best when it says we should always be suspicious of people smiling in gyms. Seems like these people are smiling because they get a window overlooking a beach, while the guests of the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort Montego Bay in Jamaica get a windowless gym.
9. That darn wall just makes everything look smaller. Yup, totally the wall's fault.
:upscale()/2014/07/10/041/n/1922441/dee6f6cb3e645087_hotel10.jpg)
:upscale()/2014/07/10/046/n/1922441/efdcebf0ee580684_oyster10.jpg)
I have a solution. We should just knock down the walls of the Holiday Inn New York City on Wall Street.
10. Didn't know swimming pools could go on crash diets.
:upscale()/2014/07/10/047/n/1922441/5cf7046f50e41f56_hotel7.jpg)
:upscale()/2014/07/10/047/n/1922441/b9dc7e9abc801594_oyster7.jpg)
What do you think is the secret of New York's Empire Hotel pool — did it go on a Paleo diet? I'm dying to know.