Recycling becomes Upcycling at the Hotel Basico
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 01. 4.07
A much funkier green than yesterday's Fairmont is Playa Del Carmen's Hotel Basico. It is a mix of recycled 50's industrial aesthetic and real recycled materials, like the rooftop pools made out of oil tanks and the cabanas made from the back of old trucks. Bill McDonough's upcycling comes to mind- making something better that what you started with. Charles Jencks' Adhocism also applies. The Cool Hunter says: "In the rooms, no detail is left un-themed. Exposed pipes with fire hydrant-style taps run along the walls. An industrial-strength bath and the king-sized, multi-purpose bed (perched on an elevated palate) sit in the middle of the room. Everything is exposed and raw; the toilet is the only thing in the room concealed. There are rubber curtains on the floor-to-ceiling window and pulley chain detailing throughout."
Hotels online says: ". Guestrooms, including three suites, continue the basic theme with white cement walls, tile floors made in a local factory, exposed plumbing and floating beds. Humour and hedonism are equally important and are expressed in details such as champagne stocked in a crate, beach balls, fins, flat-screen TV's, DVD players and vintage-style Polaroid cameras for guests to document their stay."
I love the fold-down tables.
New York Times says "It is ideal for hipsters and young couples on a romantic getaway looking for something different in tropical-themed rooms with a playful minimalist air."
Now that's recycling! Funkidelic website too at ::Hotel Basico
