I often judge a hotel on its stationery. It's one of those items whose presence - like a bowl full of brown-less M&Ms - indicates a particular attention to detail. And, the better the stationery, the more props I'm inclined to throw a particular hotel's way. But, every once in a while, it's not about good or bad, but "huh?"
A summer or so ago, I checked into the Hotel Monaco in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. And, as I always do when settling into a hotel room, I immediately went to the desk in search of hotel stationery. What I found perplexed me. There were several 8.5" x 11" sheets of fair quality stationery, printed with the hotel's logo and bearing the hotel's address and contact information. And in place of number 10 sized envelopes were a set of fine quality A6 envelopes, printed with the appropriate hotel information. For the uninitiated, A6 envelopes measure 4.75" x 6.5".
I'm not sure why the Hotel Monaco decided to offer me incompatible stationery and envelopes, but not to be a beggar and a chooser, I took them both. And, when I finally decided to use some of the hotel stationery, it gave me the opportunity to craft my own brightly colored envelope.
This stationery was sent off as my first letter to a new pen pal from Australia. I really wanted it to stand out in her stack of afternoon mail. So, in addition to using attention-grabbing paper for the envelope, I used a sticker type seal from Papyrus (they include a pack of these seals with every set of envelopes) for glint. And, as a goodwill gesture, I bound the pages of the letter with a fountain pen nib paper clip/bookmark/neat thing from Levenger.
The letter should have arrived in Queensland a week or so ago, I can't wait to hear back from my new Aussie pen pal.
5 comments:
I too love hotel stationery -- but more and more I notice there actually isn't any........sad to say...
Neat stuff! I love the look of the letterhead. The pen nib bookmark is such a great touch!
Adding to what Pamela said--last week I stayed in a famous four star hotel in Toronto and was expecting to find nice stationery, but no! There was only a notepad! Such a disappointment. The rest of the stay was great, of course, but, like you, I'm always drawn immediately to the desk!
hahaha, before i read your post, i skimmed it and looked at the pictures - i was so impressed that a hotel had those envelopes!! lol
but seriously, that's so weird that the paper size didn't match the envelope...pet peeve!
if you're still feeling creative i'm having a mail art contest on my blog!
Okay well I have to say that it is awesome that I read this post about your letter to me and it was posted on my birthday!! And that Levenger nib clip/holder/thingie is fantastic - I have to get myself some of them. I am working on the letter in return - I only hope I can echo some of the excitement.
Happy Valentine's Day. :)
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