Hotel Kitsch

This photographic road trip celebrates the kitsch, creativity, and incredible design on display in America’s best fantasy suites and honeymoon hotels, from the creators of A Pretty Cool Hotel Tour—the hugely popular TikTok and Instagram account and brand.

From the birth of the first heart-shaped tub in the Poconos in 1961, hotels across the country raced to create ever-more-elaborate honeymoon suites and fantasy hotel rooms to attract young couples. Heart-shaped tubs soon gave way to heart-shaped beds, then beds shaped like clamshells and hot-air-balloon baskets, and finally whole suites decorated in themes ranging from intergalactic travel to the Old West. Fast-forward a few decades and thanks to travelers seeking out ever-more unusual (and Instagrammable) destinations, a whole new generation is discovering the magic of these chic, kitschy hotels.

At the forefront of this renaissance is husband-and-wife creative team Corey and Margaret Bienert, who hit the road in 2018 to capture the fast-disappearing world of themed rooms and adults-only hotels. They called their project A Pretty Cool Hotel Tour, and from their travels a TikTok and Instagram sensation was born. In this lushly illustrated book they’ll celebrate the very best destinations across the country and beyond, including the historic Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, a hotel whose room have to be reached by scuba diving (Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo), the Trixie Motel in Palm Springs, and even a newly built theme hotel in Ibiza. It’s a must-have for design fans and armchair travelers alike and the perfect romantic gift for a wedding, engagement, or anniversary or for Valentine’s Day.

About the Author

Margaret and Corey Bienert are the couple behind A Pretty Cool Hotel Tour, a viral travel series exploring themed rooms and adult-only hotels in the US and abroad. Since starting the project in 2018, they have gained nearly 2 million followers (including 1.1 million followers on TikTok) and have been featured in major media outlets including Condé Nast Traveler, Architectural Digest, Elle, New York Post, Vogue Australia, VICE, House Beautiful, Refinery29, GQ, HuffPost, and USA Today. Through their production company, Marginal Creative, they have worked with high-profile brands such as Marc Jacobs, Fred Segal, Warby Parker, and Twitter. When they’re not on the road, Margaret and Corey split their time between Los Angeles, California, and southwest Michigan. Find them on Instagram and Tiktok at @aprettycoolhoteltour and at aprettycoolhoteltour.com.