Hotel's 'optical illusion carpet' is genius ploy to stop guests running in corridors
A cunning hotel has installed carpets that create an optical illusion, which is designed to stop guests from running down the corridors.
A pet hate of hotel staff - and indeed guests trying to get some sleep - is the sound of others running along the corridors at all hours.
One hotel appears to have gone to extreme lengths to prevent such disturbances by installing mind-bending carpets in its hallways.
A snap of the navy blue carpet was shared by a confused Reddit user, who was left perplexed as to why the hotel had adopted an optical illusion on its floors.
Its patterned lines give guests a sense of disorientation - appearing as though the flooring isn't a flat surface. "Why would you choose this carpet for your hotel?" the Redditor asked.
It prompted others to hail the hotel's genius ploy, as one person explained: "It deters people from running up and down the halls." A second agreed in response: "That's what it was designed for - speed deterrent for children."
The work has the desired effect according to another Reddit user, who added: "I walked in hotel halls that had this...made me walk quite slow and paused my conversation. It is effective in keeping quieter halls and from keeping kids from running."
"Same with stopping people who had one too many drinks," a third suggested. "This is the kind of situation that makes you think you should never underestimate what your brain is able to make you see/feel despite the reality being something completely different," someone else said.
However, they added: "If you’re focused on the end of the hallway you’d be fine; but break that focus and I’d imagine you’re stubbing toes and falling over pretty quick."
Others joked that the hotel risked creating extra work for itself, such is the nausea-inducing design. "If this hotel is in a city with 24 hour drinking, those hallways are going to be overflowing with vomit," one person said.
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Elsewhere in the comments section, one person revealed the hotel in question is the Euronova Arthotel in Cologne, Germany, and its rooms have been adorned with "funky" carpets too.
According to its website, the four-star hotel boasts "73 rooms equipped with a flat-screen TV with satellite channels as well as a mini fridge bar, coffee and tea making equipment". There is no mention of its carpets on the website, however.
