Home LivingTravelThe Curiosity Rooms are the world’s most hi-tech (and fun) hotel roomsA new collaboration between TED and Marriott cranks up the fun factor with a stay in one of these ingenious tech-filled hotel roomsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Home LivingTravelThe Curiosity Rooms are the world’s most hi-tech (and fun) hotel roomsA new collaboration between TED and Marriott cranks up the fun factor with a stay in one of these ingenious tech-filled hotel roomsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
A new collaboration between TED and Marriott cranks up the fun factor with a stay in one of these ingenious tech-filled hotel rooms
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Marriott Hotels)
(Image credit: Marriott Hotels)
It’s hard to explain quite how brilliant they are without giving the game way. In a nutshell, guests must answer a series of questions and complete a number of challenges to finish the game and win a prize. If you love escape rooms, you’ll love the Curiosity Rooms. They’re fabulously hi-tech, albeit in a way which gave my grey matter a thoroughly unexpected workout, with the added bonus of fascinating insights into Thailand’s capital.
If you’re planning on going away, make sure to check out T3’sultimate guide to travelfirst.
(Image credit: Marriott Hotels)
(Image credit: Marriott Hotels)
Customisation is key. Not only in the sense that every hotel’s Curiosity Room provides fascinating insights into the city in question, but because of the optional hints. Guests must scan a QR code to access a website and kick-start the quiz and can then request hints if they draw a blank (as I did, repeatedly). If the first clue doesn’t cut it, guests can request additional ones (again, as I did, repeatedly) which become less subtle. Again, it’s hard to explain quite how brilliant the concept is without revealing spoilers, but the fiendishly tricky puzzles involve QR codes, concealed magnets, and hidden messages revealed with the help of bog-standard hotel appliances and mechanisms concealed within walls and everyday objects.
This multi-functionality was key to the designers’ plan, a crucial aspect of which was the use of technology to not only educate but entertain and inspire. “TED-Ed’s goal is not just to teach ideas, but to inspire people to want to learn, think and dig deeper into fascinating topics, and one of our most successful content strands is a riddle series that breaks the mould of traditional digital media and asks viewers to pause a video and try to figure out the answer,” says Alex Rosenthal, editorial director of TED-Ed Animations. “When we began working on The Curiosity Rooms, one of the first questions we asked ourselves was: how can we achieve a similar experience for hotel guests?”
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(Image credit: Marriott Hotels)
(Image credit: Marriott Hotels)
For me, it’s this – the way everyday items have been repurposed as hi-tech components of the quiz – which wowed me the most, although it turns out Alex had the perfect partner when it came to this aspect. “Andrew Evans, my co-designer, is a bonafide magician who operates a secret magic theatre in San Francisco,” says Alex. “He brought his extensive knowledge of magic and illusion techniques directly into key moments of this experience to create this wonderful sense of curiosity and wonder.”
(Image credit: Marriott Hotels)
(Image credit: Marriott Hotels)
I for one can’t wait. Although there’s one undeniable downside: I suspect that my next hotel room might look rather plain.
Prices vary according to location, but the Curiosity Room atBangkok’s Marriott Marquis Queen’s Parkcan be booked as part of a two-night package which includes dinner at the hotel’s Goji restaurant and dessert at the hotel’s Siam Tea Room. From £382 per package.
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