WERE YOU BORN IN A TENT

Friday 23 August 2013

ROYAL MAIL HOTEL

98 Parker St, Dunkeld

Visited: 15th August 2013

Design: Every now and then a door comes along that sets the bar for what other doors should perform to. A door that stands in league of its own, the equivalent to a Rolls Royce in design, performance, quality and appearance. That door belongs to the Royal Mail Hotel. Simplicity in design is the strong point here, with 3 key materials wood, stainless steel and glass allow this door to sit comfortably in its structure. The glass is left free of any unnecessary signage or information, with the exception of a thick steel hand bar embossed with the name of the hotel. The rich mahogany texture of the wood allows the door to glow within its surroundings of pastel greens and white. The thick band of wood on the right, the off-centre glass and the buffed stainless steel across the base flow together like a symphony that is pleasing to the eye. Upon the first push to open you begin to realize that quality of materials and workmanship is of the utmost importance when it comes to a door and its performance. Behind this door one feels secure from the elements outside, the performance of this door exemplified the philosophy behind the establishment it protected. This door simply glides on the open push, despite its weight. Not a sound was made on its swing and closure. There was an elegance in the way this door slowly and silently closed on its hydraulic arm, almost like watching the Concord land at Heathrow Airport after a long flight across the Atlantic. Simply beautiful!

Door resistance: 4.5

Closure mechanism: Hydraulic arm

Draft: Minimal

Squeak level: 0

Change return time: 24sec

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PROFESSIONAL DOOR REVIEWER

Searching the world for the perfect door to eat behind.

First impressions are always important, especially for a restaurant or cafe. So many people are focusing on the food these days that I felt there was a hole in the reviews world. No one was looking at the most important thing, THE DOOR! Everyone complains when it is left open, death stares are exchange when the unsuspecting group of friends having a fun night enter the premises from the cold only to walk straight in and go straight to their table totally oblivious they have left the door wide open to allow an arctic strength gale force wind to cut through the previously warm interior. Like a scene from a western film where everyone in the premises stops what they are doing and cuts down the new comers with a deathly stare. Occasionally you will get the confident diner who gets up, walks across the restaurant and closes the door with a BANG! Just to let the new comers know they have done wrong and to NEVER, EVER DO IT AGAIN!!!!! This individual makes their way back to the table staring at the newcomers, just to make sure they got the message. The only problem is, is that 5 minutes later another group come in and do the same thing and he/she feels obliged to continually do this for the rest of the night.

Well hopefully this blog puts a light on the owners of these establishments and encourages them to lift their game and create doors that allow diners to sit and enjoy their meal, to give the diner an experience before they enter the building. It is also a thank you to the makers of quality doors who care about craftsmanship.

I have developed a scoring system based on,

DESIGN:

This is assessed by the materials the door is made from, whether the door is themed, cluttered or minimal and whether there is an element of surprise or not.

DOOR RESISTANCE: 1 to 5

1 = light push

5 = heavy push

CLOSURE MECHANISM: Manual, automatic or

hydraulic arm

DRAFT: Minimal, medium or high

SQUEAK LEVEL: 0 up to 5

0 = No squeak

5 = Ear piercing

Then the last assessment is the,

CHANGE RETURN TIME:

This is the amount of time it takes to get my change once I have given the waiter the money for the bill. Last impressions are always just as important as first.