Monday, January 31, 2011

Montage Resorts & Hotels in the Plural


I notice that Montage's amenity pens, the ones in the rooms, are branded with, "Montage Hotels and Resorts" these days.

These have got to be my favorite hotel pens.

These roller ball instruments are constructed of painted steel, with a chrome accents on barrel, cap, and clip.  They don't seem expensive, but are classy, and leagues ahead of a branded Bic. When I opened my laptop bag after the trip, I realized I had subconsciously clepto-ed at least eight.

The generic branding of the pen, I assume to market Montage's expanding portfolio, made me feel a loss of the brand's focus on place. Reading the logo transported me to a centralized purchasing department cubicle with florescent lighting. I had to set it down and look out the window to come back to the beach.

I want my pen to speak of place, right along with the artwork, cuisine, and staff uniforms of the resort.

Perhaps this is accomplished with color differentiation? So far I've observed that white pen equals Laguna Beach, and green pen equals Deer Valley.

I can't wait to add, Montage Beverly Hills, Montage Cabo San Lucas, Montage Sonoma, and Montage Hanalei Bay to my lifted pen collection.

I hope each hotel's name is pad printed on them when I unknowingly slip them into my bag.

3 comments:

  1. "I had to set it down and look out the window to come back to the beach." Wow. That's some powerful brand affinity disillusionment you had to get over. Glad you had the beach.

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  2. I have to ask -- do you know what brand of pens these are? I'd die to purchase some for myself. (Having recently stayed at the Montage in Laguna I resorted to the internet to try and figure out where these pens came from -- yours is the only post I found commending on them!)

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  3. Same. I need this pen! Has anyone found out what brand/style it is?

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