Mabuhay Philipine Airlines
October, 2002
Fixed Orbit
Stan Amy and Christy Eugenis are binging on nostalgia. After the raving success of Orbit In (562 W. Arenas), a 10 room refurbished and stylized 1950s motel, the couple purchased the nearby Town and Desert Hotel, featured in Architectural Record in May 1948 and opened it as the Orbit In’s Hideaway (370 W. Arenas). To keep its spirit alive amidst modern interiors, Christy, who double as designer, purchased the photos taken by renowned architectural photographer Julius Shulman and hung them in the guest lounge and some of the rooms. She furnished the Hideaway’s spacious rooms with sea grass floors, deluxe pillow top beds, custom- designed wet bars, microwaves, vintage ice buckets, melmac dishware – the things Amy calls “the atomic space age stuff” – and the classic and designer mid-century furniture by the likes of Eames and Bertoia. All the bathrooms retain the original tile and cabinets. For a Jetson’s touch, there’s high-speed DSL internet access in all rooms. The geometric pool area is dressed with vintage Aimes Aire pool furniture and a lava rock fire pit for swims under the stars. Every skyline seems to be filled with spectacular mountain views. “All in all, Orbit in is pretty close to Modernist heaven. It’s hard to imagine another hotel whose devotion to style is so intense”, writes TIME Magazine in a recent issue. Well, there’s the Hideaway, which opened last month.