Lights please!

Everyone knows the importance of lighting to create an ambiance in a room, a lobby, or a restaurant.

Hotel designers are installing the latest in lighting technology in order to accentuate the effect of the décor, and it�s fine and dandy. I�ve been known to install radical new systems to provide incredible outside lighting, so I�m all for it.

But why is it that when a restaurant is trying to be a little high-end, the first thing they do is to make the room so dark that you can�t even see the food you�re eating? I guess it�s supposed to give that candlelight dinner feel, but let me tell you, the guests can loose that romantic feeling when they can�t even read the menu.

It seems that every time I have found myself in a dark restaurant, the food was usually very questionable, is it a coincidence? Or is the chef trying to hide something?

So reign in your designers, and please give us lights so we can at least see what�s on the plate. We might actually enjoy the chef�s presentation, rather than wondering if that dark lump is the meat or the veggies.

It�s the same syndrome in the rooms. The designers are getting so creative that they forget that people still use those outdated things called books. It�s nice to give us lighted water spouts in the Jacuzzi tub, but if the lighting in the room is so low that I can�t read the newspaper, my experience will not be great. It�s even worse for women who end up in a very bad mood when they don�t have enough light to put on make up.

It�s one thing to create an ambiance, and it�s nice to conserve energy by cutting on light bulbs, but there is a limit. Owners and managers, do a simple test, if you can read the fine print on an insurance contract in your restaurant and hotel rooms, you have it right!

Let there be light!