Re: Mandarin Oriental
vanshnookenraggen & statler, I disagree for a few reasons:
-the hot water heat convectors in front of all the windows are cheaply above the floor and not recessed.
-the cabinet, door, frames, interior mullions, recessed lighting, bath hardware are standard cheap spec.
-most of the carpentry is sophomoric in detail and half the decorative trim is cheap paint grade.
-fireplaces are nothing special and in fact quite cheap.
-electrical outlets & layout look nothing special.
-cheap spec gypsum, couldn't they spur for quiet-rock?
-boring spec ceiling treatments, the alignment of access panels, air supply & return grates isn't geometrically clean.
-kitchens are cheaper than they look other than counters and appliances, look at the toe-kicks they don't have drains/vents/heaters/anything super special that isn't standard spec, lack of under-counter lighting is a glaring omission.
-The the size and coursing of the tile in the kitchens and baths is standard. Mo long seamless walls or counter to wall surfaces. They used expensive tile as if it was standard cheap tile.
-toilets, bidets, the showers, etc aren't anything special compared to some of grohe and duravit's offerings.
-floors may be nice wood in some units, but they are boring fields, nothing ornate or intricate.
1880s-1920s buildings in the city come off as being far more elegant, with the same materials but better articulated, at a lower price point to these units to boot!
