It’s January 2022 and LEGO® has released the next official modular building set 10297 – Boutique Hotel. It has received generally positive responses from the LEGO® community and for me, it is a great set to add to any LEGO® city due to its unique shape and overall appeal as a hotel.
Even though it is a corner building, three of its sides actually have some façade that the LEGO® builder can take advantage of when placing in their LEGO® city.
Being the 15th modular to be released and having 3068 pieces, most would expect it to be very detailed and robust compared to other modular buildings. However, the building is average in size wherein other modular buildings like the police station (set 10278) and corner garage (set 10264) are bigger despite having fewer pieces.
And although the interior has a lot of details, it also has some areas where there are opportunities to add more details and make the boutique hotel unique to its owner. Here are a few of the modifications that I have made to the Boutique Hotel without spending over budget or buying 2 sets to make it bigger.
The first area I noticed where improvements could be made is at the back of the building. There is a 5-wide x 15-long space at the back with only a garbage bin and a crate. It seemed like the space could be used to further enhance the details of the Boutique Hotel so I added a kitchen with a microwave, sink, stove, and refrigerator. It is not too big but it provides another service that the hotel could provide to its visitors and ensures that the space of the 32×32 base plate is fully utilized.
The lobby with only 1 couch and a reception area was very spacious and could use more details. I added small tables on each side of the couch – 1 for complementary water and 1 for cookies/pastries. Beside it, I placed a stand with postcards/travel information. For frequent travelers, this is where we could see adverts for the go-to places and fun activities near the hotel.
On the other side of the lobby, underneath the stairs, I placed a mini bar with different colored bottles as well as 2 tables with similar builds as the ones in the bar on the upper level of El Cubo. The mini gives life to an otherwise open space and creates a connection with the hotel and the bar.
The rooms on the middle floor had great details so I only added a few items that visitors would normally see in a hotel. I’ve added smaller tables that had a complimentary bottle of water, glass, and fruit. For the bigger room, I also added a teapot and cup. I do intend to try to add toilets to each room however, it’ll be very tricky due to the size restrictions of each room.
Having a kitchen on the ground floor, the next step would be to add a dining area. I replaced 1 set of windows with a door just right after the stairs that lead to the second level. I then placed some tables and chairs for minifigs to enjoy their meal. For the fence, the same pieces were used as the ones in the outside bar but using white rather than black and dark tan. This creates a cohesive look with the rest of the building having the same fence style as the bar but with a color that matches the hotel.
The top floor is quite detailed both in the bedroom and the bathroom so there wasn’t much space to add other things. However, I still placed another small table to have the complementary food and water to keep in line with the details that were added to the other rooms.
The El Cubo Fine Art Boutique is a small space so I couldn’t add any more artwork. I just placed my minifig outside with a custom-printed sticker of an artwork I made in real life.
All in all, the Boutique Hotel is a fun modular building to build and modify by adding personal touches. These details may be small and unnoticeable to most but all LEGO® builders & creators know that those small details make each creation more personal and enjoyable for everyone who sees them.
I do intend to try my hand at creating an alternate design for the Boutique Hotel so be on the lookout in the future. ^_^
If you have your own suggestions, please leave a comment below so others may also get some ideas for their own Boutique Hotel. I intend to post more improvements for the other LEGO® modular buildings so be on the lookout for other blogs. I hope this post has been helpful to you. Until next time, keep building and having fun with LEGO!
If you are interested in reading the previous posts I made, you may visit:
LEGO Set 10255 Assembly Square
LEGO Set 10270 Birch Bookshop
LEGO Set 10278 Police Station
LEGO Set 10243 Parisian Restaurant
