VoluntaryAmerican
02-05-2014, 09:41 PM
SOCHI, Russia — Much of Sochi is a work in progress, and parts of it look at least a dozen all-nighters away from completion. There are unfinished hotels, half-finished stores and a mall where the only shop that is open and thriving is a Cinnabon.
Wander the premises over the course of a day and you also get a palpable sense of spectacular ambition, reflected in millions of square feet of new construction, as well as transportation hubs with spiffy trains and shiny buses. You will see an Olympic Park where sporting venues look reassuringly ready.
The combination is singular — an enterprise that is epic, pristine and in many places bewilderingly flawed.
Start with the public accommodations near what is called the Coastal Cluster, home to five ice sports arenas and the stadium for the opening ceremony. To appreciate the hotels in this area, it is probably a good idea to think of them not as hotels but rather as a rare opportunity to experience life in a centrally planned, Soviet-style dystopia. (oh the irony of a NY Times reporter saying this-VA)
Only then will you understand, perhaps even enjoy, the peculiar mix of grandiosity and bungling that define these buildings. Though called hotels, they look like austere, upscale apartments inspired by the Eastern Bloc — Bauhaus meets the Super 8. The exteriors are monolithic and nearly identical, except for sections of paint, in shades of yellow, taupe and mauve.
None of the buildings have names. Instead, they are identified by numbers, and as of last weekend, many of the numbers had not yet arrived. Or they had arrived and had yet to be affixed to the buildings. Instead, they were printed on a piece of paper and taped to a wall.
Breakfast is available in Building 10. But not only is Building 10 hard to find, there is no evidence that it houses a restaurant. The place, which has no name, makes subterranean hipster bars in Brooklyn seem desperate for attention. You figure out that you’re in the right place only by walking around Building 10 a few times and spotting, through a window, a woman in an apron.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/04/sports/olympics/sochi-remains-a-work-in-progress-as-games-draw-near.html?_r=0
The reception of our hotel in #Sochi has no floor. But it does have this welcoming picture. pic.twitter.com/8isdoBuytl
— Kevin Bishop (@bishopk) February 4, 2014
Still waiting for "preparations" on hotel room to finish. Hoping they're origami-folding toilet roll, rather than, say, putting the roof on.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) February 4, 2014
One of rooms Canada men's hockey team will stay in pic.twitter.com/7OJQd2m4bq
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) February 4, 2014
It's just past 4:30am here. Someone just unlocked, opened my door, saw I was in bed and scurried away without a word. Seems about right.
— Brian Costa (@BrianCostaWSJ) February 5, 2014
My hotel has no water. If restored, the front desk says, "do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous." #Sochi2014
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014
Water restored, sorta. On the bright side, I now know what very dangerous face water looks like. #Sochi #unfiltered pic.twitter.com/sQWM0vYtyz
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014
Some interesting translations have popped up in Russia - saw this outside my hotel gym. Hmmmm pic.twitter.com/tzNc5MSQgu
— Libby Leist (@libbyleist) February 5, 2014
Well that's interesting... Sochi rules in the bathrooms!! #haha #olympics pic.twitter.com/xacSVimwXY
— Sebastien Toutant (@SebToots) February 1, 2014
Wander the premises over the course of a day and you also get a palpable sense of spectacular ambition, reflected in millions of square feet of new construction, as well as transportation hubs with spiffy trains and shiny buses. You will see an Olympic Park where sporting venues look reassuringly ready.
The combination is singular — an enterprise that is epic, pristine and in many places bewilderingly flawed.
Start with the public accommodations near what is called the Coastal Cluster, home to five ice sports arenas and the stadium for the opening ceremony. To appreciate the hotels in this area, it is probably a good idea to think of them not as hotels but rather as a rare opportunity to experience life in a centrally planned, Soviet-style dystopia. (oh the irony of a NY Times reporter saying this-VA)
Only then will you understand, perhaps even enjoy, the peculiar mix of grandiosity and bungling that define these buildings. Though called hotels, they look like austere, upscale apartments inspired by the Eastern Bloc — Bauhaus meets the Super 8. The exteriors are monolithic and nearly identical, except for sections of paint, in shades of yellow, taupe and mauve.
None of the buildings have names. Instead, they are identified by numbers, and as of last weekend, many of the numbers had not yet arrived. Or they had arrived and had yet to be affixed to the buildings. Instead, they were printed on a piece of paper and taped to a wall.
Breakfast is available in Building 10. But not only is Building 10 hard to find, there is no evidence that it houses a restaurant. The place, which has no name, makes subterranean hipster bars in Brooklyn seem desperate for attention. You figure out that you’re in the right place only by walking around Building 10 a few times and spotting, through a window, a woman in an apron.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/04/sports/olympics/sochi-remains-a-work-in-progress-as-games-draw-near.html?_r=0
The reception of our hotel in #Sochi has no floor. But it does have this welcoming picture. pic.twitter.com/8isdoBuytl
— Kevin Bishop (@bishopk) February 4, 2014
Still waiting for "preparations" on hotel room to finish. Hoping they're origami-folding toilet roll, rather than, say, putting the roof on.
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) February 4, 2014
One of rooms Canada men's hockey team will stay in pic.twitter.com/7OJQd2m4bq
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) February 4, 2014
It's just past 4:30am here. Someone just unlocked, opened my door, saw I was in bed and scurried away without a word. Seems about right.
— Brian Costa (@BrianCostaWSJ) February 5, 2014
My hotel has no water. If restored, the front desk says, "do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous." #Sochi2014
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014
Water restored, sorta. On the bright side, I now know what very dangerous face water looks like. #Sochi #unfiltered pic.twitter.com/sQWM0vYtyz
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014
Some interesting translations have popped up in Russia - saw this outside my hotel gym. Hmmmm pic.twitter.com/tzNc5MSQgu
— Libby Leist (@libbyleist) February 5, 2014
Well that's interesting... Sochi rules in the bathrooms!! #haha #olympics pic.twitter.com/xacSVimwXY
— Sebastien Toutant (@SebToots) February 1, 2014