Tall rooms a giant step in US hotels

A US hotel group has introduced specially fitted bedrooms for unusually tall guests.

The San Francisco-based Kimpton Group has introduced rooms with 8ft-long beds (the standard is 7ft-long), and raised shower heads and bathroom cabinets in six of its 36 hotels in North America. Such is the demand that it is now adding longer bathrobes.

The rooms also have leaflets giving information on shops selling clothes for tall people.

Kimpton's senior vice-president of sales and marketing, Steve Pinetti, came up with the idea after seeing clothes stores for big and tall people. "He thought that, if they need special clothes, they must need special hotel amenities," a spokeswoman said.

Concierges are trained to offer tall guests the rooms, which come at no extra cost and are popular with athletes.

National Basketball Association teams are regular visitors at the Hotel Monaco in Salt Lake City, which has 18 "tall" rooms.

"We host 12 or 13 teams throughout the six-month NBA season, sometimes two or three times each. With their entourages, that's 25 or 30 guests per team," said Ric Tanner, the hotel's director of sales.

The rooms are not only used by the vertically well-endowed. Although some athletes did use them during the recent Winter Olympics, the majority of guests during the games were of average size, said Tanner.

Kimpton is no stranger to sales gimmicks in its boutique hotels. Other offerings include pet-friendly packages, companion goldfish and free tattoos.