Rootmore Hotel, by Glenn Lewis
Rootmore Hotel
If a tree could boast of having branches, lots of lovely branches–leafy boughs that offer plentiful shade and a place of rest for small creatures, this one would. If the Fig tree in this picture should feel important, it is because it is branch of something; whereas it was once a small branch—a “chip off the old block”, so to speak—it is now a big branch in a chain of hotels for Root People.
Being that sort of an offshoot or a division of something is what makes this tree special. Its comfy atmosphere suggests something beyond ordinary for a hotel branch—more too, than a convention center. It is a home away from home, and besides offering comforts that are beyond conventional, it has what any Five-Star hotel needs: Location! Location! Location!
At the hotel entrance there is a sign welcoming members of The Root Preservation Society. Typically, their business here will be to gather information and set a course of action geared toward the restoration of natural order. To that end, their combined efforts must center on uprooting problems and sprouting new solutions. The steps that are to be taken may involve Tunnel Systems Management, Topside Flood Control, and Consumption Analysis.
Oxygen emissions; oceanic spoilage; climate change; deep-core thermals; seismic balances; plate distribution…those are things that have to be looked at by members of the Root Preservation Society. i.e.: Manthropologists; Pharmarootologists; Planktonologists; Species Preservationists; Animologists; Nursery Aids; Seed Foragers, and Root Barbers. Workers at every level will be affected by decisions made during this seasonal gathering. Whereas Root People have adopted measures for practically everything–flood, fire, drought, earthquakes, and the like, so far they have remained undecided what to do about the incessant, urban sprawl of topsiders.
At the conclusion of business, convention goers will have the option for an extended stay. Visitors who are in no hurry to leave will enjoy warm, fragrant sea breezes, sandy beach, sun-filled surf, and sky teeming with birds. Guests who linger along pathways outside the hotel are sure to marvel at the Birds of Paradise, all gathered in self-praising bunches there. As in any other hotel garden, here the tiniest of flowers may be seen with faces turned upward, offering, in silent adoration, little blossomy praise for the heavens and all things magical in this, their world, as well as and our own.
And, oh, the nights! Evenings are alive with creeping and crawling, things hopping and skipping where no one is supposed to be looking. Such bustle and rustle causes leaves quiver and dance.
Inside lighted rooms all aglow, root shadows flicker and skip across velveteen ceilings; they leap across hallways and doors, and trod earthen floors. They stir up flirty, mirthful conversations, the likes of which drift gaily about, as Root People prepare for an evening of merriment in the ballroom at the All Seasons Rootmore Hotel.
The Rootmore is famous for its woodsy-scented rooms. Each private room is named after the leaf that hangs on its door. There are rooms called: Willow; Sugar Maple; Orange; Walnut; Lime; Sweet Gum; Sassafras, and Cedar. There is Black Oak, too, and Sycamore. There is Cottonwood; Fir; Blue Spruce; Pine, and Hickory.
The suites are named: Fig; Almond; Eucalyptus, and Redwood. Each suite has a bubbly-spring bath basin, and potted herbs of ginger and spice, freshened daily. Those are set out in display next to big, canopy beds layered with fern. There are quilted-leaf coverlets, mossy green rugs, toadstool chairs, and little windows that open, by day, to peeping spirals of Bougainvillea. By night, windows open to birdsong lullabies and a caress of moonlight.
A central staircase winds down around an enormous tap root, all the way to the lobby. The tap root is fig, but don’t be fooled by that; its spigot offers complimentary root beer on tap. Condiment Fig Rootens and Coconut Cream are served in the lobby. Seacliff Bistro serves more substantial meals nearby in a garden setting watched over by sea birds. There, open mouthed gulls stand waiting for endless handouts, but the hotel staff does not encourage feeding those unregistered beggars. Guests can mingle at length in the lobby, where a generously-sized roundseat provides leaf cushions for the socially-minded to sit on. (In Medieval times, a roundseat such as this one gave King Arthur his idea for a roundtable, supposedly.)
Hotel Spa Services offer toning massages, mud facials, body wraps, aroma therapy, meditation sessions, and chimed realignment tuning. Root People believe that spa treatments and nature walks heighten awareness, as does giving restful attention to flora and fauna. But, at the Rootmore, one’s highest mindset is best achieved by climbing to the uppermost branches of the Fig tree. Up there, one can take a nice little nap in ‘The Bird Nest’!
Glenn, I love Rootmore Hotel!!! Awesome work, as always!!