Whatever interested parties such as architects and 'designers' claim, I suspect that my own experiences of hotels are fairly common: you want somewhere clean, safe and quiet where you return after doing whatever took you to that location in the first place. You want the plumbing to work and the bathrooms especially to be spotless. A good restaurant is also an essential, because traipsing off to unknown city restaurants isn't always the fantastic experience one might have hoped, and it's so pleasant to be able to drift off to bed without concerning oneself with taxis etc.
Of course, if name-dropping is part of the experience, then these people know how to pander to your needs.
Rob C