{"id":106516,"date":"2026-03-14T09:25:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T13:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/?page_id=106516"},"modified":"2026-03-14T15:47:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T19:47:02","slug":"the-dorian-essay-winner","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/the-dorian-essay-winner\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dorian"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"row wpb_row row-fluid\"><div class=\"wpb_column columns medium-12 small-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner  \"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:20px;\"><\/aside><a class=\"image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tablethotels.com\/\" target=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"161\" src=\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Tablet-logo.png\" class=\"thb_image  center  retina_size attachment-full\" alt=\"\" title=\"Tablet-logo\" \/><\/a><aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:20px;\"><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row wpb_row row-fluid full-width-row\"><div class=\"wpb_column columns medium-12 small-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner  \"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"thb_image  center   \" src=\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dorian-1200x900.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" alt=\"dorian\" title=\"dorian\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:50px;\"><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row wpb_row row-fluid\"><div class=\"wpb_column columns medium-12 small-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner  \"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:0px;\"><\/aside>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: left; font-family: Figtree, AvenirNext-Regular, HelveticaNeue-Light, Helvetica-Neue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 40px;\"><strong>The third runner-up in our hotel essay contest is a story about The Dorian in Calgary, Canada. It was written by Katherine Moffat.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:50px;\"><\/aside>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p style=\"font-family: Figtree, AvenirNext-Regular, HelveticaNeue-Light, Helvetica-Neue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; line-height: 32px;\"><em>Featured hotel: <strong><a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tablethotels.com\/en\/calgary-hotels\/the-dorian-autograph-collection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Dorian<\/a><\/strong><\/em><br \/>\n<em>Written by: Katherine Moffat<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family: Figtree, AvenirNext-Regular, HelveticaNeue-Light, Helvetica-Neue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; line-height: 32px;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2026\/03\/write-away\/?noapp=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">See all the winning essays<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:50px;\"><\/aside>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p>Three smiles greeted me at reception. I didn\u2019t notice the fourth gaze until I turned around.<\/p>\n<p>The portrait hung just inside the entrance, watching the door. He looked young, like he\u2019d had a pretty good paper round. Seemingly minimal sins to be concerned with. The Dorian\u2019s digital Dorian Gray shifts based on guest confessions: submit your secrets anonymously, let strangers judge them, watch the portrait wither or thrive accordingly. A sort of moral TripAdvisor, if you will.<\/p>\n<p>The receptionist asked if I\u2019d read the book.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>I had not.<\/p>\n<p>The lie came out too easily. I\u2019m a writer &#8211; or at least that\u2019s what I put on customs forms &#8211; and here I was, nodding along about Oscar Wilde like a student who\u2019d memorised the back cover on the bus. Why did I lie? Fear of seeming unprepared? Or worse, not a real writer? The copy waiting on my bedside table would make avoiding it difficult. I made a mental note to actually read the novel.<\/p>\n<p>The minibar was all craft gin and local spirits &#8211; not a pack of sad Pringles to be seen. Temptation by design. The hotel giveth, then the hotel judgeth.<\/p>\n<p>That evening, I scanned the QR code and confessed.<\/p>\n<p>The interface was simple: a text box and a promise of anonymity. I typed something about lying at check-in, about wanting to seem credible. Trivial, really. I pressed send before I could overthink it, which if you know me, is a miracle in itself.<\/p>\n<p>Within minutes, I received a stranger\u2019s secret to judge. Theirs carried about the same weight as my small literary fraud. Here I was, fretting about a white lie to a receptionist. I settled on something in the middle. The moral equivalent of a shrug. Somewhere else in the hotel, a stranger was likely doing the same to me.<\/p>\n<p>Later, upstairs at the rooftop bar, locals chatted about ice hockey and AI while I nursed a drink and thought about the portrait downstairs. I knew enough (after a bit of quick research) to know that in the novel, Dorian hides his portrait in the attic because it shows his true, corrupted self. Here, in The Dorian, it hangs in the lobby for everyone to see. Progress, right? Secrets confronted rather than concealed. But we\u2019re still anonymous. Still masked. We get the catharsis of confession without any of the risk.<\/p>\n<p>Wilde wrote that man is least himself when he speaks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he\u2019ll tell you the truth.<\/p>\n<p>The Dorian gave me a mask. I told the truth. I\u2019m just not sure I was honest.<\/p>\n<p>At checkout, Dorian looked terrible. So much for the good paper round. Evidently, we\u2019d all been busy.<\/p>\n<p>I still haven\u2019t read the book. <\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:70px;\"><\/aside>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p style=\"font-family: Figtree, AvenirNext-Regular, HelveticaNeue-Light, Helvetica-Neue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; line-height: 32px;\"><em>\u2014 <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tablethotels.com\/en\/about-tablet?noapp=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn more about Tablet Hotels<\/a>, the original boutique hotel curators and booking site.<br \/>\n\u2014 <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tablethotels.com\/?noapp=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search our entire hotel selection<\/a>, featuring only the world&#8217;s most exciting hotels.<br \/>\n\u2014 <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/cb.tablethotels.com\/join\/magazine-signup?noapp=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a>, for bold opinions, big discounts, and unbelievable hotels.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:70px;\"><\/aside><div class=\"vc_separator wpb_content_element vc_separator_align_center vc_sep_width_100 vc_sep_pos_align_center vc_separator_no_text vc_sep_color_grey wpb_content_element  wpb_content_element\" ><span class=\"vc_sep_holder vc_sep_holder_l\"><span class=\"vc_sep_line\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"vc_sep_holder vc_sep_holder_r\"><span class=\"vc_sep_line\"><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div><aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:10px;\"><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width_row=&#8221;true&#8221;][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] The third runner-up in our hotel essay contest is a story about The Dorian in Calgary, Canada. It was written by Katherine Moffat. [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] Featured hotel: The Dorian Written by: Katherine Moffat See all the winning essays [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]Three smiles greeted me at reception. I didn\u2019t notice the fourth gaze until&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":106572,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-106516","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Dorian, Calgary \u2014 Tablet Hotels Essay Winner<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/the-dorian-essay-winner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Dorian, Calgary \u2014 Tablet Hotels Essay Winner\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width_row=&#8221;true&#8221;][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] The third runner-up in our hotel essay contest is a story about The Dorian in Calgary, Canada. 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