Perhaps the dumbest hotel design of the 20th century — next to the door that won’t close without slamming — is the atrium hotel with room windows facing the interior.

Someone must have thought that having windows face the center of the building would be an improvement over having windows facing the city street. But that may have made sense before hotels started putting live music in lobby bars. And before elevators dinged when reaching their destination floor.

Not all atrium hotels are created equal. It all depends on whether the architect is trying to maximize square footage of guest rooms at all costs, or if the in-room experience matters as much as the grandeur of an airy central space.

Take, for example, the world’s oldest remaining atrium hotel, the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, built in 1892. The rooms face outward, but the atrium rises from the lobby floor to the glass roof. It’s striking. It’s attractive. It’s probably a heating and air conditioning nightmare. But really, it’s lovely. Have a look:

On the other hand, you have the moronic concrete designs of the 1970s and 1980s, when hoteliers decided that brutalist architecture would be the ideal way to convey an image of luxury and service to potential clients. (As a bonus, when possible, throw in a revolving restaurant to class it up.)

These misguided designs have led to hotel views like this one, at the Hyatt Regency Savannah. Natural light? We don’t need no stinkin’ natural light!

Admittedly, a minority of rooms have a view like this, but when the property is fully booked, there will be dozens of customers taking in this lovely view of elevators — on several floors! — from their room window:

Asinine. All the visual goodwill of a hotel with sweeping public spaces gets immediately crushed. And the design structurally guarantees noise.

So please, architects, think of the people who actually stay (and try to sleep) at hotels, and not just the people who own them.