Perhaps it's a designer's viewpoint of what luxurious is supposed to look and feel. Impractical features that look expensive but don't really improve your comfort or convenience in any way and force you to call staff to do stuff for you. Use the bathtub? Well, everything in that room will be wet even if you're careful, and everything drains very poorly and slowly, so someone needs to come wipe and mop it all up for you. Maybe they believe an upscale clientele enjoys having service people around doing stuff for them all the time? I'd rather have well-designed, functional stuff that just solve these problems for you on their own.
At breakfast, the staff is more worried about re-setting cutlery on every table rather than resupplying basic stuff that has been depleted for 10-15 minutes, e.g. orange juice.
No trashcans anywhere in the lobby or halls. Are trashcans ugly? I guess I'm not posh enough and don't have someone on retainer to hold a little bit of garbage for me as I wait to check in or do something outside the room.
It's all about the looks, it seems.