When people go on vacation or business trip, they use brand name hotels like the Comfort Inn or the Holiday Inn. While these hotels are good for getting a decent night’s sleep, they do not offer much more than that comfortable bed. Yet, there is an alternative if you’re looking for something a little more than a bed. A boutique hotel.
What’s a boutique hotel? Think about the relaxed atmosphere at home, combined with artisticly themed furnishings and decor. Mix that in with customer service to die for. Truck loads of must have conveniences; satellite tv, internet access and luxurious spa treatments, make for an appetizing retreat.
Most boutique hotels are begun through older homes that will either be torn down or turned into museums. For this reason, many of the rooms are not modernized. Owners will need to retrofit the rooms to give guests access to high speed Internet, phone lines, cable service and even private bathrooms especially if they are to compete with those big name hotel giants. Some hotels may even offer room service.
If you want to stay in a place that is unique, you’ll need to do some searching using the Internet. You may not realize it but many of the antique homes that are fixed up in New Orleans are actually boutique hotels. There are several of them to choose from and many use the 19th century as their theme. These older homes in New Orleans can be used for something more than museums when accented right.
Besides providing all of these amenities, how can a boutique hotel stand out among the high competition of the Holiday Inn, Ramada Limited and even Super 8 Motel? These hotels usually have the same kind of motif but the boutique hotels strive to do something more. Owners have boutique hotels use catchy themes to grab the attention of its guests. Some hotel owners will use the theme of where their hotel is located at, others will use an era or time period to create a unique experience.
In the French Quarter of New Orleans, many owners of the boutique hotels use the 19th century to design their rooms, lobbies and hallways. The Hotel Union Square of San Francisco designs its rooms in a Prohibition era design. The rooms and hallways have a black granite and cream travertine tile. The Whitehall Hotel in Chicago uses a 1920s theme to grab the attention of its guests.
That isn’t to say all boutiques base their theme on the local area. The Inn of Five Graces in Santa Fe bases it’s theme on the southwest culture and mixes it with Asian culture. There are plenty of boutiques outside of the US, in cities as far away as Moscow and Singapore.
If this all seems interesting, all you need to do is some research through the World Wide Web. If you want to visit Paris, you do have a choice of hotels including boutique hotels. You need to remember that the boutique hotel you want may not have room for you especially if you wait until the last minute to make the reservation. Why? Many boutique hotels are not very big ranging in size of the single numbers to 100 plus rooms.
While mainstream hotels offer plenty of extras, boutique hotels provide more. Even though most buildings are old, they are retrofitted for modern conveniences such as high speed Internet access, spas, swimming pools and even a fitness center. Boutique hotels, larger ones especially, will offer guests a bar and restaurant inside to enjoy.
All in all a stay at a boutique hotel if definitely worth paying the increased premium for. With top notch service, no end of luxuries, and even a bit of culture, who says a vacation has to be a blase experience.
