What Makes a Hotel a Boutique Hotel? | Holidays

By BillHarris
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The travel industry is huge and there are many huge organizations involved which own numerous hotels with one or more properties in most of the world's important cities such as London in Great Britain. However there are also a great many individuals and families who run small hotels, guest houses or other accommodation. It is often the case that many of us choose to stay in such accommodation rather than one of the well known, and rather more expensive, hotels which often seem very much the same whichever city you are in. Over the last few decades it has become common for accommodation to be advertised as a "boutique hotel" and this article examines exactly what it is that makes it "boutique".

As you may have gathered from the above paragraph boutique hotels are usually far more intimate than larger establishments. A boutique hotel is usually one which has a great deal of character offering something a little out of the ordinary. Originating in North America these types of hotels are often smaller, usually privately run, luxurious hotels offering a highly personalized service not often found in the, much larger, branded hotels and motels.

About thirty years ago society became a little more stylized and style conscious and many attempted to create a distinctive style and culture that influenced all aspects of their life. For an increasing number of folk the style became incredibly important and the demand for hotels which more closely matched such lifestyles increased. A number of small hotels attempted to meet this demand and they became known as design/designer hotels or lifestyle hotels.

There are a number of hotels which claim that they were the first hotel be become a boutique hotel. One such hotel is the Morgans Hotel in New York which was owned by a famous hotelier Ian Schrager. Schrager had commissioned Andre Putman to design the hotel which opened in 1984 and is usually credited as being the very first of the many boutique hotels we see today. Another hotel with a reasonable claim to the title is the Vintage Court hotel in San Francisco (part of the Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group Inc.) which opened in 1983.

One of the most interesting aspects of boutique hotels is the way in which they are usually themed. Rather than concentrate on all the modern bells and whistles, often available in hotels owned by the larger chains, boutique hotels offer personality and personal service. For example the Church Street Hotel in London, a Spanish-American Boutique hotel, is decorated in a Cubano style with mexican tile work which has been hand painted with numerous items of art and furnished with excellent Colonialist furniture.

As the interest in boutique hotels developed rather rapidly with hotels appearing in many different styles it was a while before the larger chains began to realize the potential benefits of opening such hotels. As mentioned many of the major cities of the world have a growing number of boutique hotels and London certainly has it's fair share. Interestingly the hotel chain Best Western have entered the boutique hotel market with their Shaftesbury Kensington which is described as boutique and has all of the modern facilities you would expect from a Best Western hotel. Such actions have slightly blurred the previously accepted definition and there is now a little confusion around what is a true boutique hotel.

One of the best boutique hotels in London is found opposite the Royal Mews of Buckingham Palace at 41 Buckingham Palace Road. The Red Carnation, 41 Hotel is only a few minutes walk from many of London's finest tourist attractions and only a short distance from Buckingham Palace itself. If you are visiting London you may want to stay here if only to be able to say to friends that you stayed at that address.

It would seem that the term "boutique hotel" is appearing here there and everywhere nowadays, even the Isle of Harris (an extremely remote island off Scotland) has a boutique hotel opening soon. However it really doesn't matter how many appear as each is entirely unique by definition. If you are planning a short city break or vacation soon why not consider trying out a boutique hotel, I am certain that you will find one to match your lifestyle.

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Maybe you won't be staying in the Harris Hotel but you may want to book London boutique hotels

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