The lowdown on Boutique Hotels
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.
New Orleans boutiques, have designed their hotels around the 19th century era. This is fitting as most of them are housed in historic buildings. A hotel called The Hotel Union Square, located in San Francisco, bases its decor theme on the prohibition era.
Other hotels like the owners of the Anasazi Hotel in Santa Fe use its Native American surroundings to decorate the rooms and hallway. Much of it is decorated with some kind of handmade throw rugs and pottery. The Inn of Five Graces, also located in Santa Fe, uses the southwest culture and blends it with the Asian culture.
If you find a boutique hotel you are interested in staying in, you should realize that a short notice reservation is likely not going to work. Most boutique hotels have a limited amount of rooms. They average out around 25 to 50 rooms. There are some boutique hotels which have over 100 rooms and others that have only three or four rooms to stay in. These small number of rooms allow employees to get to know their guests. Be sure to put your reservation in as soon as you know when you will be leaving on your vacation/business trip.
So while the regular hotels offer a high standard of facilites and suites, boutique hotels are renowned for their high levels of hospitality. Couple this with some splendid design touches and amazing amenities, a boutique hotel will offer you a rich rewarding vacation experience.
While the commercial hotels are media branded and make you think about their particular image, sometimes a little research finds you staying somewhere you never even thought about. You should realize that you pay for what you get. A boutique hotel is not cheap but well worth the cash you spend. With all the amenities you get, there’s no need to stay anywhere else.
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