Try a Boutique Hotel For a Change

If you havn't heard about them, or you are not sure just what a boutique hotel is, then hopefully this will open your eyes and give you an idea or two for your next trip.

Boutique Hotel is a phrase coined in the early 1980's in UK and the USA when these establishments started to appear in some of the larger cities like London, New York, and San Francisco. It is used to describe smaller hotels, usually independent of the big chains, (although they have since got into the act) of anything between half a dozen letting rooms to no more than fifty.

These hotels, by their very nature of being small and intimate, offer a much more personalised service, bordering on the oft quoted "home from home." They are often very luxurious, sometimes eccentric, bit always offering that sought after "something different."

The principle aim of the owners (and they are usually run by their owners on a personal basis) is to make their guests feel at home. This is not always an easy task in the surroundings of a hotel, but they want people to to feel comfortable and pampered, whist not being oppressed. This is heavily reliant upon a good use of space, design, and of course extremely high standards of service.

The use of public space is important in any type of hotel, but more so in the more restricted environs of the boutique hotel where space is obviously at a premium. And of course the challenge of making people feel at home is just as great whether you have fifty rooms or three. Of course the smaller establishments do have an advantage in this area of "coziness" but their use of their restricted public space has to be all the more creative.

Public areas should be open enough to allow people to find their own individual space. Without making this space at the cost of making it appear bare and unfriendly. The furniture needs to be comfortable, enabling people to relax, with different areas of lighting, enabling guests to choose their own ambience. Boutique hotels are well known for their relaxed attitude, encouraging their guests to kick their shoes off and put their feet up. You never feel you have to dress up or be formal in any way whilst you are a guest.

We all know as individuals what makes us feel at home, and it's usually down to the details. Every generic hotel room tends to be very much alike. You have a bed, you have a wardrobe with some hanging space, bedside drawers, and your en-suite. In a boutique hotel the attention to detail makes the difference. The use of antique furniture, quality linens and drapes. Flat screen TV's and internet access, and an individually designed bathroom all go to create the package, and pretty much all the rooms will be different. Are all your bedrooms exactly the same at home?

A big difference with boutique hotels is their staff to guest ratio. In many large chain hotels with hundreds of rooms it's almost inevitable that the staff rarely know who you are, where you've come from, or the purpose of your visit, let alone your name.

In boutique hotels this is not an issue. The very nature of them means that there are always more staff in relation to guests. This obviously means a much higher level of service. The staff will know your name and those of your family, they will all know your room number. Also many of these hotels will take the trouble to find out any personal requirements at the time of booking so they can allow for them upon your arrival.

If you've never tried a boutique hotel before, you are sure to be impressed with the difference in design, atmosphere, and service, from the usual hotel establishment. You will instantly feel much more relaxed and "at home," and this will surely contribute to a very special vacation or trip.