Boutique Hotels: what exactly are they?

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    alisha.h
    Participant

    What do you think are the criteria of a boutique hotel? Do you like staying at boutique hotels as opposed to properties belonging to large hotel groups?


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    It’s not always the case, but I often find boutique hotels are simply small 3/4 star hotels charging 5 star prices! They try to justify the price by being small/intimate/friendly/personal etc but in reality it’s just good marketing for what is essentially a B & B!


    TominScotland
    Participant

    Not sure I wholly agree with you, LuganoPirate – its a bit disingeneous to call a 3/4 star hotel (even if that is what it is) a B and B!! As with everything, the term “boutique hotel” varies greatly in its use and can be misleading. It is also self-styled by the owners in a similar manner to the use of 7* by some hotels!!

    I have just stayed at a new Townhouse property in Glasgow, the Blythswood Square (http://www.townhousecompany.com/blythswoodsquare/) which, in keeping with all the group’s boutique hotels, is really excellent in an unobtrusive way. It has 93 bnedrooms, a great restaurant and a fabulous spa, all set in a beautiful Georgian building. Above all, the staff are top class, interested in their guests and never too busy to talk to people as individuals. Prices are very reasonable too.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    I always thought a boutique hotel considers itself above “ratings”, unless it is a hotel that decides to call itself boutique.

    I would think of:

    ** small, many be 30 – 50 rooms

    ** emphasis on personal service

    **not alligned to a major hotel chain or management service

    **has a very indvidualistic branding

    **may not have an inhouse gourmet restaurent, but will know where the local ones are

    ………I am sure this list will be added and commented on……….


    Tom Otley
    Keymaster

    On the number of rooms, hoteliers often regard to cut-off point at around 100 rooms (ie: less than that brings it into “Boutique” territory.

    Generally the term is also recognition that because of its size, the property, despite being upscale or at least full service, won’t have all the facilities you might expect of a hotel at that level – so for instance would not perhaps have extensive (or any) banqueting facilities, business centre, spa/ fitness facilities (though often they make arrangements with a local gym or spa) and sometimes won’t have 24 hour room service, depending on the size of the operation (not easy to keep a kitchen running through the night for a small room count).

    I’d agree with the points made above, Like all terms, it’s much abused, and I’ve known hoteliers describe the boutique feel of their property even while it has 400+ rooms. An aspiration, perhaps..


    LynnWood
    Participant

    and every room is decorated differently rather than the same (bar perhaps the colour of the cushions……)


    CallMeIshmael
    Participant

    My preferred site to locate these exquisite gems. Blakes and Brown’s are included. In concurring with LynnWood, I find good idiosyncratic boutiques far better than ubiquitous chains – however I guess if your raison d’etre is to earn loyalty/reward/status points to claim hand outs, rather than to enjoy its luxuries, you will not find them suitable.

    http://www.mrandmrssmith.com/?gclid=CP_CpJCYvagCFQEZ4QodcXiSBQ

    To add to Martyn’s list –
    Patrons : Boutique – interesting eclectic clientele, no VK types. Chains – prosaic business men, faceless transients.
    Transfers : Boutique – chaufferred. Chains – Shuttle Buses.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    Tom, I was trying to be sincere in my thoughts, and I qualified my opening remark with the words “it’s not always the case”. The trouble is I don’t think there is a proper industry standard definition for Boutique Hotels.

    I’ve stayed in some which really were just b&b’s and I’ve stayed in some small hotels that could be classed as Boutique with just 12 rooms but are really 5 star, such as some of the Relais et Chateau properties.

    To me boutique conjures up that image of small, friendly and intimate, with 5* luxury and service. If I’m spending £300+ a night I expect a tea or hot chocolate to be bought to me when I wake at 5am between sheets made of finest cotton. I expect someone to bring my bags to the room, park the car (if applicable), sew on a button etc.

    I know price is not always everything, and in some countries you’ll get these services for a lot less but I do expect a Boutique Hotel to be like a 5* even if they don’t have a concierge desk, spa, or gourmet restaurant.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    How interesting, this word “Boutique”.

    Now I hear an Estate Agent in London advertising on LBC as a Boutique Estate Agency.

    Perhaps BT is a Boutique Travel magazine…………..


    judynagy
    Participant

    I avoid boutique hotels like the plague. Once was enough in Quebec … darling place with few creature comforts. I had to balance a magazine on the top of my rollaboard to create a night stand next to the bed. Reading lights? You gotta be kidding. Huge whirlpool in the middle of the room, of the ROOM, not the bathroom. People who design boutique hotels should just take photos of them, not charge innocent travellers to stay in them. I’ll take a monster Hilton with great staff any day.


    heathcliffe
    Participant

    I too tend to be wary of “boutique” hotels. While there no doubt may be decent ones out there, there are many who disguise the fact that they have limited services, facilities and charge plenty of mullah for the privilege of you staying there. At least I know what I am getting with the Holiday Inns/Marriotts/Hiltons of this world and this is important if I am traveling to a place I have never previously been to.


    transtraxman
    Participant

    The problem seems to the definition of “Boutique” hotels. I looked at the Wikipedia definition and it has nothing to do with my idea of a Boutique hotel which implies small (nowhere near 100 rooms) – somewhere intimate.

    My experience is limited to a few in Spain, in Britain and a couple in other countries.
    The ones in Spain have been from 8 rooms to about 45 and their star rating is usually 3 or 4 – this is because the grading system in Spain demands better levels of service with more stars which small hotels plainly cannot provide.

    This does not mean that small hotels are any less attractive or you are any less likely to get good service. They can be majestic (ex-residences of the nobility) or quaint (I went to one near Zamora which was a converted old flour mill – quite delightful).

    Then again Spain has the marvellous “Paradores” which tend to be restored palaces, castles, monasteries and so on. These tend to be bigger and offer a higher standard of service. The prices are not ridiculously expensive.

    I have experienced two (a) Hondarrabia near San Sebastian(Basque Country) on the border with France and (b) Olite( a fairy tale castle in Navarra) south of Pamplona. The prices ranged from €90 to €120 per night single room.

    http://www.boutiquespain.com/

    http://www.parador.es/en/portal.do


    CallMeIshmael
    Participant

    For the cut above occasion am serious fan of Mr & Mrs Smith

    http://www.mrandmrssmith.com

    but have now experienced Leading Hotels. LH have carved a niche for exemplary hotels having the unique character of “boutiques” but large versions.

    http://www.lhw.com/findahotel.aspx

    I certainly recommend investigating further if seeking sublime individual character with all the facilities of a 5* chain.


    Kalman36
    Participant

    I work for a hospitality consultancy firm called Colliers International in London. A colleague of mine recently wrote an article about five new trends afeeting the boutique hotels sector. If anyone is interested please follow the link below.

    http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/6945/Boutique-evolved-5-key-trends

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