Travel Articles

| Login | Article Submissions

Chic Retreats's Articles in Accommodation

Show All\|Display Category\|Title\|Newest\|Oldest
Why Choose Boutique? If you’re thinking about booking accommodation for your next holiday, or perhaps just a short city break, why should you go for a boutique hotel? When you go on holiday, where you stay is as important as where you go. It forms an essential part of your holiday experience, so it’s surprising that most people don’t really pay much attention to the type of hotel they are going to be staying in for the duration of their trip. Package holidays use hotels that are virtually iden... Enjoying A Boutique Hotel If you’re choosing to stay in a hotel that’s been purposely designed to turn your holiday into an experience, you need to make the most of it. Hotels have come of age in the past two decades. No longer do you have to choose between a huge run-of-the-mill chain hotel and a dodgy guesthouse. Today’s hotels are as varied and interesting as the people staying in them and your room, the bathrooms, the food and the service inside the hotel is as important as what you do outside ... What Makes A Hotel “Boutique”? The term “boutique hotel” has been widely used in recent years, but what does it mean and why should you stay in one? There are lots of companies that claim to specialise in boutique hotels. For many, a boutique hotel is simply one that’s not part of a national or international chain and that distinguishes itself by its design, location or additional features. Many hotels aspire to be a boutique hotel without actually achieving it. Overall, there are four main elements to ... Old Buildings For New Boutiques One of the characteristics that unites many boutique hotels is the buildings they occupy. Whilst the majority of new chain hotels are often built from scratch, or simply updated from previous hotels, many boutiques choose to operate from historic or unusual premises. Often, the type of building the hotel is in informs the design, facilities and services. It’s the building and its location that often provides the draw for guests. Private houses Many boutiques have bee... Why Boutique Design Matters What is boutique hotel design, and why does it matter? There are fashion trends in hotel design just as there are in other areas. In the late eighties and through the nineties, that fashion was for clean, stark, minimalist design, particularly in city hotels. This was such a diversion from the traditional way that hotels were put together that it attracted a whole new generation of travellers. It’s easy to confuse the minimalist hotel trend with the boutique hotel trend... Turning A Trip Into An Experience Don’t underestimate the difference that staying in a boutique hotel can make to your next journey. How often do you hear someone say, “I can’t wait to stay in the hotel”? Discussions about forthcoming holidays nearly always centre on the things we want to do, or the places we’re looking forward to seeing, and the place where we’re staying doesn’t feature at all. All that changes once you’ve booked into a boutique hotel. These hotels have been lovingly created by their o... Holidays With Boutique Style If style and comfort matter to you, then book a boutique hotel the next time you go away from home. Boutique hotels are designed to offer you a travel experience you won’t forget. Their interiors, fittings, facilities and services are carefully crafted to ensure that you receive the very best of everything during your stay. There are as many different styles as there are hotels, but what binds them all together in this class of accommodation is their design flair and atten... Creating A Boutique Hotel Renovating and designing a new hotel is a daunting task; even more so when you’ve decided to create a chic, boutique place to stay. How do they do it? Owners of boutique hotels often transform buildings no-one would touch into hotels that everyone wants to go to. It takes a lot of hard work, planning and an eye for design and detail to create a successful boutique. Imagination Imagination is a key skill when it comes to creating a stunning small hotel. To see a build... Celebrate In A Chic Hotel! A special celebration deserves a special location and a small, sophisticated hotel is often the perfect choice. From a small private wedding to a birthday celebration or family get-together, the often idyllic locations occupied by boutique hotels provide the perfect backdrop for a special occasion. Rural weddings With romantic gardens, fine dining and stunning locations for photographs, small rural hotels are often ideal for a family wedding. The attention to detail ... Fewer Rooms, More Style One of the reasons boutique hotels are so popular is because they directly oppose the accepted hotel normality of hundreds of rooms and bland service. Their refusal to treat guests as anything other than honoured visitors means that they spend time, money and energy developing a hotel where you feel comfortable and at home. This can only really be achieved with low room numbers. Hotels in this sector have discovered that travellers are willing to pay for accommodation that... Hotel Style: From Chic To Chill There’s no shortage of design themes when it comes to chic hotel style. How do owners and designers create their distinctive approach? Colours Colour, as anyone who’s ever decorated will know, is vital to the overall feel and atmosphere of a room. Hotels use colour to create space, warmth and light and to differentiate one area from another. Many mainstream hotels opt to keep their colours neutral, offsetting them with colours in curtain and bedding fabrics, but boutiqu... Choosing The Right Boutique Hotel For You Whether you enjoy city breaks or extended holidays in the sun, you can always improve your travel experiences by staying in a small, charming hotel, where the atmosphere is welcoming and friendly and the service is fabulous. There are hundreds of hotels that are self-styled “boutique” places to stay, but not all of them fall into the traditional definition of boutique, which includes: • Small number of rooms • Design-led throughout • Exceptional service • Freshly-prepar... Pick A Hotel With Personality! What does individuality mean in the hotel industry? As far as boutiques are concerned, it’s not just about being a little bit quirky; hanging modern art on the walls, sticking some designer chairs in the rooms or making all the fittings stainless steel. It’s about a design theme that runs through the hotel from start to finish and affects everything from the cushions on the sofas to the dessert menu in the restaurant. Location Where does the inspiration for this individ... Hotels: Why Small Is Beautiful What is it about staying in a big hotel that annoys you? Maybe it’s the impersonal service, or the amount of time you have to queue to check in. Perhaps it’s the buffet breakfast that’s been under hotplates for a while, or the fact that your room looks like every other room you’ve ever stayed in. Large hotels are great for some occasions, but its worthwhile looking at boutique hotels to regain some enjoyment from your stay. So what is it about small hotels that enchants yo... More Than Rooms And Food In general, we have low expectations of our hotels. As long as the room is decent and the food’s OK, we won’t complain. Boutique hotels hope to change that attitude. Hotel rooms aren’t cheap, so what do we get for our money? In many cases, it’s not much. A reasonable room that’s clean, a bathroom that’s functional and food that’s often not as good as it should be. These hotels should now expect to come under pressure from the smaller, boutique sector, where space, design a... Find The Perfect City Retreat Is it possible to stay in the middle of a city and still have an oasis of calm to retreat to? The aim of any boutique hotel is to provide guests with a welcoming, comfortable environment that reflects its design and location. In city centre hotels, that design and environment is influenced by many things and the hotel must decide which type of guests it is catering to. Nightlife Boutique There are many cities that are referred to as 24-hour cities. New York is famous... Themed Boutique Hotels If you really want to stay in a memorable hotel, choose one with a strong design theme. Far more than having room names with a common link, a strong design runs through everything the hotel does, and makes the whole guest experience more interesting. Choosing a definite theme can be a risk though and only those who have planned, researched and marketed properly pull it off. The theme A hotel can base its design around any theme, and most of the obvious ones have been do... Boutique City Hotels Finding a good hotel from the hundreds that populate the world’s biggest cities can be a daunting task, and choosing the wrong one can ruin your trip. Staying in a city gives you the opportunity to sample some of the best historical, cultural and cosmopolitan offerings in the world. From modern art galleries to internationally-famous theatres; exquisite cuisine to early-morning clubbing, a city experience is what you make of it, and part of that experience is the hotel. ... Boutique Beach Hotels For many people, a beach holiday is their annual luxury; two weeks in the sun, with long sandy beaches and a tranquil sea is their idea of a perfect trip away. It doesn’t take much imagination to take a step further and turn that annual trip into a real experience by staying in a small, select hotel. Beach resorts are one of the most ideal locations for boutique hotels. The idea of stepping out from your bedroom onto your own private beach area, or staying in an exclusive ... Boutique Hotels – A Traveller’s Paradise For many, holiday accommodation plays second fiddle to location and amenities. For the true traveller though, it’s an important part of the experience. We tend to take travel for granted. It’s easy and cheap to hop on a plane to any one of hundreds of destinations across the world, book into a hotel that’s the same as all the others and find familiar food and drink. That’s not the real essence of travel though, as those who still choose to do it “properly” know. Experie... When Only The Best Boutique Hotels Will Do There are times when you want to splash out and immerse yourself in luxury. Boutique hotels are the ideal places for understated opulence. Whilst many boutique hotels fall easily into the “affordable” bracket, there are several whose sole purpose is to provide a discreet, private oasis, where your every need is met and you want for nothing. These hotels may cost more than you’re used to spending, but by the end of your stay, you’ll be working out how long it will be before... Family-Friendly Boutique Hotels Boutique hotels aren’t just designed for wealthy couples or adults only. Many boutique hotels welcome children and families. Should families be excluded from the boutique hotels experience? Many hotels in this sector think not, and happily open their doors to families with children of all ages, providing a range of services and facilities to suit this market. For many families, the size and location of these hotels is perfect for a family holiday, and allows their children... Five Great Reasons To Stay In A Boutique Hotel If you’ve never stayed in a boutique hotel before, here are some reasons why you should book one today. There are so many cool hotels to stay in around the world that there’s almost certainly one at your next holiday destination. Why choose boutique? Location Boutique hotels are usually in enviable locations. A townhouse right in the middle of the city, a chateau in rural France or a stunning beach retreat in the Maldives, boutique hotels exist to provide you with th... Take A Romantic Break In A Boutique Hotel When you’re looking for a romantic place to spend your honeymoon, wedding anniversary or just to have some time together, go for a boutique hotel. What small, chic, designer hotels don’t know about creating a romantic atmosphere isn’t worth knowing. Making guests feel welcome and unique is a hallmark of all these hotels, and if you call to ask for something special, they’ll make sure that you get it. Why go all the way to Venice for a romantic weekend just to stay in a ... Boutique Hotels Go Hi-tech No matter where they’re staying, hotel guests are starting to demand the very latest in technology – from televisions to internet access. Boutique hotels get ahead of the game by integrating technology into their design. Technology is moving fast, and hotels of all types have to anticipate the technology that will make their guests’ lives easier during their stay. As consumer technology becomes more affordable, guests are no longer terribly impressed by flat-screen televis... Hotels That Give A Little Bit Extra A boutique hotel will often provide additional services that guests in large chain hotels won’t find. One of the joys of staying in a boutique hotel is that a range of activities can be arranged for you. Countryside retreats provide a number of options within their own grounds, whilst city and beach hotels have local contacts and can help you to book places or tickets or use facilities, often at a favourable rate. Sports Many people choose to take part in sporting ac... Stay In A Hotel Where Quality Matters An eye for detail and an insistence on quality are two of the main things that distinguish a boutique hotel from any other. There are many characteristics that make up a good boutique hotel; number of rooms, good design and excellent service are among them. Two of the most important are often overlooked though, which is a shame, given the tremendous amount of research, time and energy that goes into providing them: quality and detail. Quality A boutique hotel should ... Boutique Hotels Are Here To Stay Boutique hotels aren’t a passing fad or a here-today-gone-tomorrow trend. They are a growing sector of the hospitality market. When the first “boutique” hotel opened in New York in 1984, it caused a stir. Shedding tradition, its whole purpose was to turn a paid-for bedroom into a whole new travel experience. Since then, small, chic hotels have sprung up all over the world; some more successfully than others. Those who have followed the fundamental theme of design-led indiv... More Boutique For Your Money Individuality matters to hotels in the boutique sector. These small, chic hotels endeavour to ensure that you get the best possible experience during your stay. Staying at a boutique hotel is about more than just staying in a quirky building or having an MP3 player in your room. A truly hip hotel looks at the complete experience a guest can have – from the products in the bathroom to the availability of room service – so that you really feel you’ve had value for money. ... Why You’ll Return To A Boutique Hotel Any good hotel will attract return customers, but boutique hotels often have a higher return rate than others. Once you’ve stayed in a boutique hotel, you’ll understand what all the fuss is about. For the same money as you can spend on a city-centre chain hotel, you can stay in an individual place where the design is intrinsic to the experience and where the service ensures that your stay is comfortable and relaxed. If you choose a boutique hotel once, the chances are you’...

Submit Articles
Member Login
Top Authors
Most Popular Articles
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds

Home
Contact Us
Terms of Service

Click here to join 365.Travel community

Travel Directory

Travel Articles © 2002 - All rights reserved.

blog counter