Comments on: 7 steps to creating your own boutique hotel

By: Holly

Holly — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:13:10 +0000

So glad someone else has had to suffer the glass-walled-shower-in-room situation! How brilliant.

By: Tim Richards

Tim Richards — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:37:59 +0000

The alternative to the complicated shower is the utterly stripped back version in which there are no markings on the taps to indicate which might be hot or cold. And it’s de rigueur to provide an open-sided free-standing shower which looks fantastic but in fact causes puddles of water to spread throughout the bathroom.

Have I mentioned the hotel directory printed in a tiny spindly font in grey lettering on off-white paper, which can’t possibly be read in the fashionably dim lighting?

By: anjci

anjci — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:01:10 +0000

This is hilarious – thanks, Andy.

Speaking of showers, I cannot do the world the injustice of not mentioning the boutique hotel I stayed in last – the shower was indeed standing freely next to the bed, only protected by thin glass walls which were… you guessed it, perfectly transparent. And yes, I was travelling with a friend. And no, it wasn’t my boyfriend. But oh yes, he was male.

In short, the phrase “Can you leave the bedroom please, I’m taking a shower” never sounded more appropriate… : )

By: mikanqueen

mikanqueen — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:51:22 +0000

LOL! I was recently trying to find an actual defintion of a ’boutique hotel’ and failed miserably. Perhaps another criterion would be the inclusion of the establishment in a coffee table book (probably by Herbert Ypma or published by the hoteliers themselves) full of superfluous adjectives and glossy photos which fail to demonstrate quite how impractical the aforementioned shower really is….

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:14:07 +0000

Thank you for the extra suggestions folks (love the free-standing shower in room Holly – someone has surely seen one)

Forgot to add to the original post – the boutique hotel is distinguished immediately by its website. Lovely photos sliding gracefully across the screen accompanied by soothing music are a must. As is the inability of the site to load properly in any browser other than the one used by the developer.

By: Holly

Holly — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:55:52 +0000

Ah this got me laughing, not least because only hours ago I was sucked into booking a boutique hotel. I’m sure it’ll be lovely though… I get a decanter of port in my room – gratis!

I think the main requirement is some key feature of the room that could be considered stylish but is (in universal opinion) utterly impractical. I’m thinking free-standing shower at the end of the bed-type stuff.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:29:16 +0000

IMO a boutique hotel must cost at least 20% more than a similar priced establishment down the road. That is it’s main appeal to me. An ipod docking station is well received if not a necessity. Actually they sound quite good don’t they…

By: Brendan Harding

Brendan Harding — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:07:10 +0000

Ha Ha Ha. Super stuff Andy. May I also add the necessity of a tome-sized ‘Pillow Menu’ and of the course the instructions on how to get a good night’s sleep – you know what idiots we are about such things.

The light switch confusion is one that has kept me awake way past my bedtime on many ocassions. Instead of the instruction manual on how to get a good night’s sleep, how about putting the Master Switch thoughtfully positioned beside the bed.

Travel well.