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What are Boutique Hotels?

by: BillHarris
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While there are certainly a large number of folk who, when visiting a city, like to stay in familiar surroundings and several of the large hotel chains offer accommodation that varies little from city to city making them ideal for such people. However there are many, many people who prefer something a little more intimate and something a little bit different and such folk often choose to stay in a local guest house or small local hotel. For the last few decades there has been an increase in the number of boutique hotels in London and many other popular city destinations. The following article explains a little about boutique hotels and describes what you should expect from such accommodation.

In stark contrast, to the well known national and multi-national motel and hotel chains, boutique hotels are usually much smaller and family run. The term originates from North America where these hotels offered a highly personalized service in a luxurious hotel of a distinctive character.

About thirty years ago society became a little more stylized and style conscious and many attempted to create a distinctive style and culture that influenced all aspects of their life. For an increasing number of folk the style became incredibly important and the demand for hotels which more closely matched such lifestyles increased. A number of small hotels attempted to meet this demand and they became known as design/designer hotels or lifestyle hotels.

While there are several boutique hotels which claim to be the very first two seem to have the strongest. Morgans Hotel in New York and San Francisco's hotel Vintage Court. Morgans Hotel (owned by Ian Schrager) opened in 1984 having been designed by Andre Putman but Vintage Court, owned by Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group Inc. which owns many boutique hotels, opened in 1983.

One of the most interesting aspects of boutique hotels is the way in which they are usually themed. Rather than concentrate on all the modern bells and whistles, often available in hotels owned by the larger chains, boutique hotels offer personality and personal service. For example the Church Street Hotel in London, a Spanish-American Boutique hotel, is decorated in a Cubano style with mexican tile work which has been hand painted with numerous items of art and furnished with excellent Colonialist furniture.

As the interest in boutique hotels developed rather rapidly with hotels appearing in many different styles it was a while before the larger chains began to realize the potential benefits of opening such hotels. As mentioned many of the major cities of the world have a growing number of boutique hotels and London certainly has it's fair share. Interestingly the hotel chain Best Western have entered the boutique hotel market with their Shaftesbury Kensington which is described as boutique and has all of the modern facilities you would expect from a Best Western hotel. Such actions have slightly blurred the previously accepted definition and there is now a little confusion around what is a true boutique hotel.

One of the best boutique hotels in London is found opposite the Royal Mews of Buckingham Palace at 41 Buckingham Palace Road. The Red Carnation, 41 Hotel is only a few minutes walk from many of London's finest tourist attractions and only a short distance from Buckingham Palace itself. If you are visiting London you may want to stay here if only to be able to say to friends that you stayed at that address.

Yes it would seem that wherever you turn these days a boutique hotel is opening. In August 2008 there is even a boutique hotel opening on the remote Isle of Harris which is a small island off the west coast of Scotland. While there are certainly plenty to choose from the very nature of these hotels means that it is highly unlikely that you will ever find two that are the same. I for one will be booking into such a hotel when I next visit London or anywhere else.