If you are reading this, probably you are a hotelier or a hospitality and travel enthusiast. In this post, we explain everything about Boutique Hotels and also include some of the examples of best boutique hotels in the world.
Whenever we see travel sites or hotel booking sites, we regularly come up with a few pricey options that mention, Boutique Hotels or Boutique Luxury hotels. So, what is a Boutique Hotel?
We will be defining and explaining boutique hotels in this post.
And we will keep this crisp and interesting to make it an interesting and engrossing read.
So, please read on and let’s begin a picturesque journey to the Boutique Hotel industry.
What is a Boutique Hotel?- Definition
- The term ‘Boutique Hotel’ was first introduced by Steve Rubell in 1984, who was a nightclub entrepreneur from the USA.
- The term ‘Boutique’ came into popularity in the 1980s,’ and were predominantly used in North America and the United Kingdom.
- Most of these are upscale Hotels, the quality of service is impeccable.
- Best Boutique Hotels are meant for the classes and not the masses.
- Typically, Boutique hotels have anything between 10 rooms to 100 rooms.
- ‘Boutique’ was the term which was used to describe small upscale hotels which had a uniqueness attached to it in terms of art, architecture, design or service.
Think of the Most unusual Hotels in the world or the themed hotels like the Various Ice Hotels in the world.
It would probably not surprise you when we claim that most of these are Boutique Hotels.
This term has now gone viral like a lot of our posts and images on this website.
Lots of bigger names have now introduced their own versions of Boutique hotels to make sure they don’t lose out on this ever-expanding market.
When we discuss the Latest Hospitality Industry trends, we tend to take a technology focus and a focus on boutique service.
Almost all the top hotel chains in the world have ventured into the Boutique Hotel segment in some way or the other.
Most importantly, these hotels have been a delight to consumers who are able to enjoy themed hotels with art and décor suited to local culture, history or a form of global art and design.
It seems to be a recent phenomenon when the term Boutique was coined but over the last 35 years, the Boutique Hotel segment has moved by leaps and bounces.
With almost every global chain entering the Boutique market, there is a huge selection of Boutique Hotels around the world now.
Not a lot of the new hotels do justice to the real term Boutique.
A lot of the hotel chains have a boutique wing or hotels which are boutique under a separate brand name.
This is because as per the concept boutique Hotels are supposed to be small and unique and not heavily commercialised.
While a lot of Hotels based on the theme were present already, these were named Boutique only after the term gained popularity.
What do the Boutique Hotels offer?
So, what do these Boutique Hotels have on offer that makes them different from a luxury hotel or from a classical B&B and Inn?
As visitors, we all have certain expectations and we expect something special from a Boutique Hotel.
There are a lot of things which are on offer from Boutique Hotels. We have mentioned a few of these below:
- Extremely personalised service
- A great location with a local taste
- A theme which is normally unmatched
- Limited rooms but all a piece of art and at times most trendy
- Limited services but all highly personalised
- Cuisine linked to the Hotel Theme
- An experience unparalleled to take back
Amandari Resort, Bali
A great piece of architecture is an art in itself.
What all fabulous Boutique hotels offer is that they make all rooms a canvas of art to amaze visitors.
The design and art are awe-inspiring and thus the connection with art justifies the term Boutique. Something like hand-built with a lot of precision and in an artistic manner.
This is what you can expect from all great Boutique Hotels.
There are a lot of hotels which are having a unique theme and are boutique in nature.
A lot of the Treehouse hotels can also come under the Boutique hotels umbrella.
Some of the Best Boutique Hotels in the world
We saved the best for the last, didn’t we?
There are hundreds of super-luxury Boutique hotels around the globe but we can’t name all of them here.
We will only name a few notable ones especially to act as a starting point for the travel enthusiasts and job seekers. To begin with, here is our favourite list.
We’ve already plunged past first-half of 2022, and hotel industry pundits are out with their picks for best hotels and resorts. Today, let’s look at the Best Boutique Hotels in the world.
This list takes us from the best boutique hotels in the world to the best luxury boutique hotels in the world and everything in between.
We will keep updating this space to include more great small boutique hotels. We have also made a point not to number these Boutique properties in any order.
These hotels are built to taste and the beauty of these Boutique Hotels lies in the eyes of the beholder.
Listed below are a few best boutique hotels in the world, which are by many considered the best among the lot.
- Camden Harbour Inn, Maine, USA – True to Maine’s past, the hotel features a marine-themed architecture. All its 20 rooms are named after favourite ports used by the infamous DE India Company.
- French Quarter Inn in Charleston – Afront City Market, French Quarter Inn offers breathtaking views of the best Charleston has to offer. The hotel has been nominated for best awards from Travel Choice and TripAdvisor and has been termed as one of the best boutique hotels in the world by many travel sites.
- Inn Above Tide, San Francisco- This boutique hotel in Sausalito takes romance to a whole new and exciting level. Each of the 31 rooms overlooking the Bay offers breathtaking views.
- The Goring in London- Here’s a winner for the best luxury Boutique hotels in the world category. Everything about this hotel oozes off that royal feel and look. Heck, Kate Middleton spent some time here before her wedding.
- Hotel Lungarno in Florence, Italy- This 69-room boutique hotel perched on Arno river bank is quite a sight. Everything about Hotel Lungarno falls in place – the foodservice, in-room hospitality, views, and so on, giving it a rubber stamp to appear on the list of Best Boutique Hotels in the world.
- Artist Residence London –One of the best boutique hotels in London is extremely artistic. An over-abundance of brickwork, parquet floors, a sophisticated bar, and a buzzing restaurant, Artist Residence is a little cut of Shoreditch in the calm Pimlico.
- Jade Mountain, St. Lucia
- Royal Isabela, Puerto Rico
- Auberge du Soleil, Napa Valley, California
- Dorset Square Hotel, London- Located a few feet from Marylebone Station, Dorset Square Hotel has a reputation of having vibrant colours and contrastingly wonderful fabric in a manner that’s found nowhere.
- Mukul, Guacalito de la Isla, Nicaragua
- The Mansion, MGM Grand, Las Vegas
- The Augustine Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic
- Covent Garden Hotel, London – The entire 58 rooms at this amazing boutique hotel display designer and comfy panache and incredible interiors. There are floral upholstery, pinstripe wallpapers and oak and granite restrooms. Moreover, the Covent Garden Hotel has a cinema, a calm private library, and a drawing-room.
- Relais Santa Croce, Italy
- Royce Hotel, Melbourne, Australia
- The Soho Hotel, London, United Kingdom
- Palacio Nazarenas, Peru
- Amansara, Cambodia
- Abigail’s Hotel, Victoria, Canada
The Mansion- Image source- Tripadvisor
There are a huge number of other small luxury Boutique Hotels all around the globe. Boutique hotels are growing in number big times. A lot of homes and mansions are also converting to Vacation rentals. This adds to the growing participation of large hotel chains in the boutique hospitality industry.
How about working at a Boutique Hotel?
One might argue that working at a Boutique Hotel is not a great idea due to limited services and it is better to be a part of large hotels with thousands of rooms or at least hundreds of rooms.
This is however not true. Think of the automotive industry. Rolls Royce is Boutique while Toyota provides luxury to mass travellers. Would you consider working at Rolls Royce a lowly affair? Definitely not.
Boutique Hotels have their own advantages and the incentives they offer at times are unparalleled.
Moreover, most of these hotels are operating in the Luxury segment and thus have excellent training and learning opportunities to offer.
Connection and respect with the large hotel chains in the world enhance the employability of hospitality professionals.
Boutique Hotels require hospitality professionals from all departments and almost every important location around the world has a host of Boutique-hotels.
So, it is worth an experience and gives hoteliers with invaluable luxury training and exposure.
Wrapping it up
Innovation and creativity are now being loved by all. How could the hotel industry lag behind? Boutique Hotel Management is a key trend now around the globe.
Who would not love to stay in one of those hotels that are custom made to your desires?
And, these are smaller properties with impeccable personalised services.
Hope you liked the picturesque and informative journey to the Boutique hospitality world.
In this article, we listed some of the best boutique hotels in the world. We will keep on adding more to this list.
We will keep updating this space so that you don’t miss a thing about Boutique hotel industry.
See you around!
