Retire in Paradise

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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.

Roughly three decades ago the culture and style of society was rather different and many liked to fashion a specific lifestyle for themselves. More and more people began to demand hotel accommodation which would fit more closely to their chosen lifestyle. The hotels which where redesigned to meet this demand became known as design hotels or lifestyle hotels.

In 1984, the Morgans Hotel in New York opened, it was owned by Ian Schrager, a famous hotelier, who had commissioned Andre Putman to design it. Morgans Hotel, New York is credited as being the world’s very first Boutique hotel. There are other boutique hotels which lay claim to being the first, such as San Francisco’s hotel Vintage Court which opened in 1983. Vintage Court is part of the Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group Inc. which has many boutique hotels.

While many of the large hotel chains have a distinctive corporate image to uphold, which often translates into their hotels being rather similar, boutique hotels are not so restricted. In fact such hotels more often aim to be as different as possible and many owners choose to design their hotel around a specific theme or style. If you are visiting the city of London and you appreciate the style of Spanish-Americans then you will find the Church Street Hotel very much to your liking. It’s interiors are richly decorated in a Cubano style with matching art work and furnished in superb Colonialist furniture.

Many cities, including London, now have a selection of boutique hotels to choose from but the definition of a true boutique hotel has recently become rather blurred due to the actions of some of the major hotel chains. Best Western has opened the boutique hotel, Shaftesbury Kensington and several other chains have also began to develop more hotels which could be described as a boutique hotel so there is now a little confusion about what exactly makes a hotel a boutique hotel.

Of all the boutique hotels in London one of the most interesting addresses is that of the, Red Carnation, 41 Hotel which is situated opposite the Royal Mews of Buckingham Palace. This five star boutique hotel is superbly placed within minutes of Buckingham palace itself, Pall Mall and other important London attractions. Staying at 41 Buckingham Palace Road, London, just has a certain ring to it when you tell friends where you stayed.

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.