Five-Star Details From My Favorite Hotels
When my mom began reading me Kay Thompson’s “Eloise” before bedtime when I was younger than I remember, I don’t think she realized how much she was setting me up for a life of disaster. And by “disaster,” I mean a life of wishing I could live in a luxury hotel just like Eloise did.
Unfortunately, the trip always comes to an end and the bill always gets printed out at the front desk. There will be no modern day “A Gentleman in Moscow,” and Eloise can keep her delicacies in the dining room all for herself.
Due to the nature of my job, I’ve been blessed with some once-in-a-lifetime hotel stays over the last half-decade. Capturing them has been the number one joy of my professional life but along the way, I’ve done some side research on those so-called ‘nice touches’ that each hotel brings to the table. The things that make you ponder, “Wow, is this the nicest place I’ll ever stay?”
These are some of my absolute favorites.
Villa Lario’s Pillow Menu (Lake Como, Italy)
When you’re staying at a hotel with a view of Lake Como, it really doesn’t matter what the room is like. After checking in, we soon found out that we were going to be well taken care of.
The main driver of that sentiment? Their “Pillow Menu” that features various feathers, scents, firmnesses, and more.
I was so taken by it that I messaged my friend JR from That’s A Nice Touch to make this for him.
Of course, I went with the Firm Pillow complete with cedarwood and lavender. I slept like a baby.
Overnight Shoeshine at The Goring (London, England)
Staying at The Goring feels like you’re staying in Buckingham Palace. Nevermind the fact that you’re right next door, but they even house royals when the palace doesn’t suit their needs. So yeah, they’re no stranger to incredible service and elite small luxuries that make you feel taken care of.
While perusing the hotel room’s literature, I noticed on one of their informational pages that they offered a complimentary shoeshine. All you had to do was set your shoes outside of the room before bed. From there, they’d pick them up, clean them up, wrap them in paper, and leave them at your door the next morning with that day’s paper.
Frankly, this level of service and detail astonished me. If you’ve spoken with me about The Goring before, I’ve surely told you this story — twice.
An honorable mention from this same hotel? The bathroom lights that range from ‘Bright’ to—my personal favorite—‘Oooh!’
If you think I didn’t take a bath with the ‘Oooh!’ setting while catching up on Industry, you’d be sorely mistaken.
Bedside Table Accessories at Rosewood Miramar Beach (Montecito, California)
Looking over at my bedside table after a night of red wine (and maybe a Gibson or two), I couldn’t help but notice how organized everything was despite my mental disorganization. I soon realized that Last Night Me hadn’t taken care of anything and it was all care of the hotel.
If you look closely, you’ll notice the Holy Trinity of Hotel Bedside Accessories:
Custom recyclable/refillable water bottle.
Custom cord organizer.
Custom sunglasses cloth.
I imagine this is how olympic athletes feel when they arrive in their Olympic Village rooms and finally get to open their Ralph Lauren and Nike hauls. In this case, it’s truly the little things.
A hotel that deserves more than an honorable mention here is Blackberry Mountain who gives you a Yeti with their logo on it upon check-in. Yes, I still use mine daily.
Coffee and Newspaper at The Maker (Hudson, New York)
The first thing you notice at The Maker is how good it smells. The second thing you notice is how impeccable the interior is. The third is how every little thing seems to be thought of or taken care of before you can ask.
Upon check-in, they asked about certain preferences that threw me for a loop. Why did they need to know what I drank in the morning? Of course, I told them without hesitation.
“Each morning, there will be a bag on your door,” she explained while she checked us in, “with hot coffee in a thermos and the day’s newspaper.” And like anything with The Maker, of course, the coffee was incredible.
Little did I know, sometimes the world’s greatest luxury is not having to figure out whether or not the in-room Nespresso machine is broken.
Monogrammed Pillowcases from Las Ventanas (Los Cabos, Mexico)
It’s not very often I say this but when I arrived at Las Ventanas, I was in desperate need of a vacation. Throwing our bags down felt good enough. Seeing the view from our room only widened my smile. But when I turned around to see that they had personally monogrammed our pillowcases (and put me on the window side of the bed), well, I fell in love.
Were we supposed to take these home with us? I’m not sure.
Did that grey area stop me from doing so? Absolutely not.
Is it currently residing on my side of the bed at home? Without a doubt.
