Boutique hotels are small-capacityhotels that provide more personalized service than typical hotels. They typically have fewer than a hundred rooms, and are considered more "trendy" and "intimate", often due to their location in urban areas. They will usually also display a strong sense of aesthetic, and have a unique, un-homogenized character. They may be themed too, such as by having a focus on nature, environment, cuisine, history, community and cultural immersion, attentive service, or well-being.[1][2][3]
Boutique hotels first began appearing in the 1980s in major cities such asLondon,New York, andSan Francisco. There is debate about who started the boutique hotel concept.Blakes Hotel inSouth Kensington, London, designed byAnouska Hempel, and the Bedford byBill Kimpton in Union Square, San Francisco, both founded in 1981, may have started the trend.[citation needed]
The term "boutique hotel" was coined bySteve Rubell, who compared Morgans Hotel to aboutique as opposed to adepartment store, to which chain hotels were compared.[4] The hotelierIan Schrager and the interior designerAndrée Putman are credited with opening the first boutique hotel, still known as theMorgans Hotel.[5]
In recent times,[when?] boutique hotels have grown in popularity, corresponding with the general public's increased interest in individualized service. Many hotel chains have begun to focus on creating subsidiary hotels to establish smaller, boutique-style hotels,[6] or in acquiring previously independent boutique hotels.[7]
Boutique hotels are typically furnished in a themed, stylish, and/oraspirational[8] manner with distinctive concepts. These concepts often reflect the local culture of the neighborhoods in which the hotels are located. Typically, these hotels are designed to have a more "intimate" feel than many larger hotel chains.[9]
Boutique hotels are commonly found in the city centers of London, New York City,Miami,New Orleans, andLos Angeles. They are also found in resort destinations and may be furnished with amenities such asspa,yoga, and instructor-led painting classes.[10]
