Any hotel can call themselves a luxury hotel, but that does not mean they have the amenities and services that you should expect from such a place. The best luxury hotels have a set of characteristics that are common to them, and those are the things that you should be looking for when trying to find a luxury hotel for your next vacation. These are three of the most important characteristics of quality luxury hotels.
Rooms
The stay in a hotel really begins and ends with the room. If the room does not live up to your expectations, then you are not going to have a good time and the hotel was not worth your money. Cheap hotels have rooms that look and feel cheap. There are noisy air conditioners on the floor near the window and, though clean, the bedspread looks like it has been used a thousand times. On the other hand, a luxury hotel will look and feel like home. There will not be floor space taken up by a noisy AC unit, and the bedspread and sheets will look like they were up on the bed for the first time when you checked in. The room will have not only a place to sleep, but a place for you to sit and be comfortable while you talk or plan your upcoming day.
Food
Another hallmark of luxury hotels is the inclusion of a hotel restaurant. Most of the time these are the high end restaurants that everyone in town wants to go to for special occasions and nice meals. Luxury hotels hire the very best chefs, and they use fresh, local ingredients to create food that is both innovative and reflective of the local culture. If you walk into the hotel at lunch or dinner time and no one is in the restaurant, that is a bad sign. It probably means that the food is subpar and people would rather seek out other alternatives than eat at the hotel. This is a problem because that means you will have to actively seek out places to eat when you get hungry.
Service
Finally, your luxury hotel should have the best service that you have ever experienced. From the time that you arrive at the door, until the moment that you leave the premises, you should feel that the hotel has valued you and your time. One service that really good luxury hotels provide is a knowledgeable concierge. This is the person that you should be able to turn to when you need help finding activities to do in the area or when you are looking for other off-campus entertainment. The concierge should be an expert in the local community and they need to be able to get you what you want, or they should know how to find someone who can get you the things you want.
Luxury hotels have to be held to a higher standard than other hotels. You are paying a premium price, so you deserve a premium service. Before you book your room, see pictures of the hotel, read restaurant reviews and ask questions of the concierge. This is the only way that you will be able to get your money’s worth from your luxury hotel experience.
I am William Smoot, and I wrote this article to talk about what I look for when I try to find a good luxury hotel. I was impressed with Teton Lodge (www.tetonlodge.com) a Jackson Hole luxury hotel that has all of the services and amenities of a big city hotel, without the big city price. If you are in the market for a quality luxury vacation, I highly recommend a stay at the Teton Lodge.