Saturday 4 October 2008

Trendy Boutique Hotels And Brasseries

If your hotel hints at luxury, is intimate, furnished in a quirky but stylish way and has a cosy restaurant and bar, then you’re almost certainly staying in a boutique hotel and brasserie.


But what exactly are we talking about here?

Okay, well let’s start with the brasserie bit. A brasserie is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “a restaurant serving beer with food.” Simple. A boutique hotel, on the other hand, does not appear in any dictionary … and is not as easily described.


Sometime in the life-is-good-interest-rates-are-low 1980’s, small privately owned hotels – usually less than 50 rooms or so – started popping up all over major cities like New York, Paris, and London. These intimate and luxurious establishments were a breath of fresh air compared to the mighty hotel chains and meant guests could enjoy a more personal experience and be made to feel very special with VIP service tailored to meet their every need.


Décor and furnishings are normally very stylish in a classical or even avant garde way. Each room is invariably unique, having its own look and feel and the facilities often include bar fridges, satellite television, fax and internet connections. However, some boutique hotels prefer to focus specifically on quiet luxury, a comfortable atmosphere and top-class service.


In the charming Yorkshire town of Harrogate there is a fine example of this kind of establishment … The Harrogate Brasserie Boutique Hotel.


This superb boutique hotel (with a fine brasserie) is definitely small with just sixteen snug, individually decorated rooms that enhance the building’s Victorian charm. All are en suite and the facilities include remote television, direct dial phones and hair dryers. And because they’re in the middle of town there’s a vibrant hustle and bustle about the place and guests can ‘shop till they drop’ in the many upmarket stores.


The Harrogate Brasserie Boutique Hotel is on the doorstep of many of Harrogate’s attractions; the Royal Baths, Valley Gardens, Betty’s Café Tea Rooms established in 1919, an International Conference Centre, the newly refurbished Royal Theatre and The Great Yorkshire Show.


In addition to the Brasserie’s fine menu and selection of wines and ales, dinner guests can also sit back and take in the sophisticated sounds of live jazz bands. After all, great atmosphere is what a boutique hotel is all about. The combination of decor, ambience, exclusive service, atmosphere and the attitude of management and staff, all make for a great boutique hotel experience.


With fewer rooms, luxurious surroundings and friendly and professional staff, boutique hotels now offer exactly what today’s discerning guests are looking for, and the Harrogate Brasserie Boutique Hotel is most assuredly a splendid example.

By: Richard Finney

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