Along with the cities of San Francisco and New York, London is home of the boutique hotel.
As one of the important centres of boutique hotels, London entered into that world during the 1980s, an era of great aspiration characterised by the first mobile phones, the creation of the yuppies, and the marriage of Prince Charles to Lady Diana. Abba was frequently in the charts, it was the beginning of the age of the personal computer, and it was the era of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Falkland’s War. It was a time to shake off the austerity of the Winter of Discontent and the dying embers of James Callaghan’s Labour government, and instead embrace prosperity; luxury was no longer frowned upon.
Boutique hotels embraced the new spirit to create stylish lavish settings that put the comfort and experience of their guests at the forefront. Boutique hotels broke the tradition of the regimented bed breakfast and dinner hotels of the past to create a new level of intimacy.
Once the trend had been put in motion, more and more boutique hotels were opened. The levels of service provided to guests became paramount and many featured themed settings where guests could relax in splendidly designed surroundings often created by well known interior designers and which included bespoke furniture and original artwork.
Boutique hotels are sometimes called lifestyle hotels, and although many of them are designed in contemporary fashion, others embrace more traditional values and provide a wonderful blend of contemporary and rustic settings.
The most important difference between boutique and chain hotels is that whilst the latter tends to be a essentially a set of clones all incorporating precisely the same design so that whichever one you stay in it is exactly the same, every boutique hotel is unique; it is unlike any other. That does not exclude hotel chains, it simply means that for a hotel chain to create a boutique hotel it must create one that is original and which embraces the values of intimacy, focus on guest experience, and exceptional levels of service.
Throughout the UK you can find boutique hotels of exceptional quality, though if you are visiting the capital and wish to sample the best boutique hotel London will not let you down; embrace the spirit of luxury and book yourself into one.
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