Boutique hotels are usually the places that only corporate big-shots, businessmen and their wives, IT wonderkids and heirs go to. But there are ways to find boutique hotel deals that will help you to stay like a rockstar with a budget you can actually afford.

I can often stay at boutique resorts for free on inspection tours because I run this website – but if there’s a place where I want to stay where they don’t offer me a free inspection tour, I usually use this website to find the best boutique hotel deals.

Just treat yourself every once in a while to something special – after all, you deserved it.

There are boutique hotels all over the world, but you don’t need to travel far. You could even pick one in your own city – because when you stay in a place like that, you always feel like you’re on vacation, no matter where in the world you are.

Whether you want to pamper yourself in a luxury spa and wellness resort (or it’s modern high-tech version in Japan, the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo) or find a private deluxe resort on one of the undiscovered beaches of Cambodia, it’s all there for you, and for prices that hoteliers often don’t want you to know.

The Guardian has published a list of the ten best luxury boutique hotels in Tokio:

• Ryokan Sawanoya
• Hotel Seiyo Ginza
• The Agnes Hotel and Apartments
• Park Hyatt
• Four Seasons at Chinzan-so
• Andon Ryokan
• Hotel Okura
• Imperial Hotel
• Claska

You find more details on the original article.

The Sofitel So Bangkok is a new luxury hotel set to open on February 28, 2012. It’s themed around the Five Elements Water, Earth, Wood, Metal and Fire.

You can get a good impression of the design and theme of this hotel in this short video clip:

Design-wise, it’s a fascinating combination between an award-winning architect and five designers. Each of the five designers was in charge of creating one of the elements. Watch this “tree of life” clip:

Located in the district with the highest density of embassies and lots of businesses, it fits in very well with it’s concept of “Playful Luxury”. It’s stylish and modern, provides a great view over Bangkok’s largest public park, the Lumpini Park, and is located near BTS skytrain and MRT subway stations.

The Sofitel So Bangkok features 238 rooms + suites. The rooftop restaurant & bar is something we’re particularly excited about to try out – not that there’s a lack of them in Bangkok, but we trust that the Sofitel So will add something special to the mix.

The Red Oven restaurant is market-styled, which is very befitting for Thailand. The center piece is an iconic Red Oven, and then the space is divided into 3 distinguished zones of design – the cuisine is international and offers a wide array of dishes. The restaurant opens from the early morning hours to 11pm.

Chocolate lovers will delight about the Chocolab, which opens from 9:30am – 7:30pm. Hand-made chocolates and fresh savouries will tickle your taste buds in a comfortable atmosphere.

For dinner there’s the Park Society Restaurant & Bar, which opens at 6pm and closes at 1am. You can enjoy spectacular views over the city with both indoor or al fresco dining.

And there’s a ballroom, four meeting rooms and two bars. Every room also has an Apple Mac mini and the whole area of the Sofitel So has free WiFi for it’s guests.

Sofitel So Bangkok
2 North Sathorn Road
Bangrak, Bangkok
Thailand 10500
Phone 02 6240 000
See Location on Map
Website: http://www.sofitel.com/6835
Email: h6835@sofitel.com

The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association Moves Forward In Developing A Universal Standard For Boutique & Lifestyle Hotels

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) January 24, 2012

The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association, (BLLA, www.blla.org), a leading hospitality industry association officially representing independent boutique and lifestyle properties and the suppliers worldwide, announced the much-anticipated release of its first research White Paper. This document, in a united voice of independent boutique hoteliers, serves as an important tool in developing a universal standard and criteria for defining boutique and lifestyle lodgings.

A boutique is defined by the Webster’s dictionary as “a small fashionable specialty shop or business”. While the term is used liberally, there has been no commonly agreed definition of “boutique hotel” which is why BLLA’s Founder and hospitality industry veteran Frances Kiradjian initiated the survey and is releasing the project findings today.

This study was undertaken to provide greater clarity for the current meaning of the terms “boutique hotel” and “lifestyle hotel”. The research points out to perceived differences between the boutique and lifestyle hotels, indicating that the aesthetics of a lifestyle hotel, as opposed to that of a boutique hotel, are more contemporary, with unique design and architecture, and a high technology touch. A lifestyle hotel offers more ancillary services and is focused on wellness and life-enrichment.

More specifically, a lifestyle hotel would not be a small, historic property, which would be categorized more appropriately as a boutique hotel.

Researching further the difference between the Lifestyle Hotels and Boutique hotels, the research formulated a list of Emerging Definitions, as well as Emotions and Experiences that define the boutique and lifestyle hotel experience. Among them are Discovery, Curiosity, Intrigue, Amazement; Social, Joyful, Sensual, and Romantic.

Among the characteristics that define a Lifestyle Hotel are: innovative, personal (vs “branded”), contemporary and modern.

Boutique hotels are described as personalized, customized, unique, and individual. The most important defining features of boutique hotels are cultural, historical, authenticity; the boutique hotel is not part of a chain and that it provides interesting, unique services. Other important defining descriptors of boutique hotels include, “social spaces such as living rooms, libraries with social rooms” and “many, high-quality in-room features”.

Kiradjian said, “We look forward to continuing to expand this research into additional groups as well as other research the sector has indicated is of vital importance.” Adds Kiradjian, “There is no entity today better suited for initiating and heading up research in the independent boutique & lifestyle lodging category than BLLA, since in essence, it is the only available professional and personal resource to this hospitality industry sector and has become its voice.”

Special Thank You goes out to Dr. Jonathon Day, Purdue University, Donna Quadri, New York University, Dr. David Jones, Hong Kong Polytechnic Universit for collaborating on this research.

Request a copy of the full research White Paper HERE.

About The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA)
The Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association is the first and only association dedicated to uniting the world’s boutique and lifestyle properties. Created to be the unifying voice of this distinctive subset within the hospitality industry, its goal is to unite the world’s collection of boutique & lifestyle properties and the suppliers that sustain them, offering them the opportunity to successfully compete on a level playing field with major hotel companies, as well as market themselves to meet the ever-increasing demand from discerning boutique-seeking clients. For more information, or to become a member, visit: www.blla.org.

Here’s a small video interview of the Operations Manager of the Hansar Bangkok, which gives you a good impression why the Hansar Bangkok is special among the luxury hotels of which there are so many in this city of angels.

The luxury boutique hotel by Ian Schrager, EDITION, will open a branch in Bangkok before 2015. It will be located in one of Bangkok’s tallest buildings, the MahaNakhon Bangkok, sometimes also referred to as “the Thailand Tower”, which will have 77 storeys. It’s designed by the German architect Ole Scheeren, Partner of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA).

It’s an interesting choice to invest in Bangkok, as there’s been so many hotels opening up here that there is a much higher supply than demand of rooms – yet, investors seem to be confident that EDITION Bangkok can stand out enough to be a success.

The Bangkok Edition will feature 150 rooms

Boutique hotels have once been something special. And not just something special, but something that only certain (special) people even knew about.

Jason Q. Freed wrote about how it all started:

the late Steve Rubell and partner Ian Schrager in 1984 were gearing up for the opening the first Morgans Hotel in New York City. As interest was drumming for the opening of the hotel, Rubell was being interviewed by local press and the reporter began asking questions about the hotel, wanting Rubell to describe it or compare it to a similar hotel in the area. Rubell couldn’t find the right words to describe what the first Morgans Hotel would represent but instead was able to paint a picture for the inquisitive journalist.

“You can go clothes shopping at Macy’s or you can go clothes shopping at one of these small boutiques in New York City,” Rubell reportedly said. “This hotel is going to be like the boutique of hotels.”

Over time, smart people in the hospitality industry figured out that just using the word boutique in their hotel descriptions had a nearly magical pull on people, and it also justified a heftly increased price tag.

So over time, there was a kind of inflation of the word “boutique”.

(Which is also one reason why we’re calling the website luxury boutique hotels, because it reflects the original spirit of the term a bit better).

Jason Q. Freed continues to talk about how the term boutique got kind of devalued, and what he think of the term branded boutique. It’s well worth reading his thoughts on the subject, whether you agree with him or not.

The Bangkok Tenface boutique hotel is a great place to stay if you value high-quality service.

The atmosphere everywhere is awesome. Quite minimalistic, and each piece of decor that you find here is tastefully chosen.

There are private elevators directly to your room too, and the rooms are quiet – which is not always a given in Bangkok. And the suites are very large, so you really do have space to make yourself comfortable.

The staff here is very friendly, polite, attentive and helpful.

Getting wired in

But one of the best things about the Bangkok Tenface is their “concierge service”/entertainment guru. This guy is really wired into what’s happening in Bangkok. He knows what’s going on, and he knows the right people. Which is something that money can’t (usually) buy.

When you check in here, you also get an iPod, and they have a great entertainment system with a nice selection of movies and music. Plus, there’s a video of must-see places in Bangkok plus a map that will help you to find them on the road.

You also get a prepaid SIM card that you can put into your phone. Then, if you come back to the hotel after a day of Bangkok sightseeing you can call for the shuttle service from the BTS station and they will pick you up and drive you to the hotel for free. This shuttle service is available around the clock, so even if you come back after a night of partying out, it’s all easy.

Internet

High-speed WiFi Internet is available for free both in your room and in the public spaces of the hotel. They also have IBM laptops available that you can rent for a couple of hours free of charge (upon availability), which is useful if you’re just traveling with a smartphone but need to work a bit every now and then and a smartphone doesn’t do it.

Fitness

You can use their fitness facilities for free. Not large, but a good selection of very well-maintained high-quality equipment.

They also have a small swimming pool (2 lanes, around 20 meters long). The pool is very well maintained, but as mentioned quite small, so not really for relaxing but more for doing a few strokes.

Eating

They have a really nice restaurant called Wanara Eatery with set lunch offers between 11:30-14:30 every day. The two course menu comes at 300 baht (around $10), which isn’t cheap for Bangkok standards, but not expensive either. And the food is good quality Thai fusion food.

Drinking

The Site Bar is also nice, and can also be booked for private parties, and they have good cocktails & mocktails.

Sita btw. is the name of the consort of Pra Ram, which is the greatest love couple of the Thai national epic, the Ramakien.

Services

Of course they have a laundry service, in-room dining, you can choose special pillows if you prefer others than the standard ones for more sleeping comfort, a free Tuktuk shuttle service to the next skytrain station (BTS Ploenchit) and airport transfers.

If you’re in town for business – the business center/meeting room is always there for you.

Long Stay (30 days or more)

If you plan on staying a full month (or longer) in this great city with a friend or partner, then I wouldn’t recommend staying anywhere else than the Bangkok Tenface. Currently, they have a promotion running where you pay 50,000 THB for a full month (around 1620 USD, which comes down to 54 USD per night, and if you share with a friend that’s 27 USD per person).

Location

Just a 10 minute walk (or a 2 minute drive in the complimentary tuk tuk shuttle service) from the BTS station Ploenchit away, you’re right in the heart of a very cool place. Lots of good bars, restaurants and easy access to many of Bangkok’s attractions.

Tips

When you make your booking in the Bangkok Tenface, book on the upper floor (8th), where you also get a nice view.

You can check out their official website, their Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The video opens with water flowing out of the beautiful swimming pool of one of the Best Boutique Hotels in Phuket, Dewa Boutique Resort. One could see a family of three guests spending their time blissfully inside the swimming pool. They are having a whale of a time inside the swimming pool. Now the focus shifts to a relaxing room on top of the swimming pool in Dewa, phuket. There is a cushioned cot in the room with a lot of cushion pillows arranged neatly on top it. Now the lens takes us to have a close look at the beautiful plants in the garden side of the resort and shows the natural greenery of the resort rooms. While we are gazing at the green plants, a female staff of Dewa Boutique Resort welcomes everyone with a pleasant smile. One could find plenty of plants on both sides of the walk ways. Then the focus shifts to the serene beach in Phuket. The camera focuses on a father and his daughter relaxing on the white sands of the beach. The little girl seems to be enjoying the gentle waves of the beach. Now the focus shifts to the swimming pool and the bed side furnishings and then zooms into room no 128. After this the viewer is taken back to the beach view, which paints a pretty picture of the blue water in between two trees.

The video lens now shifts back and forth between a dining table and the beautiful phuket beach. I think the lens man finds it extremely difficult to leave the beautiful beach and wants it to be there in every frame. Now coming back to the video, the scene now shifts back to the swimming pool of the Dewa Boutique hotel, where the camera focuses on a basket full of wine bottles kept near the swimming pool. One could see four guests swimming in the beautiful swimming pool and one could also get a glimpse of a small gushing fountain. The scenery around the swimming pool is quite marvelous. One could come across flowers of various colors such as white and pink and thick green plants. There are plenty of chairs and slanted seats around the swimming pool for the visitors to relax by the side of the pool.

The scene now shifts back to the serene sands of the beach where the sea water comes and wets the white sand. Now the viewers are taken to the other important facility of the Dewa Boutique Hotel, which is the spa. One could see a spacious hall containing sofas and chairs. There are plenty of spa related creams and oils sitting at the corner of the spa. There is also a fish aquarium which is captured beautifully by the camera man. Now we reach the end of this video where it is showing the external decorative which looks pretty good.  Seeing this beautiful video, one will be definitely tempted to go to phuket and stay in Dewa Resort for at least a couple of days.

Boutique hotels is a constantly developing concept – so how will boutique hotels change in the coming years? What’s about to come? LiveShareTravel has summarized ten key emerging trends in the boutique hotel industry.

1. Although many boutiques are design-focused, there is an acknowledgement that guests are looking for more than the “cookie cutter” approach. So resorts will be aiming to offer an experience guests will remember fondly.
2. Look out for a proliferation of members’ clubs being incorporated into boutique hotels, particularly in key urban areas such as London and New York.
3. Boutique hotels will cater for what is seen as a small but growing band of environmentally-aware travellers from serving locally-sourced, seasonal food to allowing guests to control their energy usage. But they believe it’s also important not to force the green agenda onto visitors.
4. Until now boutique hotels have been at the upper end of the price scale, but you can expect to see budget hotels offering a more distinctive, less homogenised experience.
5. Boutique hotels will be offering technology at least as good as the guest would expect in their home, ensuring it’s user-friendly and practical.
6. Expect an authentic experience with hotels using historic or striking buildings with sensitivity to the materials used and the original structure, to be among the most sustainable and authentic in the built environment.
7. With more individually-designed guestrooms rather than standardised offerings boutiques will capitalise on their flexibility and independence.
8. Acknowledging that guests are looking to interact with the hotel, its location, the passionate people who drive it and great service, there will be more focus on this rather than the company behind it.
9. There’s a significant trend towards offering bed and breakfast in distinctive, design-led properties with a range of added services and experiences such as visiting chefs, wine tastings and more.
10. While the multinationals will struggle to replicate the true boutique experience, they will increasingly focus on the lifestyle hotel model offering 100- to 200-room boutique hotels.

To find out more, read the original post.