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Mexico Boutique Hotels
The term 'Boutique Hotel' was first coined in North America to describe often up-scale hotels which are intimate, have remarkable features and which offer distinctive characteristics and ambience.
More frequently, boutique hotels provide an environment where guests may find an elegant, tranquil and serene environment to enjoy during their stay. They provide a refuge for people seeking an alternative to the often hectic settings their lives are surrounded by and an escape into a space where pressures and barriers dissolve.
Boutique Hotels are often (although not always) independently-run; they offer a distinct alternative to "cookie cutter" hotel rooms (properties where every room is the same); they are tastefully appointed and pay particular attention to the very fine details relating to ambience and guest services.
Mexico Boutique Hotels: Spaces of balance and tranquility
Boutique Hotels create an ambience and style which makes the hotel a destination in its own right.
Experience Boutique Hotels in Mexico
To differentiate themselves, different boutique properties create tailor-made 'concept experiences' which are unique to them; this gives you an opportunity to match your personal tastes to style, services and ambience offered by a boutique hotel's individual concept.
Boutique hotels come in a variety of these 'concept experiences' which focus on different aspects depending on the hotel's location and its natural surroundings. Although the concepts are individual, they all appear to revolve around the themes of balance and tranquility.
Some boutique hotels focus on the architecture and design; others provide an intensely romantic setting; some will have sports or nature activities associated with them; many also offer fine spas and spa treatments.
Regardless of the concept experience they provide for travelers, they all endeavor to create an idyll 'home away from home' environment: relaxed, casual, elegant and tranquil.
Elements Which Make a Great Boutique Hotel
Boutique Hotels offer excellence in a number of key areas:
Not just a good room, but a great room
The essential physical components of any good hotel room are a comfortable bed, a great shower and, especially in sultry climates, an efficient, quiet air-conditioning system. In a boutique hotel, these features are normally in abundance along with some extras such as a choice of pillow types as well as fine bed clothes.
The use of space, color, light and lighting in a room is also important. Bright, spacious, softly-colored rooms are always welcoming, although this may not be in-keeping everywhere; for example, in a beautifully restored colonial mansion. The use of artificial lighting is also an important detail often considered carefully by boutique hotel owners.
Bedrooms at a boutique hotel are usually in-keeping with the 'concept experience' the hotel offers and, above all, provide a comfortable and tranquil environment for you to pass the time in and rest well.
The bathing areas should compliment the room and provide a range of modern comforts which discerning travelers have come to expect: great lighting, comfortable linens, good quality toiletries as well as practical items such as hair dryers and shaver sockets.
When you walk into the room, you should feel immediately at ease, and most boutique hotels are good are accomplishing this easily said and not easily delivered attribute.
Eloquent Surroundings
At boutique hotels, the management knows that the room must be good, and so must the entire hotel's experience that goes with it.
What this means will depend on the setting, the environment and the building itself. Like the guest rooms, public areas should be alluring and encourage you to relax and absorb the experience being offered.
Experience Boutique Hotels in Mexico
At a boutique hotel, you're likely to find the grounds and gardens are kept flawlessly appointed, the public areas carefully laid out and under-pinned by a carefully considered balance of indoor and outdoor furniture (not empty nor cluttered) and that even small, subtle details, like keeping flowers fresh and log fires immaculate, are properly tended to.
Gourmet Food
The food and drink being served at well-managed boutique hotels should be of the highest standards.
A Gourmet Chef is usually hired especially for the purpose of keeping guests well-fed; the produce used is (where possible) sourced locally, invariably fresh, with menus which offer flair, creativity and variety as they cater for local and international tastes.
Special diets are often taken into account, especially for guests who are vegetarian or have allergies to consider when choosing their food.
The cellars of a well-run boutique hotel will be well stocked with expertly selected wines, sherry and champagne.
Spa Services
Not all boutique hotels offer spa services, as the properties may be too small or do not lend themselves to operating a spa on-site. You can learn more about Spas in Mexico on Mexperience.
Boutique Hotels which do offer spa services should provide you with first-class facilities staffed by trained professionals and well-maintained facilities.
To find a Boutique Hotel which also offers a spa, you may browse our collection of Mexico Boutique Hotels with Spa Services.
Amenities
Good boutique hotels should offer a range of modern amenities which are commensurate with the clientele they are catering for, the hotel's 'concept experience' and, importantly, to current trends and traveler's expectations.
Some boutique hotels are now offering extras such as iPod Stations in the room whereas fifteen years ago, they were offering CD players. Most offer WiFi internet access now as standard, unless the experience concept is such that it is not appropriate to provide it, for example, at lifestyle retreats.
Televisions in-room will, again, depend on the establishment's concept. Some up-scale hotels simply don't provide a TV in every room as they offer a retreat from the 'noise' which TV encourages. These places may, however, offer a "TV Room" somewhere on the property for guest's use.
Some places, like Hotelito Desconocido, one of Mexico's leading boutique hotels, doesn't even offer electricity in the room: this enchanting hotel uses, as far as is possible, natural resources -- including candlelight to light walkways and guest rooms.
The amenities you may expect from a boutique hotel won't, by design, be of the 'cookie cutter' type rolled out by chain hotels. The amenities on offer will most often be tailored to the hotel's style and concept, so as you explore the various options on offer, you may match your personal preferences and tastes to the experience being proffered by each hotel.
Infallible Service
All of the above, in whatever form or abundance its is provided, should always be surrounded by the highest levels of service at a Boutique Hotel. It is this aspect, above all others, that will be the distinguishing characteristic of an expertly-managed boutique hotel.
Boutique hotel owners, management and staff's local knowledge should be thorough and detailed. They should be able to offer you advice about where to dine in the local area, they should have connections to local companies which offer pre-vetted tours and expedition services, they should be fully conversant with the local environment and be able to give expert advice to guests on a wide range of local services, events and opportunities.
The management team of a boutique hotel will be highly aware of the need to go the extra mile to ensure their guests may feel absolutely taken care of, without being over-bearing or pompous.
This fine balance is not easy to deliver, and a well-managed boutique hotel will have a highly motivated staff who are trained to accomplish just that.
Experience a Boutique Hotel in Mexico
Find the ideal Mexico Boutique Hotel for your needs and arrange your stay with Mexperience. Select from and enjoy an excellent range of expertly-managed Boutique Hotels in Mexico offering a wide selection of of settings and surroundings:
