A place to sleep is just a place to sleep when it all comes down to it, and since the atmosphere can only be so nice how do luxury hotels set themselves apart from each other? With the perks and services they offer, of course -- and you better believe they go all out and get seriously creative. Here are just a few of the crazier perks you can find at some of the best hotels, courtesy of Forbes Traveler:
Helicopter transfers between the airport, hotel, and shopping (Hilton Sao Paulo Morumbi)
A sleep concierge to ensure you get the best night's sleep possible (The Benjamin)
Customized aromas: after finding out what your preferences are the housekeeper stocks your room with preferred scents (Palazzo Magnani Feroni)
Pet perks like special bedding and dishes, pet sitting, walking, and massages (Nine Zero)
Is the worst part of traveling trying to get a good night's sleep? It can be tough to sleep like you do at home in even the nicest of hotels, but The Benjamin in NYC has something most places don't: a sleep concierge.
And the sleep concierge is just the beginning. They offer a menu of 12 different pillows, choices of specialized sleep enhancing snacks, and before-bed massages. In fact, The Benjamin is so sure they can give you a good night's sleep that's as good as what you get at home they'll give you a free night's stay if they fail.
Do you think it's worth it? What would you need to make the hotel feel like home?
Five star hotels don't get that rating simply by having the highest thread count sheets and gourmet room service meals, they will bend over backwards (literally if need be) to keep their guests happy. So that begs the question: how far will they actually go for a client?
It might surprise you. From sending staff to get iPhone training at a local apple store (so they can help a guest learn to work hers) to last minute damage control and orchestration of a wedding proposal involving a hot air balloon, they really will do it all. Read about more crazy stories here, and if you have any of your own please share!
A company in Beverly Hills, California has launched a new service for men. Hemancipation is an interior design and concierge service that specifically caters to wealthy men who are in the midst of a divorce. The company offers newly single men the services of a realtor to find a new home, an interior designer to decorate the home, an image consultant to help you prepare for the single life and a concierge to handle shopping and travel arrangements. Each client is assigned a lifestyle consultant who creates a customized plan based on the customer's individual needs. I wonder if in the past wealthy men just had their assistants help with this sort of thing.
An all-too familiar theme when away from home is the stress over not only finding a bathroom when you need it, but then dealing with the usual grunge and general nastiness that always seems to be the case. It's a shame more places don't put more effort into their restrooms, but thankfully there are a few that do. And in a big way, too! Concierge.com has traveled the world and compiled this list of extravagant, outrageous, and sometimes almost unbelievable bathrooms featuring everything from high-tech fogging glass walls to pulsating neon lights to solid gold everything.
Next time you're traveling it might be with the specific intention to visit certain bathrooms, instead of traveling in spite of them!
For some, reading about the latest island vacation hot spots and hearing other people's opinions about how it does or doesn't meet their expectations and stack up to the competition is where it ends, but for others that's just the first step -- after reading they actually head out and go there to see for themselves. If that's you, then here's the perfect way to weigh in your own opinions on something someone else will read before they book a flight: Concierge.com's "Vote for your favorite" island getaways. You can vote for your favorites, "sink" the ones you hated, and even submit a location or two of your own. It's fast, anonymous, and free, so there's no reason you shouldn't pop over and see what's topping the list!
First class fliers on Qantas have a new place to relax in Sydney. The airline recently opened a new flagship lounge designed by famed industrial designer Marc Newson. Features of the lounge include chair-side waiter service, concierge service and complimentary spa treatments. The Sydney lounge will include huge American oak sculptures that separate the lounge space into defined areas, a Payot Paris day spa, a 48-seat open kitchen restaurant with menus by Neil Perry, a library stocked with newspapers and magazines, books and board games, a dedicated entertainment zone with banks of plasma screens, marble-lined shower suites and business facilities with 11 PC workstations. The lounge is part of Qantas's luxury push in anticipation of getting their first Airbus A380 in 2008.
Having a concierge on call at all times is a pricey proposition, although it can certainly be done. Perhaps the next best thing would be to have a virtual concierge on call to help you out when you're traveling. Concierge.com, the online portal for Condé Nast Traveler, wants to help all of us out in this respect and has just launched Concierge Mobile to do so. Concierge Mobile lets you access over 200 destination guides, as well as weather updates and info on Condé Nast Traveler's Gold List of the world's top hotels. From the website, you can send yourself hotel, restaurant and activity details to plan your trip.
You'll still have to do the shopping yourself, but at least you'll know where to go to do it!
While massages and attentive butlers are all well and good when it comes to getting pampered on a vacation, few things are as relaxing as yoga - and even fewer when that yoga is taking place at a gorgeous spa. Concierge.com has a list of their top ten yoga retreats, chosen from resorts all across the world. Some of their top picks include:
Wildflower Hall in India - Yoga was invented in the Himalayas, so this mountain-top retreat can really get you inspired
Chiva-Som in Thailand - One of Thailand's top spas, with all-private instruction, customized to your preferences.
Maya Tulum in Mexico - Set between the ocean and the Mayan ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula, you'll relax, workout and get to hobnob with the glitterati who frequent the retreat.
Mint Lifestyle is an exclusive, members-only luxury concierge service based in Los Angeles, though they have clients and connections all over the world. With a membership limited to 250 - and so exclusive that it has been likened to a virtual country club - clients get the best service possible from a highly-trained staff. Unlike other concierge services, which tend to deal primarily with the minor details of daily life, their services include, but are not limited to, arranging luxury travel, event planning, finding staff, coordinating the purchase of rare or luxury vehicles and even securing real estate within days. Need a private jet for a quick trip or a suite at the hottest new luxury hotel? No problem. Of course, they can also arrange the more mundane tasks, if necessary, but the majority of their clients already have people to pick up their dry cleaning. The most attentive service money can buy is only $20,000 per year.
According to a post on Hotel Hotsheet, at least one boutique hotel - Hotel Palomar in Washington - has hired a few unusual people to train its staff members. Their trainers include improve actors and a ballet master. This is a twist on the real estate trend of having actors play a family in a home that is up for sale, but serves the same function in adding to the overall presentation of the hotel. While every detail counts in the marketing of a boutique hotel, I've never heard anyone comment that a hotel had graceful staff - gracious, perhaps, but not graceful. Is this a selling point, or simply one of those unnoticed details that adds a tiny bit to the hotel's overall presentation? And if it is the latter, is the expense really worth it to the hotel?
There is no reason to wait until the next time you're staying at a luxury hotel to enjoy outstanding concierge service. Many companies around the country offer personal concierge services and the ever-helpful Cranky Consumer column in the Wall Street Journal put a few from all over the country to the test. And with a name like "cranky," you might assume that there would be some complaints about some of the service they received, but there were really none worth making.
The upshot of their personal concierge trials was that the companies (Andrea Herbert Lifestyle, NY; Prominent Concierge, Atlanta; Gofer Girls, LA; Upon Your Request, Dallas; Envy Concierge, SF) were all very professional and very helpful. They did everything from playing with pets when the owners were out of town to locating kosher caters for an upcoming party. Having a concierge service available is an indulgence, but when life gets busy or stressful, they can accomplish a whole to-do list in just hours. And with rates ranging from $25 to $50 per hour, sometimes the tradeoff is well worth it.
Mint Lifestyle
According to a post 
