Once, suites were the crème de la crème of a guest stay experience, but now the lure of the low-profile hidden hotel reigns supreme. Offering private arrivals, dedicated personalized service and luxury products billed as “standard” amenities, secret hotels are not just for the famous, but you will need to be hip enough to know about them.
With over-the-top perks casually offered as if they were no big deal, hotels-within-hotels provide enough cache that more and more guests are willing to shell out a few extra bucks (ok, a few hundred or several thousand extra bucks) for the privilege of posh pampering (and bragging rights). Discover how three brands are reaching out to this discerning market.
Beach Village at The Del – Coronado, Calif.
©Beach Village at The Del
Nestled adjacent to the Hotel Del in Coronado, Calif., Beach Village is so discreet that a Google search of that phrase didn’t pop up a link until page five. My husband and I stumbled upon this beachfront gem accidentally and had such a luxe experience that we still talk about it several years later. From restricted guest-only entry and pools to standard rooms fitted with fireplaces, impossibly deep soaking tubs and individual balconies, it would have made me a hotel snob – if I wasn’t one already.
Offering just under 80 accommodations, Beach Village is comprised of several three-story-tall buildings, just steps away from the Pacific. While more than our already stretched budget would allow, guests able to pony up for larger suites also will enjoy kitchens (where chefs from The Del will cook for you, if desired), living and dining spaces, outdoor fire pits and your own Jacuzzis.
Besides plush digs, guests also enjoy exclusive access to their own concierge staff, poolside café (serving up some of the yummiest casual eats I can remember) and the Windsor Club Cottage, a fancy name for a cute little beachside eatery where Beach Village patrons can enjoy light refreshments, complimentary.
Floor Plans: One- to Three-Bedrooms
Square Footage: 535 to 2,035
Meeting Space: Available at adjacent sister property, The Del
Hotel Beaux Arts – Miami, Fla.
©Marriott Intl. Inc.
Opening fall 2010, Hotel Beaux Arts will be located on the top floors of the also soon-to-open JW Marriott Marquis in what’s being billed as Miami’s hot new urban destination, Metropolitan Miami.
The intimate hotel-within-a-hotel will offer only 44 accommodations, but promises to be big on style. Fine furnishings will include Italian marble bathrooms, Brazilian cherry wood flooring and state-of-the-art Bang & Olufsen audio/visual systems.
Guests also will be pampered with a private check-in lobby, an exclusive lounge, a dedicated concierge, complimentary shoeshines and WiFi and in-room espresso machines and, for the tech obsessed, iPads.
Floor Plans: One Bedrooms Only, Six Different Configurations
Square Footage: 522 to 1,039
Meeting Space: Available just below at sister property, JW Marriott Marquis
HOTEL32 – Las Vegas, Nev.
©MGM Resorts Intl.
32 floors up from the Las Vegas Strip atop the Monte Carlo resort sits HOTEL32. Simply named, the boutique delivers an almost complex list of amenities.
Roundtrip airport transfers in a limo, personalized curbside greetings, in-room check-ins (no waiting in the lobby for these guests), a pillow menu (when the standard pillow just won’t do), dedicated suite assistants (apparently what you get when you cross a butler with a concierge), a private lounge serving complimentary refreshments ,and complimentary iPod, Wii and laptop rentals are just a few of the standard offerings.
Accommodations, providing sweeping views of Las Vegas, range from studios (not much different than the standard rooms you'll find at any newer Las Vegas property) to impressive two-bedroom penthouses featuring bathrooms as big as the bedrooms themselves (no, I'm not exaggerating).
Floor Plans: Studios to Two-Bedrooms
Square Footage: 406 to 2,000
Meeting Space: Available just below at sister property, Monte Carlo