Luxury hotel amenities go way beyond the plush bedding, cushy towels, and fancy turn-down chocolates of yesteryear. The ante has been upped, and we are awestruck just how over-the-top hotel amenities have become. From butler services to workout attire (including shoes!) to floating sushi trays while you lounge in the pool, these are the best luxury hotel amenities in the world.
Each hotel is being equally honored in no particular order.
Floating Sushi
Necker Island, British Virgin Islands
Long before those ‘floating breakfasts’ splashed their way onto instagram, Sir Richard Branson was floating his now-famous sushi bar tray to guests at his private Necker Island home. At least once each stay, the chef fills a wooden kayak with fresh-made sushi, adorned with tropical flowers and palm fronds, and floats it out to guests lounging in the decadent beachfront pool.
Workout Gear and Full Skin-Care Line
Golden Door, San Marcos, California
Guests need not pack much for their week-long, mind-body-soul journey to Golden Door, one of the top destination spas in the United States. Arrive to your Japanese-inspired room, surrounded by lush gardens, to find a perfectly (pre-sized) wardrobe of workout clothes, fleece jacket for those chilly before-dawn hikes, reusable water bottle, journal, yoga mat, yukata (cotton kimono) and sandals that is typical dinner attire. The icing on the cake comes, however, in the complete Golden Door skincare line awaiting you in the bathroom. We are not talking a sample-size body lotion or even cleanser, but full-size products, including the spa’s signature golden peel-a-way masque.
Private Onsen
Zaborin, Hokkaido, Japan
Japan is world renowned for its ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) built around onsens (natural hot springs, rich in minerals). But Zaborin, a ryokan located in Hokkaido, raises the bar on both. Typically bathing in an onsen is a communal experience. At Zaborin, however, each of its 15 villas, surrounded by white birch trees and named for the unusual delicate snow (created by the freezing Siberian winds) that falls upon the region, come with two completely private onsens. One is indoors, the other open air. Choose from ‘Washitsu’ villas – Japanese in style with beautiful tatami mats and thick modern futons; or Yoshitsu, western-style beds, spacious living rooms and bathrooms. All offer views of Mt. Yotei or Annupuri and the Waisuhorn mountain ranges.
Tartan Butler
The Balmoral Hotel, Edinburg, Scotland
Guests of Rocco Forte’s Balmoral Hotel who want to know more about their Scottish lineage can simply dial up the tartan butler. The hotel’s resident tartan guru helps guests uncover their Scottish heritage right down to their related clan. The butler will even arrange an outing to Kinloch Anderson, the city’s most celebrated kilt shop for a tartan fitting.
Customized Fireworks Display
Las Ventanas al Paraiso, Los Cabos, Mexico
Owned by Beanie Baby and toy-making billionaire Ty Warner, Las Ventanas al Paraiso, a Rosewood Resort, is chock full of luxurious and fun amenities: an outdoor cinema on the beach, tequila master, shamanic Mayan healer, lavish villas with private pools and bars; and for pets a made-to-order meal menu, massages, beach cabanas, and walks (by butlers). But the most over-the-top amenity comes in reserving the Ty Warner Mansion where guests will find their own vintage arcade games, private chef, chauffeur, and customized fireworks display.
