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best hotel bath amenities
So many 4 and 5 star hotels offer inferior amenities, harsh shampoos etc. <BR>Does anyone have a favourite hotel where they've enjoyed really nice soaps, lotions, etc.<BR>Thanks.
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The Wyndham provides juniper scented Bath and Body Works products.
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Bath and Bodyworks stuff is cheap and too perfumey. The Carlyle has Kiehl's as does The Hotel Bel-Air which I love. Also, a resort with a spa usually has wonderful bath amenities.
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The 4 Seasons in Beverly Hills carries Bulgari shampoo, soap, etc. Wonderful products!
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The Hawaii Prince hotel in Waikiki provides Aveda products. aaaahhh.
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Four Seasons, Maui--L'Occtaine (I think I spelled that wrong) products are great! They even provide "after sun balm"!
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The Le Germain Hotel in Montreal uses Aveda Rosemary bath and other Aveda products. I always go shopping at Aveda when there so I can bring it home with me! <BR>Re: shampoos, I only use my own so I don't have any experience with hotel shampoos. (having used them in the past, my conclusion was that they were all drying and harsh)
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Are any of these products available for purchase at the hotels or in local outlets? I understand that Bath and Bodyworks is a major chain, but the Kiels and Aveda and others mention - can they be purchased commercially? (I'm in Canada but will be travelling to the US this weekend)<BR>Thanks.
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Kiehls has a web site:www.kiehls.com
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The amenities at Westin's properties all smell like bug spray. On a recent stay, my husband who sually could care less about the shampoo he uses on the little patch of hair he has even complained that his head smelled like insect repellent
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Smelled like bug spray? That is depressing - and you know it's bad when a man complains.<BR>I guess my biggest gripe is that when you spend a lot for a nice room - the products just don't seem to reflect that - the shampoos are my worst complaint - they're always so harsh, and the lotions too seem very watery - not very rich - which you wouldn't mind if you were staying in a lower-priced hotel.
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Arlene, I got my Aveda products on ST Catherine St in Montreal, but I believe the Aveda shops are in most large cities. Check their website.
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So, tell me, are you going to select your next luxury hotel stay based on the amenities in the bathroom?
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Sofitel Hotels have Roger Gallet bath products. Simply fantastic.
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To answer Howard - if I was riding the fence between two properties - yes, the bath amenities could most definitely be the deciding factor. That might be a woman thing, though.
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I really liked the fact that I got a big container of bath salts in both the Renaissance Lodge at Sonoma and the Kahala Mandarin Oriental on Oahu. <BR><BR>Aveda products in the bathroom will always make me smile. I admit, it is one of the first things I'll look at when checking into a room.
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They had Aveda products at the Radisson Hotel at Fisherman's Wharf - and also a very nice oatmeal soap. I was pleasantly surprised since the hotel was not expensive at all.
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Hotel Pacific in Monterey had the Aveda bath products, as did the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. They smell nice, but the shampoo & conditioners do not seem to work well with my long straight hair. Other than that, I like the products.<BR>We just got back from the Venetian in Las Vegas, and just for the sheer bulk of stuff they had I was really overwhelmed: shampoo (x3), conditioner (x3), hair spray (x2), mouthwash (x2), sewing kits (x2), shower caps (x2), fancy soap (x5), cotton balls & qtips (x2), bubble bath (1), shower gel (x2), dental kits (x2), shaving kits (x2), and scrubby balls (for lack of a better word)(x2). This was for a 1 night stay. I have to tell you, you needed an oversize doggy bag to load up all that stuff! The products weren't gross either. Very light fragrance and not harsh.<BR>My all time favorite bathroom amenities, however, were the ones in the Radisson Hotels in Scandinavia. They were superbly packaged, in clear tub-like plastic containers. The products themselves were each a different color liquid, almost like a painting palette.
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Wow! You sure lucked-out at the Venetian. I've never heard of anything that lavish before when you're getting all of those things in multiples. It also seems that Hawaiian hotels are more generous and have higher quality bath items.<BR>I wish hotels would begin to realize that most of us don't want to travel with our own bulky supplies so we really rely on them to have usable products.
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What IS this world coming too? LOL Hotels should provide us with high quality products (and maybe multiples--and hey the doggie bags to go with them please) so we don't have to cart around our stuff?! Is there an end? Maybe a wardrobe appropriate for the restaurant? <BR><BR>There are few hotels whose products I care for. I'll use them in a pinch if I forget my own, but I wouldn't dream of relying on them for moisturizer or shampoo, preferring my own, and if my soap weren't so danged messy, I'd bring that along too. I carry my own hairdryer because I can't stand the wimpy ones in all hotel bathrooms. Aside from the hairdryer, it isn't a heck of a lot of effort, and there are handy little containers you can purchase specifically for carrying small quantities of your toiletries. Like it or not, we still are responsible for providing for our own needs.<BR><BR>I dunno, I dunno. Our hotel even runs ads about their amenities...Portico. I read the last note to my DH as he came in. He just laughed--"It's the way people think" he says. Me...I'd never make a good hotelier. Good thing it's him with that job, not me! LOL My mind simply does not work that way. I'm responsible for myself, period, and if I don't choose to bring my stuff along, then I takes what I gets--happily.
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Yes, you've got some good points OliveOyl about taking care of your own responsibilities etc., and yes, I agree that we are completely responsible for bringing whatever we'll need on a trip. I guess one of my beefs is that it has been a 'custom' in the hotel industry for so long now that I guess we expect it. As far as quality goes I just think it would be nice if we're paying $$$ for a room which includes clean surroundings, a telephone, maybe a data-port, and a comfortable bed that nice bath products just add to the ambience and experience that we bring away with us from our stay there in my humble opinion.
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Many nicer hotels carry Aveda products -- these are my favorites. I use Aveda in my everyday life, so it's nice to see it in a hotel; most hotel shampoos are too harsh. I wish more hotels would offer body wash instead of bar soap -- it's so bad for your skin!
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"Travelisfun" - you're right those L'Occitane products are wonderful! The company is on the internet at http://www.loccitane.com (you can buy products on the website) and they have several stores in the US check the website, there are some in Chicago, NYC, etc.
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I never used Aveda until a few years ago when the hotel in Montreal provided the soaps and body wash. I don't use the moisturizers or shampoos but the Rosemary soap and body wash are great! I would never have known if I hadn't stayed at a hotel that provided them.<BR>I seem to remember, a long time ago, hotels supplied little bitty bars of Dove or Ivory soaps or something generic. It was soap and did what soap was supposed to do. But hotels used to cost under $100 a night also.<BR> Now if you are staying in a $150-$300 a night hotel room, that is very luxurious, doesn't it make sense that the soaps/lotions/potions be as luxurious? <BR>Some people don't see any sense in dataports either, not everybody travels with a computer..everyone needs soap though. <BR>It is just the way things are now-I think it would be great if I didn't have to pack blower, toothpaste, lotions,etc that just weigh down my bag. I would love it if I could buy clothes wherever I travel and not have to pack at all! :)
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I guess everyone looks for different things in a hotel. I always bring my own toiletries, but if the products provided look interesting, I'll try them. <BR><BR>My husband (who normally uses whatever shampoo I put in the shower) has carried his own shampoo ever since staying at a place with peach bath and body works shampoo - said he felt way TOO fragrant all day.
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Yes, I remember those days too - the teeny tiny bar of Ivory or Camay, but you're absolutely right - in those days we weren't paying $$$ per night.
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L'occitane at the Ritz and Roger&Gallet<BR>(my fave!) at Sofitel. Funny story----my hubby always made fun of me----"she's got to stay at the Ritz or she's not happy". A bit of an exaggeration---but yea, I want a nice place. He could give a rip-----except for the time we had no reservations and had to stay at some little $29 a nite truck-stop motel, and he comes out of the bathroom saying, "geez, you don't even get any shampoo here!!!". Duh. What a wuss!! :)
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Howard, I've found that if a hotel will pay that much attention to the bathroom amenities, they are sticklers for detail in other areas. So yes, I will base my stay on the bathroom amenities. Spa properties have wonderful amenities. When I stayed at the Venitian, all of their stuff was Canyon Ranch.
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I always take my own with me as well but if something looks interesting in a hotel I'll give it a try. The ONLY hotel products I have then sought out when I got home were the Hermes products provided at Eden Rock Hotel on St. Barths. Not too floral and not too masculine but just right. I hit the local Sephora when I got home and stocked up. They are great.
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Monte Carlo in Las Vegas provides nice Gilchrist & Soames bath products, and they also sell larger sizes in their gift shop.
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Arlene,<BR>As Scarlett has already said, most cities have Aveda shops, but another option is to just find an Aveda salon/day spa or any other salon that uses Aveda products ( they will be listed in the Yellow Pages) and purchase your products from them.<BR>
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The last time I was in Atlanta our hotel had generic stuff but while in the Origins store I mentioned that how tired I was and how I just wanted to go back to the hotel and take a bath. The salesclerk gave me tons of samples of their ginger fragrance. I had bubble bath and shower gel and shampoo and lotion. It was great.
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now this may sound unusual, but...<BR><BR>aladdin hotel in vegas has eucalyptus shampoo, conditioner and bath gel. we keep them in our guest bath and we've had people ask if they sell them outside the hotel, which they do. call the aladdin and they'll transfer you to the company that sells the stuff.
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I think that's a wonderful idea for the Monte Carlo hotel to sell larger sizes of their bath products - I'm familiar with the Nicholas and Soames and they are very nice. I wonder if many hotels do the same thing - sell larger sizes for at-home use? Has anyone tried the Molton Brown products - they have them at the Iroquois Hotel in NYC.
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On the same note - why don't toothpaste companies provide samples to hotels? Sometimes toothpaste seems like just one extra thing to have to deal with. I hate running out mid-vacation and it's sometimes a hassle to find travel-size tubes.<BR><BR>Toothpaste companies are missing out on a huge marketing opportunity.
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Las Ventanas in San Jose del Cabo, BC Mexico. <BR><BR>I believe they make some of their own and purchase others from Europe. Wonderful smell and texture, not overwhelming at all. They also come in wonderful glass containers.
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Well, I would never select a hotel or chain based upon the "really nice soaps". Once you've found the "really nice" stuff, is it far more economical to buy and bring your own in travel sized containers than pay the different in room rates. It's sort of like picking a hotel that has terry bathrobes you'll never bother using.<BR><BR>And, I used to restict myself to hotels with mini-bars and in-room coffee pots. (We hate powdered "cream".) Now, if we're driving, we bring our own coffee pot and mini-fridge. Especially, since many of the "better" chains are converting to infra-red mini-bars.
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Maison Arabe in Marracech, Morocco was small, but luxurious. Marble throughout with a cove brick ceiling. Nice lighting. High end toletries. Maid service 2x daily. Beautiful presentation. Casa de Carmona in Carmona (near Seville) was also luxurious and very spacious. We had a suite which included a sleeping loft w/sleigh bed. The bathroom was the size of a small bedroom with double pedestal sinks, plush linens, high quality toiletries, a built in glass-doored closet, separate shower with large "Rain"-type shower head, and an extra long, deep claw-foot tub that 2 could easily soak in.Le Sirenuse in Positano had the best toiletries, but the bathroom itself was just slightly above average. Oh. I just realized I was in the U.S. forum and not Europe! OK, then Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara was very plush, The Grand Californian at Disney's California Adventure had a very nice double sink area(the bath tub/toilet area was standard), Bellagio in Vegas was nice(marble, separate shower/bath, and deep soaking tub), but did not have any counter space, but a very large room if you can believe that. I rememebr our bathroom at the Westin in Washington D.C. was good. Same with the Hyatt at the Aventine in La Jolla, CA. Both had some extra niceties like premium plush towels, wicker basket hampers, and obiously professional "Designer" interiors. Overall, I think the middle to high end hotel rooms in the U.S. are pretty standard. Even when they are nice they seem pretty standard, or close to it. More corporate feeling. I find the high end bathrooms in Europe tend to be a bit variable and more interesting, and usually more plush with more toiletries (usually includes slippers, robe, sewing kit, shoe shine cloth or sponge, cotton balls & swabs, among the standard items). More like staying in someone's grand, private home. Some boutique hotels in the U.S. are doing this now, and a few chains like W.
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Just to comment on the effect very nice toiletries in a hotel room can have -- we stayed in one of my favorite hotels of all time, the Grand Hotel Villa Balbi on the Mediterranean coast of Italy with a gorgeous view of the blue Med out our window, filled with tiny sailboats bobbing in the water. The hotel provided a basket filled with ginger-scented lotions, bubble bath, etc. Not sample sizes either but full sizes. I found room in my suitcase to bring them home and savored them for so long afterward, always bringing me back to that lovely room with a view.
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It sounds like there's lots of bathers out there that enjoy their tub time at the hotel with some good quality products. One good point that someone mentioned was that a shower-gel might be appropriate for those who aren't 'soakers'. I love the big 'soaking' tubs that some hotels have - and the jacuzzis of course - you feel so pampered and relaxed after a busy day of sight-seeing - particularly with some good quality soaps and lotions. I think hotels should pay more attention to these details since so many of us obviously enjoy them!
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