We get asked a lot about our criteria for hotels being listed on Tripzuki. Here, contributors Deepti Kapoor & Matthew Parker give some insight into what makes them deliver a great write-up for the boutique hotels they explore.
Different hotels have their different charms, and each place we love we tend to love for a specific reason. At the same time, there’s one essential that’s universally required to make love bloom. That one thing is good service.
Now this doesn’t mean fawning service, or painfully attentive service, which is the kind of service that can be counterproductive, especially when it isn’t backed up by quality, but rather the very simple covering of the basics. You’d be surprised how many places we’ve tested out that have been lacking in this regard.
In the end, true, good service is something that should rarely even be noticed. Like the swan on the lake, it should seem elegant to the outside world while the legs paddle furiously below the surface.
Beyond this foundation, all the unique touches can come into play. Things like a great breakfast.
Sure, you can still love a place that doesn’t do a great breakfast, but a great breakfast can go a long way to winning our hearts. Of all the breakfasts we’ve had, and we’ve had many, Amarya Haveli’s French breakfast has to be the best. So much so that we’d recommend staying there for this reason alone.
But a good breakfast isn’t necessary for love. Some places provide a simple one and make up for it in other ways. Sur la Mer, in Asvem, is a prime example. It’s the kind of place that runs late into the night and doesn’t really get going again until midday the next day.
We love it regardless, and much of this has to do with the owner Aneel, who’s the life and soul, regaling guests with long and tall tales, often personally fixing drinks at the bar. And there are other owners who inspire love for their hotels, such as Simon at Vivenda in Goa and Pauline at Scarlette in Delhi.
Location is obviously another big factor. You can look out from a window or a terrace to a view that will break your heart, or find yourself in such an interesting spot that you easily forgive minor sins. SwaSwara on Om beach, Madri Haveli in the heart of Udaipur’s old city, and The Rose, in Delhi’s vibrant Hauz Khas villageare all examples of the way location can elevate a hotel beyond the norm.
And then some hotels can fill you with love despite the location they find themselves in. They become a hideout, a place of refuge from the world outside. Jodhpur’s Devi Bhavan is one such sanctuary, an oasis of calm in a nondescript region of the city, the perfect venue to recharge after sightseeing or shopping.
Finally, there are the buildings themselves, hotels possessed of stunning or special architecture. Rajasthan is full of them: Raas, Samode Palace, Samode Haveli, Hotel Diggi Palace and Madri Haveli are all exceptional in their different ways, and you can’t help but fall in love with them.
