The term ‘boutique’ is used way too much these days (yep, it drives me mad!!) and often simply to portray the bland and medium-sized as something else. This especially applies to hotels, and hotel owners are undoubtedly the biggest culprits.
The idea of a ‘boutique’ hotel, as the French-derived adjective suggests, has its roots in Europe, but in the past decade the concept has been adopted, abused and bandied about, most of all in Asia and the US.
So what does ‘boutique hotel’ really mean? Well, I’d go for a mix of the dictionary definition of the adjective: small, independently owned, with a sense of the noun’s meaning: concerned with aesthetics (though not necessarily in fashion), excellence in taste, with attention to detail and the personal touch of the owner.
Holiday accommodation is more varied than ever but please don’t be fooled by the endless reviews and descriptions that the internet offers; just like with any topic there is a mass of uninformed opinion online masquerading as fact.
Next time you read ‘boutique hotel’ our advice would be to simply look at the hotel’s photos, these often give a truer sense of the place than the owner’s imaginative description!