Uncommon spaces in faraway places -- maybe this isn't the time to indulge in fancy hotels. But the quiet comfort of a luxury hotel can be yours night after night for roughly the cost of just one at any five-star hostelry. The most prestigious hotels, including the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons, will sell pretty much anything from their rooms, starting with the custom-made mattresses guests most admire and request. Sheets, duvet covers, towels, robes and toiletries are also much sought after. But business is equally brisk in less-expected items, including shower heads, bathroom tiles, lamps and desk chairs.
From the Waldorf-Astoria in New York to Shutters in Santa Monica, Calif., hotels are happy to share the distinctive wares that most reflect their image. The Waldorf sells gold cuff links with its bull and bear crest, while Shutters offers a wealth of seashell-encrusted items inspired by its oceanfront location. W Hotels, "a global luxury lifestyle brand with 26 properties in the most vibrant destinations around the world," boasts an extensive Web site as well as stores in many of its hotels. The hip chain of boutique hotels calls its style "inspiring, iconic, innovative and influential," and that's the guiding eye behind the eclectic selection of wares it features.
While many smaller or signature items have traditionally been available in hotel gift shops, the move to separate locations and Web sites has permitted the hotels to reach a wider audience, including many customers who have never been guests. The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island has a signature store by the ferry docks where visitors who can't afford the hotel's stiff daily tariff can purchase its rose-emblazoned wares and pretend they spent the night.
Souvenirs from a night spent in luxury is clearly what motivated the theft of ashtrays, bathmats and shampoo in the old days. Curtailing that behavior by offering the option to buy was one impetus for the hotels to sell their wares. But more important was the demand, passed on by concierges and hotel managers, to duplicate the hotel experience. That included numerous requests for the mattress -- something too large to be sold in a lobby. In the past 10 years the number of Web sites has grown to include not only hotels, but guides to hotel sites, such as www.beddingconcierge.com.
The prices are not inexpensive for some items from the top hotel chains -- expect to pay in the neighborhood of $1,500 for a mattress. But especially as the Web sites grow to include items that have nothing to do with the hotels (www.whotelsthestore.com is the perfect example), the prices become more democratic.
Some sites to try:
First Published: January 24, 2009, 10:00 a.m.
