Every night on my trip to Zimbabwe made me feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. I went to bed giddy at the idea of waking up before the sun, not because I was looking forward to seeing the animals on my safari with Wilderness (though that thought didn’t hurt either), but because I knew that at 5:30 a.m. sharp I’d hear “hello...wakey wakey!” from my guide as a human wake-up call. After all, there are no in-room phones in the bush, or enough electricity for alarm clocks, so in-person is the only way to go. But more than the pleasant call, my guide brought me one special surprise: a warm cup of coffee. He paid attention to my affection for morning caffeine and brought it as a sweet little gesture to show that they really, really cared about my experience, even in the dark. This is exactly what sets them—and every outfitter and boutique hotel like them—apart from the mass-produced chains. And apparently I’m not alone in loving the little things that great hotels offer. I asked some friends of Hotels Above Par if they had any recommendations for a hotel offering a tiny but unforgettable touch, and received 150 responses in less than 24 hours. Take Sand Castle On The Beach Hotel in St. Croix as a prime example, where Jamie Valentino left his hair product at home before a Pride weekend, and the owner showed up at his door with his own. "It was such a small gesture, but it truly made my stay and reminded me why boutique hotels are so special, especially when they're owned by your own community," he says. During a stay at The Mom'Art Hotel in Paris, Carly Caramanna worked from her laptop most mornings, and when the owner noticed, she ensured that the espresso would keep coming. "As I work, she keeps bringing me more without having to ask. She's such a pleasure to chat with, and I've never had an experience like this before." At Ara Maris in Sorrento, Barbara Balfour had a dessert experience that can only be described as transcendent. “I'm still thinking about the fragrant, impossibly moist lemon Caprese cake waiting in my room at check-in. I loved it so much I asked if I could buy a slice for the journey home,” she says. “Instead, Michelin-starred executive chef Luigi Lionetti, himself a native of Capri, surprised me at checkout with a whole cake, beautifully boxed as a gift. I devoured every last bite before I even left the parking lot." For Elena Murzello, nothing will top Nostalgia Hanok in Seoul, where she was handed a box of traditional jeonggwa at check-in. "The presentation transformed check-in into a cultural experience. It is the kind of thoughtful detail that boutique hotels do best. Small in scale, but unforgettable in creating a true sense of place."
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At Mira Earth Studio in Valle de Guadalupe, Gabriel Mornelas found mornings built around the simple pleasure of enjoying a sunrise. "After the sun rises, someone drops off a beautiful basket with locally sourced food in a soft linen towel. Homemade bread and local honey, local yogurt, granola and berries, and roasted coffee. It's a thoughtful detail as you tune into the landscape." Then there’s Alamo Motel in Los Alamos, California, where Meaghan Tiernan fell in love with what happens on the slower nights. "I love that the team at Shelter Social Club thought of the midweekers and offers up a drink ticket for guests at their hotel bar, Bar Alamo, complete with fire pit, great jams, and of course, excellent cocktails." And at Ryokan Sawanoya in Tokyo, one of the first inns to welcome non-Japanese travelers, Jeff and Anne appreciated the easiest gesture of all that somehow gets overlooked more than you think: treating people like they’re humans. "They greeted us by name every morning,” the duo says. “It showed us that they were genuinely interested in our day." None of these are five-star spa menus, fancy-schmancy amenities, or private jet pickups. They're a cup of coffee, a name remembered at breakfast, and a little sweet treat. That's the difference between booking a room and booking a place that knows you. (Roundup coming soon to Hotels Above Par to share as many as I can from all your fantastic recommendations!)
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