HOTELS
PLATINUM
F
SUMMER 2011
celebratedliving.com
66
What makes a good hotel rise to the absolute top?
The answersmight— and should— surprise you.
BY ELAINEGLUSAC
Forget themarblebathrooms, thegold-leafed
lobbies, theentréesundersilvercloches.Luxury
today, according to thousandsof
Celebrated
Living
readerswho responded toourannual
PlatinumList surveyof theworld’sbest hotels,
isall about surprise.
Itcouldbemoving thebedoutdoors fora
nightunder thestars, receivingyourroomkeys
curbside,findingan iPadbedside—orevena for-
merGrandSlamwinneron the tenniscourt.
“Wherebefore luxury travelerspaid topdol-
lar,now it’saboutbreaking themoldand looking
forexperiences thatarepersonal,”saysTristan
Dowell, directorofbrands forParkHyattand
Andaz. “Guests todayare looking formoreofa
senseofexplorationandgeneral satisfaction.”
Oursurvey, of course, isquantitative.But it
isqualitativelybased, formedbyuniqueexperi-
encessuchas joggingwith thegeneralmanager,
learning tomakeamojitowith thebartender, or
trackingblue iguanaswithastaffnaturalist. In
short, “It’s theX factoryougoawaywith,”says
JamesLohan, founderandCEOofMr.&Mrs.
Smith, aLondon-basedboutiquehotel collection.
“It’scollectinggreat experiencesandsharing
themwithpeopleyou love.”
Teachingemergedasakeyexperiential
trendamong thehighest-rankinghotels.Ameri-
canExpressTravel in its2011 trend report calls
these“expectations,”builtaroundpassions.
They includeweeklydance lessonswithWorld
TangoChampionMonicaLlobetat the
BILTMORE
HOTEL
inFlorida.EachSaturday, chefsat the
CAMELBACK INN
, blue-ribbonwinneramong
Americanmainlandhotels, demonstratehow to
make thecheesepopovers itsBLTSteak restau-
rant is famous for, andonFridays, there’sa
class inpreparingguacamole tableside.Thespa
even introducedcocktail-makingclasses.
“It’sanotherway toengageguests,make them
apartof theresort,”says theresort’sgeneral
manager,JimRose. “Ourguests like learning.”
AtCamelback Inn,muchof theproduceused
in lessons isgrownon theproperty, another
