Hotel
| The 4-star Manor House Hotel at Castle Combe, Wiltshire, England. Built in the fourteenth century, the hotel has 48 rooms and 365 acres (1.5 km²) of gardens. |
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A
hotel is an establishment that provides paid
lodging, usually on a short-term basis. Hotels often provide a number of additional guest services such as a
restaurant, a
swimming pool or
childcare. Some hotels have
conference services and
meeting rooms and encourage groups to hold
conventions and
meetings at their location.
Hotels differ from
motels in that most motels have drive-up, exterior entrances to the rooms, while hotels tend to have interior entrances to the rooms, which may increase guests' safety and present a more upmarket image.
In
Australia a hotel may also be an establishment that serves
alcoholic drinks and usually meals in a casual setting but which does not necessarily provide accommodation. This type of establishment would more usually be called a
pub or
bar in other countries. In general use in Australia the terms '"hotel" and
pub are usually taken to be
synonymous.
The word
hotel derives from the
French hôtel, which referred to a French version of a
townhouse, not a place offering accommodation (in contemporary usage,
hôtel has the meaning of "hotel", and
hôtel particulier is used for the old meaning). The French spelling (with the
circumflex) was once also used in English, but is now rare. The circumflex replaces the 's' once preceding the 't' in the earlier
hostel spelling, which over time received a new, but closely related meaning.
Basic accommodation of a room with only a
bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with
en-suite bathrooms and climate control. Other features found may be a
telephone, an
alarm clock, a
TV, and
broadband Internet connectivity. Food and drink may be supplied by a
mini-bar (which often includes a small
refrigerator) containing
snacks and
drinks (to be paid for on departure), and
tea and
coffee making facilities (cups,
spoons, an electric
kettle and sachets containing
instant coffee,
tea bags,
sugar, and
creamer or
milk).
In the United Kingdom a hotel is required by law to serve food and drinks to all comers within certain stated hours; to avoid this requirement it is not uncommon to come across "
private hotels" which are not subject to this requirement.
However, in
Japan the
capsule hotel supplies minimal facilities and room space.
The cost and quality of hotels are usually indicative of the range and type of services available. Due to the enormous increase in
tourism worldwide during the last decades of the
20th century, standards, especially those of smaller establishments, have improved considerably. For the sake of greater comparability, rating systems have been introduced, with the
one to five stars classification being most common.
"
Boutique Hotel" is a term originating in
North America to describe intimate, usually luxurious or quirky hotel environments. Boutique hotels differentiate themselves from larger chain or branded hotels by providing an exceptional and personalized level of accommodation, services and facilities.
Boutique hotels are furnished in a themed, stylish and/or aspirational manner. Although usually considerably smaller than a mainstream hotel (ranging from 3 to 100 guest rooms) boutique hotels are generally fitted with telephone and
wi-fi Internet connections,
honesty bars and often cable/pay TV. Guest services are attended to by 24 hour hotel staff. Many boutique hotels have on site dining facilities, and the majority offer bars and lounges which may also be open to the general public.
Of the total travel market a small percentage are discerning travelers, who place a high importance on privacy, luxury and service delivery. As this market is typically corporate travelers, the market segment is non-seasonal, high-yielding and repeat, and therefore one which boutique hotel operators target as their primary source of income.
Some hotels have gained their renown through tradition, by hosting significant events or persons, such as Schloss
Cecilienhof in
Potsdam,
Germany, which derives its fame from the so-called
Potsdam Conference of the
World War II allies
Winston Churchill,
Harry Truman and
Joseph Stalin in
1945. Other establishments have given name to a particular meal or beverage, as is the case with the
Waldorf Astoria in
New York City,
USA, known for its
Waldorf Salad or the
Raffles Hotel in
Singapore, where the drink
Singapore Sling was invented. Another example is the
Hotel Sacher in
Vienna Austria, home of the
Sachertorte.
A number of hotels have entered the public consciousness through popular culture, such as the
Ritz Hotel in
London,
UK ('Putting on The Ritz') and
Hotel Chelsea in New York City, subject of a number of songs and also the scene of the alleged stabbing of
Nancy Spungen by her boyfriend
Sid Vicious. Hotels that enter folklore like these two are also often frequented by celebrities, as is the case both with the Ritz and the Chelsea. Other famous hotels include the
Beverly Hills Hotel, the
Hotel Bel-Air and the
Chateau Marmont, in
California,
USA, the
Hotel George V in
Paris and the
Palazzo Versace hotel on the
Gold Coast,
Queensland,
Australia.
|
The first of the Ariau towers |
Treehouse hotels
Some hotels, such as the
Costa Rica Tree House in the
Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge,
Costa Rica, or
Treetops Hotel in
Aberdare National Park,
Kenya, are built with living trees as structural elements, making them
treehouses.
The
Ariau Towers near Manaus, Brazil is in the middle of the Amazon, on the Rio Negro. Bill Gates even invested and had a suite built there with satellite internet/phone.
Cave hotels
Desert Cave Hotel in
Coober Pedy, South Australia and the
Cuevas Pedro Antonio de Alarcón (named after the
author) in
Guadix, Spain, as well as several hotels in
Cappadocia, Turkey, are notable for being built into natural
cave formations, some with rooms underground.
Capsule hotels
Capsule hotels are a type of economy hotel that are common in
Japan.
Ice hotels
Main article: Ice hotel
Ice hotels, such as the Ice Hotel in
Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, melt every spring and are rebuilt out of ice and snow each winter.
Garden hotels
Garden hotels, famous for their gardens before they became hotels, includes Gravetye Manor, the home of
William Robinson and
Cliveden, designed by
Charles Barry with a rose garden by
Geoffrey Jellicoe.
Underwater hotels
As of
2005, the only hotel with an underwater room that can be reached without
Scuba diving is
Utter Inn in
Lake Mälaren, Sweden. It only has one room, however, and
Jules' Undersea Lodge in
Key Largo, Florida, which requires scuba diving, is not much bigger.
Hydropolis is an ambitious project to build a luxury hotel in
Dubai,
UAE, with 220 suites, all on the bottom of the
Persian Gulf, 20 meters (66 feet) below the surface. Its architecture will feature two domes that break the surface and an underwater train tunnel, all made of transparent materials such as glass and
acrylic.
Other unusual hotels
The
Library Hotel in
New York City is unique in that its ten floors are arranged according to the
Dewey Decimal System.
The
Rogers Centre, formerly SkyDome, in
Toronto, Canada is the only stadium to have a hotel connected to it, with 70 rooms overlooking the field.
The
Burj al-Arab hotel in
Dubai,
United Arab Emirates, built on an artificial island, is structured in the shape of a sail of a boat.
Tallest
The tallest hotel in the world is the
Burj al-Arab in
Dubai,
United Arab Emirates at 321 meters (1,053 feet). However, this title may be taken by the less illustrious
Ryugyong Hotel in
Pyongyang at 330 meters (1,083 feet), pending its (perhaps unlikely) completion; it has been under construction since
1987 and was abandoned in
1992.
Largest
The current largest hotel in the world is First World Hotel in
Genting Highlands,
Malaysia.
[Hotel in Genting named as world's largest [1]] It has a total of 6,118 rooms, and is part of the Genting Highlands Resort and Casino. The First World Plaza which is adjoined to the two hotel towers boasts 500,000 square feet of indoor theme park, shopping centres, casino gaming areas, and eateries. Previously, the largest hotel in the world was the
MGM Grand Las Vegas in
Las Vegas,
Nevada,
USA with 5,690 rooms.
Oldest
According to the
Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest hotel still in operation is the
Hoshi Ryokan, in
Awazu,
Japan. It opened in
717 CE, and features hot springs.
The
American billionaire Howard Hughes lived much of his life in hotels. He moved with his entourage from hotel to hotel and from
Beverly Hills to
Boston before deciding to move to
Las Vegas and become a casino baron. Less than a month after his
November 27,
1966 arrival , Hughes made a public offer to buy the
Desert Inn. The hotel's 8th floor became the nerve center of his empire and the 9th floor penthouse became Hughes's personal residence. Hughes moved to the
Bahamas,
Vancouver,
London and several other locations â€" always taking up residence in the top floor penthouse of the hotel. Between
1966 and
1968, he also purchased several other hotel-casinos from the
Mafia:
Castaways,
New Frontier,
The Landmark Hotel and Casino,
Sands and
Silver Slipper.
Coco Chanel made the Hôtel Ritz in Paris her home for more than thirty years, until the day of her death, at 87, in a suite now named "Coco Chanel Suite".
King
Peter II of Yugoslavia spent much of the
Second World War at
Claridge's, a hotel in
London. His son,
Aleksandar Karađorđević, was born in the hotel.
Prince
Felix Yusupov lived in the
Hotel Vendôme in
Paris.
Sultan
Said Bin Taimur of Muscat lived at
Dorchester Hotel in
London after he was deposed by
Qaboos of Oman in
1970, He died in the hotel in
1972.
Eleftherios Venizelos, Greek statesman and diplomat, lived in the
Hôtel Ritz Paris while he was in exile in
France from
1935-
1936.
Hotels have been chosen by authors as settings for
crime fiction,
farce and
mystery works. A hotel is perfect as a mysterious, anonymous setting where various characters may gather. Hotels also feature in
films,
television series,
songs and even
theme park rides.
Examples:
Hyperion HotelGrand HotelRoom ServicePlaza SuiteTipton Hotel on Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody"
The Hotel New HampshireFawlty TowersWhite Horse InnHotelierHotel Babylon*"
Hotel California"
*
Agatha Christie's
Evil Under the SunHotel Denouement from
the Penultimate Peril by
Lemony SnicketA Caribbean MysteryAt Bertram's Hotel*
Cyril Hare's
Suicide ExceptedHotel Rwanda*"
Hollywood Tower Hotel" (ride at
Disney-MGM Studios,
Orlando,
Florida)
The Overlook Hotel from
The Shining
*Hotel
*Hotel Trianon in Graham Greene's The Comedians
*The Leaky CauldronIn
India, the word may also refer to a
restaurant since the best restaurants were always situated next to a good hotel.
*
Hotel chain*
Resort*
Luxury resort*
Hospitality services*
List of lodging types**
Apartment**
Bed and breakfast**
Extended stay hotel**
Guest House**
Hostel**
Hostal**
Motel**
Single Room Occupancy**
Suite*
Hilbert's paradox of the Grand Hotel (mathematics)
*
Apartment hotel
