In Praise of the Boutique Hotel

I struggle with being offended or mildly amused by the "inconvenient truth" about boutique hotels as offered by Liam Fitzpatrick in his piece, Boutique Hotels: Vive la Différence, that I recently came across on TIME.com.

Fitzpatrick, the travel editor of TIME magazine's Asia edition, essentially accuses boutique hotels of being unoriginal, uninspired, and disconnected from the destination cities in which they are located. He further basically charges that they have conformed to a homogeneous model of empty hedonist expression that denies patrons an authentic taste of their cities' distinctive cultural flavors.

Fitzpatrick then proceeds to poke fun at what he deems the cold and increasingly predictable design elements of boutique hotels: rooms that look like Bali meets the Body Shop; yoga mats tucked in drawers where Gideon Bibles once dwelt; spare floral arrangements; sterile and medicinal single-named bars ("Dose"), restaurants ("Lemongrass") and spas ("Spa") that over-promise and under-deliver-all contributing to a stay that resembles a long-term incarceration.

Hey Fitzy, perhaps you've become a little jaded and all your travel required for your travel editing has gotten to you?

Anytime you're bemoaning Frette bed linens, it's time for a little time out. You sound like a cranky unappreciative child. Quit whining, go home and take a s-a-b-b-a-t-i-c-a-l.

Here's my take: boutique hotels are the blank canvas upon which you paint your travel experience. You can use a pastel palette or bring out your bold oils and vibrant acrylics.

Boutique hotels subtly delight your senses by unobtrusively tending to your subconscious aesthetic requirements. They don't have to be the hoopla. Your destination is the hoopla. But even if your travel intentions don't pan out to be all that you desired, you are sure to have an oh-so-comforting place to lament and contemplate why not within the confines a boutique hotel.