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The Hotels with the Best Toiletries

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    I noticed from cibo's post a few weeks ago about the Four Seasons George V leaves its guests Bulgari toiletries in their hotel room bathrooms.

    george-v-bulgari.jpg

    Not that anyone's going to run out and book the next flight to visit a hotel solely because it's stocked with fine products, but it would be cool to start up a list of the top hotels that go above and beyond when it comes to their toiletries.

    So, anyone have any hotels with first class toiletries to add to the list?

    Don't forget to mention which brands each hotel uses!

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    The Four Seasons, Maui stocks the place with fabulous l'Occitane products, including excellent apres-soleil and sunscreen. Shutters, Santa Monica stocks their bathroom (and guest rooms, for that matter) with in house brand items for sale, which are disappointing, in my opinion.

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    Singita Boulders Lodge in South Africa had toiletries from Dermalogica. Not to shabby for the end of the Earth and in the Bush.

      dermalogica-singita.jpg
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    If I can remember correctly from looking at my own bag of stolen ;) hotel toiletries, the Villa San Michele had a nice assortment of products from Penhaligon's, Molton Brown and Bulgari.

    They also left us a pair of large tea-bags that went in your bath from Bulgari. One of the best baths I've ever taken. It didn't hurt that the tub was long enough to fully stretch out in.

    Guess I'll add small bath tubs to the hotel pet peeves list!

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    the sagamore in miami stocks Fresh products, while the raleigh in miami stocks Kiehl's!

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    A good test of a top hotel. The New York Hilton on 6th and 53rd (yes, what on earth was I doing there last weekend? - and it shouldn't even be mentioned on this page except for the fact that a double ran out at $800 a night with taxes)... had Crabtree La Source in tiny plastic bottles which meant that you could only use half the lotion. It's surprising how many really expensive places make do with 'home bottled' stuff. The Taj in Bombay offends in this penny-pinching way, despite a double room costing the same as that Hilton all year round! Nevertheless it's one of my world favourite hotels. Bulgari stuff is excellent. After they changed to an inferior brand, the Island Shangri-La in Hong Kong continued to put Bulgari specially in my bathroom. Now that's good service!

  7.  

    The sublime Hotel LKF in Hong Kong has Aveda products.

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    the roosevelt hollywood hotel is cozy, decadent and unpretentious in a pretentious sort of way. the toiletries are Fresh, and they dont skimp - toiletries were replaced every day in my room regardless as to how much was left in the used bottles.
    oh, and they left cologne & what looked like pill bottles next to the bed every night... but they were full of M&Ms LOL =)
    sooo hollywood!

    im attaching a pic, and i know the M&Ms are missing from the container 0-:-)

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    on the other hand... recently stayed at the Oceana Resort Santa Barbara, and while the Aveda products rocked, they've stopped giving out body wash and replaced it with a bar of soap. Eww!

    NOW, LOOK CLOSER...
    notice the cottonball/qtip pack. can you read it?
    it says "Use cotton swabs for OUTSIDE of car only. Do NOT place inside ear canal, may result in injury." Made in China.

    CAR?! talk about quality control, yeesh. and why are they cap-yelling? when i pointed it out to the staff, they just shrugged.
    *shrug*

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    The Oceana would be better off removing the wrapper and placing it in a simple jar. Who wants to open a crinkly potato chip bag to get to cotton balls and QTips? Aveda could stand a brand refresh too. Looks depressing in the photo.

    Love the photo from the Roosevelt!

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    I am in LOVE with toiletries from Essential Elements, a San Francisco based company that produces amazing essential oils products. I have stocked them from my stays at the Flatotel Manhattan, but I know other hotels carry those. I would stay at a hotel just based on these toiletries. :)

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    The Bowery hotel has Bigelow toiletries--lavender scented, in retro bottles that reflect the general ambience of the place. I liked the Paul Labrecque stuff at the Hotel on Rivington too. The lotion comes in a nifty little pump bottle.

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    One Aldwych in London has REN products that are free of all bad stuff and smell gorgeous. Their pool is superb too with soothing music playing underwater! Very good location too.

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    The Hay Adams in Washington, DC had Etro toiletries from Italy last time I stayed there. A real treat.

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    The Peninsula in Beverly Hills has Molton Brown toiletries in their own custom packaging. Personally, I prefer the regular Molton Brown packaging.

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    The Bowery Hotel in New York has toiletries from Bigelow Chemists, which is Ameica's oldest Apothecary, still in operation in New York. Their products are excellent, and the packaging takes its cue from the original bottles that they used to sell. Very beautiful.

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    during a recent weekend stay at the hyatt regency dubai, I got a deal on an upgrade to their royal suite, not only had they a fully stocked bar (with full bottles of chivas regal, absolut and beefeaters) free to our usage but their toiletries were blowing me away with ermenegildo zegna products from lotion over conditioner to eau de toilette. we felt like we got more back then we were paying for and felt cheap to take it home but it was just too nice to pass on...

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    The Bacara in Santa Barbara has Fresh products, which are high quality. Personally, I'm always disappointed to see Molton Brown, which is pretty common stuff, even when it's customized as for Shutters in Santa Monica, which has Molton Brown products in the hotel's signature blue shade--who wants to use bright blue chemicals on their body in this environmentally conscious age? W Hotels, in NYC at least, offer Bliss, which is always a treat.

    To my taste, Bulgari is too perfumey and smells cheap. I like it when a hotel offers an assortment of products, as at the Parker Palm Springs: Peter Thomas Roth sunscreen, Rosebud Salve for lips, etc.

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    Parrot Cay, in Turks and Caycos used to have Philosophy shampoo/conditioner/shower gel as well as their own signature soap which had a smell that still reminds me of my time there. Around the time that they expanded their Como Shambala spa, they got rid of the Philosophy products and replaced them with their own entire line of products with hints of eucalyptus and peppermint. The aromas are so soothing and relaxing, you'll never forget them.

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    The Alex Hotel in New York has Frederic Fekkai soaps and shampoo/conditioner.

      alex-toiletries.jpg
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    I particularly like the toiletries at the Bühlerhöhe Schloss Hotel in Germany.

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    The Ritz in Naples offered Molton Brown toiletries as well. But I agree wit another reader who admitted these seem less fabulous than, say, Fresh, as offered at Shutters or Bacara. It's always a treat when they surprise you with something better than those standard fare bars of soap and small bottle of lotion. A tiny additional touch that lingers and invites you to return.

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    On our recent stay there, Le Meurice in Paris provided us with an abundant supply of QUERCUS toiletries.

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    Actually, Quercus is one of Penhaligon's many fragrances. By no means is it an independent brand.

    For what it's worth, the Chanler Hotel in Newport also uses Penhaligon's Quercus.

    Personally, Quercus is my least favorite of the Penhaligon's frangrances. I much prefer Blenheim Bouquet, or Endymion — which have more body and character, in my opinion.

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    Forager - my wife actually commented that she really liked the fragrance of the Quercus hair conditioner. (I'm not that much into fragrances, but I do know that my hair looked really good when I was using it.) On the other hand, rather than use the Quercus products that were provided by Le Meurice, she opted to take her own (Mario Badescu) toiletries with her on our recent trip to France and we had to lug them all around Europe, despite my protestations. (She took along relatively large containers of shampoo, conditioner, hand lotion, etc. and, needless to say, our baggage was a lot heavier than it should have been.)

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    The best hotel toiletries:

    The Carneros Inn in Napa - Red Flower organic toiletries in an amazing Italian blood orange scent.
    The St. Regis in San Francisco - Laboratorie Remede toiletries.
    Elbow Beach Bermuda and Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong - Aromatherapy Associates

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    Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston also features Quercus products.

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    The Four Seasons in Austin last year had fantastic L'Occitane products. It was the Verbena line, I believe.

    I was recently disappointed by the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe's in house products--terrible for my hair, weird eucalyptus/grass smell.

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    The Cotswold House Hotel in Chipping Campden in the UK ,has Acqua Di Parma in the highest level rooms and Hermes in the rest.

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    — TimboThe Cotswold House Hotel in Chipping Campden in the UK ,has Acqua Di Parma in the highest level rooms and Hermes in the rest.

    Well, I never thought there'd be a caste system for hotel toiletries!

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    I have to say that in the UK Molton Brown is considered rather ordinary ! Also love Blakes Hotel ,London which has its own in house scented brand with Amber and Grapefruit,great fragrance that you can buy from the hotel in candles and soaps

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    One of my favorite topics is hotel toiletries, as trivial as that sounds! I'm a travel writer, so I spend about 300 nights a year in hotels on average - mainly 5 stars, and mainly in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as well as Australia and South America - so like all of you above, I have a bit of a thing about hotel toiletries.

    I have to say that the five stars that consistently boast the best toiletries are in the Middle East, and Dubai in particular, where you'll frequently find Aveda, L'Occitane, Molton Brown, Bulgari, Etro, etc, along with more unusual products such as bath salts from the Dead Sea. They're also very generous with the range of toiletries provided - you almost always get conditioner, along with sunscreen (essential in Dubai!).

    After the Middle East, it's Asia for me, where, in Thailand in particular you'll often find these lovely local goodies made from gorgeous ingredients like lemongrass and lime used in body washes - wonderfully invigorating after a day in the sun! And in Thailand, the Four Seasons properties are by far the best for bathroom goodies.

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    Actually Janet Teacher is incorrect. Molton Brown doesn't provide the custom toiletries for Shutters on the Beach. The SKY BLUE brand is developed by Gilchrist & Soames which is just a contract packager and can't be compared to Molton Brown in any way! Personally, I am always happy to see Molton Brown (which isn't that often) because I know that the hotel really cares about the kind of amenities that they provide to discriminating travelers such as myself. I also like Bvlgari, but Ritz Carlton has really overworked that brand.

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    In Spain, there are a few hotels with some new brands for bathroom amenities, like:
    - Algotherm, french marine cosmetics & Spa Treatments
    - Korres / Olivia, both from Greece
    - SI/NO from Mallorca island, natural products

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    Last I stayed at Copthorne Tara some years ago they had Molton Brown, which I rather like actually - their shower gel reminds me of my father's German 4711 splash, so it was a bit of a sentimental reminder for me. The Ritz in Jamaica used Bulgari products, which I liked at first but then found myself tiring of the heavy scent.

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    I have been most impressed by the bathroom toiletries at the Aman properties (amansara, amangani, amanjiwo, etc). The most interesting have been at the Amanjiwo Resort in Indonesia. They use a company based in Jakarta that makes very high end natural toiletries. They stock the bathroom with literally two dozen different things from bath salts, bath tea, rose oil, ginger scrub, shampoo, lotion, sunscreen, lib balm and foot scrub. They are presented very nicely in glass bottles and jars as well. And when you leave they give you a package of assorted toiletries in travel friendly plastic bottles. They do a really great job. At most Four Seasons properties in the larger suites I have stayed in they usually offer either Hermes or Acqua d'Parma products, at least in Europe. The Ritz Carlton in Santiago, Chile was a let down with standard Aveda products in the Presidential Suite.

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    Sofitel St James in London - Hermes toiletries
    Thompson Lower East Side in NYC - Kiehls
    Worst.... Beverly Hills Hotels has home-brand products! Who would've thought...

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    The Burj Al Arab in Dubai certainly provides the MOST. Whether that equates to the best is another question.

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    On a recent jaunt to the Riviera Maya, I noticed that 3 out of 4 luxury hotels offer Bulgari! The body lotion is lush... although I do still prefer Molton Brown.

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    I'm a new member and I see that this topic goes back to 2007; but I love the
    topic and wanted to chime in.

    I'm always happy to see those little light green Bulgari items and Molton Brown
    is wonderful.

    In another topic, someone wrote that the Burj al Arab in Dubai was overrated.
    I don't agree but I can understand people being put off by the decor. It's as if they threw every decor element at the wall to see what would stick; and it
    all did. But it works in a way. But as for toiletries or "beauty booty" as we
    call it, you can't beat the Burj. They give so much and I don't even remember
    the brand. Everything is in an Hermes-style orange box or bag and it runs
    the gamut from lotions, perfumes, soaps and bath washes, razors, tooth
    brushes with paste and mouthwash and on and on....It's unbelievable.
    The hotel, as a whole, should be experienced at least once.

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    I can´t forget the L'Occitane products in Four Seasens Sharm El Sheik. It even included an after sun lotion.
    I also enjoyed the Khiels producst in Naumi Singapore.
    In Greece some hotels like Blue Palace and Chromata use the greek brand Korres which is excellent.

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    I love UK hotel group, Hotel du Vin's enlightened approach to toiletries - decent size bottles of quality product that they positively encourage you to take away with you (and re-use). My pet hate is the 'one squeeze and you are done' variety - half the product gets wasted because it won't come out and the bottles are not refillable so presumably just end up in landfill. Time to ramp up responsible tourism beyond the 're-use your towel' message - bigger, reusable toiletry bottles would help and if you want to reduce the risk of guests taking them, make them glass bottles with loose cork stoppers.

    Thanks from: sohcahtoa
  43.  

    Well said, Ms. Bartrop, especially your suggestion about having hotels provide bigger, reusable toiletry containers such as glass bottles with loose cork stoppers!

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