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  1.  

    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!

  2.  

    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.

  3.  

    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
  4.  

    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!

  5.  

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

  6.  

    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.

  8.  

    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-:-)

      CIMG0852.JPG
  9.  

    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*

      CIMG0869.JPG
      CIMG0858.JPG
  10.  

    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!

  11.  

    With respect to Paula Patrice's comment, Paula, I wouldn't get too upset about this. It was obviously just a small typographical error. They meant "ear," not "car" and simply mistakenly used a "c" instead of an "e." Fortunately, the cautionary warning was not in Chinese! If you've ever lived in a foreign country, you get used to this type of thing happening. You encounter these typos all the time. When I was living in Tokyo, I remember walking by a bridal shop in the Meridien Pacific Hotel, in the Shinagawa district, that had a very nice, professional sign that said "Bridal Saloon."

  12.  

    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. :)

  13.  

    DonPablo, it wasn't very difficult to figure out what they meant & that it was a typo.
    however, the oceana is a "luxury"-type hotel in Santa Barbara, California, usa. not in japan.
    and when i brought it to their attn, the management shrugged it off.

    ...it is a testament to the hotel's standards. which is one point of showing all these amenities, yes?

  14.  

    Paula - yes, of course. But, have you ever been in an elegant, highly-rated Chinese restaurant right here in the USA and seen a typo on the menu? If I did, I certainly wouldn't confront the management over it. But, you did and I guess they were wrong to shrug it off, since "the customer is always right."

    Our trade deficit is soaring and it's amazing how many products we are buying here that are made in China. I think we'll be seeing a lot of typos over the months and years ahead. We're going to have to get used to it............

  15.  

    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.

  16.  

    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.

  17.  

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

  18.  

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

  19.  

    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.

  20.  

    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...

  21.  

    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.

  22.  

    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.

  23.  

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

      alex-toiletries.jpg
  24.  

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

  25.  

    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.

  26.  

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

  27.  

    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.

  28.  

    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.)

  29.  

    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

  30.  

    Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston also features Quercus products.

  31.  

    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.

  32.  

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

  33.  

    — 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!

  34.  

    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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