Boutique Hotels

There’s no fixed definition — technically, any hotel can call itself a boutique hotel.

In practice, though, the term usually refers to an individually run, often owner-operated property. These hotels tend to be upscale to luxurious, and they stand out through distinctive design, a strong personality, or some truly unique feature you won’t find at a chain.

Boutique hotels are most common in major cities. But in recent years, really beautiful one-of-a-kind properties have been popping up in rural areas too — so the boutique hotel experience is no longer just an urban thing.

Many boutique hotels do come with premium prices, but they’re often significantly cheaper than classic luxury hotels. And there are more and more budget-friendly places that absolutely qualify as boutique hotels in everything but price.

“Design Hotels” is actually a brand — a collection of more than 300 hotels worldwide that have joined together under that name. So if a hotel calls itself a Design Hotel, it most likely belongs to this specific group. All Design Hotels can also be considered boutique hotels, but not every boutique hotel is a Design Hotel.

Since there’s no official definition, there’s no hard rule here. That said, most boutique hotels are on the smaller side — typically somewhere between 10 and 100 rooms.

Many are independently run and have nothing to do with the big hotel chains. But the chains have noticed the appeal of the boutique concept — which is why some boutique hotels are now part of larger groups. A good example is 25hours Hotels: they tick every box of a boutique property, but they’re owned by the Accor Group.