The address, the floor, the outlook.
.
HOTELS & RESORTS
Shutters open, breakfast on its way, and the better room because somebody asked.
HOTELS
Grand hotels and small ones. The same room at the same rate as the hotel's own website, with everything that comes of booking it through someone the hotel knows.
The same room, at the same rate. And then the rest of it.
WHAT COMES WITH THE KEYS
A hotel booked through the studio costs the same as the hotel's own website. The difference is in what arrives with it. At our partner hotels that means breakfast for two each morning, the better room when the hotel has one available, an early arrival and a late departure, a complimentary credit to spend on property, and a manager who knows you are coming and is there to welcome you personally.
Some houses go further. Four Seasons, Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental, Belmond, Oetker and The Peninsula each keep a programme specially for The Studio’s clients. What they add differs from house to house: a note from the general manager at one, a longer hour at the spa at another, a gift towards the next stay at a third.
None of it is promised in general. It is confirmed for your hotel, on your dates, in writing, before you book.
VIRTUOSO
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FOUR SEASONS
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BELMOND BELLINI CLUB
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THE PENINSULA PEN CLUB
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ROSEWOOD ELITE
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OEKTKER PEARL PARTNER
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PREFERRED HOTELS & RESORTS
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COUTURE BY LANGHAM
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LEADING HOTELS OF THE WORLD
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SMALL LUXURY HOTELS
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ONE&ONLY RESORTS
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MANDARIN ORIENTAL FAN CLUB
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HYATT PRIVE
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VIRTUOSO · FOUR SEASONS · BELMOND BELLINI CLUB · THE PENINSULA PEN CLUB · ROSEWOOD ELITE · OEKTKER PEARL PARTNER · PREFERRED HOTELS & RESORTS · COUTURE BY LANGHAM · LEADING HOTELS OF THE WORLD · SMALL LUXURY HOTELS · ONE&ONLY RESORTS · MANDARIN ORIENTAL FAN CLUB · HYATT PRIVE ·
Anyone can book the hotel. The difference is which room, at what rate, and what arrives with the key.
The address matters as much as the room. Some neighbourhoods are having their moment, some have never needed one, and the right answer depends entirely on who is travelling. You hear that before you book, not after.
CHECKED NOT ASSUMED
Five stars tells you about the marble.
WHICH HOTEL
It does not tell you whether you will be happy there. Four kinds, and who each is for.
GRAND HOTEL
Five stars tells you about the marble.
It does not tell you whether you will be happy there. Four kinds, and who each is for.
Four Seasons · Rosewood · Mandarin Oriental · The Peninsula
THE RESORT
A week where the furthest you go is the end of the jetty.
Who it suits. The ones who are tired. Villas rather than rooms, a pool of your own, a kitchen that will do anything at any hour.
The honest trade. You pay for never leaving, and the nearest town is forty minutes away by the time you want it. The villa category matters more than the resort's name.
Oetker Collection · Four Seasons Resorts · One&Only Resorts
THE SMALL HOTEL
Twelve rooms, one good cook, and the owner at breakfast.
Who it suits. The couple who have done the grand hotels and now want to be known by name. A farmhouse in the hills, a palazzo with six suites, a townhouse where the key is on a ribbon.
The honest trade. No spa the size of a car park, no room service at three in the morning, and with twelve rooms the good ones go early. Here, knowing the owner is worth more than any programme.
Small Luxury Hotels of the World · Virtuoso · Boutique Brands
THE LODGE
A light aircraft, a dirt strip, and dinner under more stars than seems reasonable.
Who it suits. Australians who have not yet seen their own country properly, and visitors who want the one week here that no city can give them.
The honest trade. Remote means remote. The weather decides the flight, the season decides the dates, and there are only ever a handful of rooms.
Luxury Lodges of Australia · Rosewood · Lizard Island · El QuestroTwo rooms, the same rate. One faces the park and one faces the lift.
THE BETTER ROOM
Every hotel has them: the category that sounds the same on the website and is not. The corner on the fourth floor with two windows. The ground-floor suite with the terrace nobody mentions. The floor above the function rooms, which you will hear at eleven.
Knowing which is which is most of the work. The rest is asking for it early, and in the right way.
HOW A STAY IS ARRANGED
Three short conversations.
01
The hotel, or the shortlist
If you know the hotel, say so. If you know the city and the mood, we bring two or three, with a line on each about why.
02
The room, and what comes with it
The category worth paying for, the one that is not, and exactly which benefits apply to this hotel on these dates, in writing.
03
The arrival
The car from the airport, the hotel told who you are and why you are there, and one number for the whole stay if anything needs moving.