27 Great Holiday Gift Ideas From Truly Chic Hotel Boutiques
NO LONGER cramped kiosks selling postcards and prophylactics, many hotel gift shops have become expertly curated boutiques. And now some of the world’s great purveyors of hospitality have emerged as a solution for online shoppers who need a holiday gift for the curtailed travelers in their lives. Think fancy consumables specific to the hotel’s region, an unusual toy, local things unavailable anywhere else.
If your loved ones have a favorite hotel, to which they return time and again, but can’t this year, a souvenir from its gift shop can be especially thoughtful. Ideal for Aunt Jane who’s been itching to get back to Claridge’s? The London landmark is now selling its tea service for the first time via its online store.
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If your loved ones have a favorite hotel, to which they return time and again, but can’t this year, a souvenir from its gift shop can be especially thoughtful.
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Aunt Jane will be thrilled and you can feel good about yourself: Online Christmas shopping via hotel boutique helps the hard-hit hospitality industry, too. Many top names offer gift cards for future travel. But in the meantime, here’s a wish list of things you can get online and have delivered directly, even if the hotel is closed:
Made in Italy
Emporio Sirenuse at Le Sirenuse, Positano
Opened in 1951 when the Sersale family (and current owners) converted their house into a hotel, this small resort that hugs the Amalfi Coast is an Italian dream come true, with a boutique so chic that the wares—from vibrant caftan to snappy swim trunks—are also sold on Net-a-Porter. Standout item: the Suzani-inspired pillow cases (from $316) that mimic textiles used throughout the 58-room property. emporiosirenuse.com
Southern Exposure
Keep Shop at Noelle, Nashville
On the ground floor of this reinvented 1930s downtown hotel, the Keep Shop boutique features a range of home goods and clothing, most made in the Southern U.S., including Stetson cowboy hats (from $125) and an indigo kimono jacket from Nashville designer Oil + Lumber ($175). noelle-nashville.com, keep.shop
Texas Takeaways
Bunkhouse Groups shops
Based in Texas, Bunkhouse runs eight unique hotels in the southwest. Each has a shop that reflects its ethos—from groovy enamel Phoenix Hotel pin ($10) to stripy El Cosmico (Marfa, Texas) kimono robe ($180) to Yellow Rose Eau de Parfum from San Antonio’s Hotel Havana ($75).bunkhousegroup.com
Real Genteel
Fieldshop at The Dewberry, Charleston
In the Dewberry’s sleek 1970s lobby, Garden & Gun magazine runs a bricks-and-mortar shop with occasional “pop-ins” by locals like John Pope Antiques. Online, there are finds such as a brass fire screen by esteemed metalwork designer Claire Crowe ($3,600). The hotel’s website sells Dewberry branded gifts like a signature-scent travel candle ($24) and an umbrella ($58) with a wooden handle and an interior featuring a botanical print that also appears on the guest-room armoires. ggfieldshop.com, shopthedewberry.com
Delivery from the Ritz
The Boutique at Ritz Paris
The grande dame on Place Vendôme needs no introduction. And she’s got a suitably high-class collection of souvenirs available online, from a 7.4 ounce pot of blueberry and red currant jam ($11) to a Bar Hemingway ashtray ($64)—which the hotel cheekily calls a change tray—to a Ritz Paris version of Monopoly ($102) with golden top hat and shoe, naturally. ritzparisboutique.com
Fancy Food
Marketplace at Auberge du Soleil, Napa Valley, Calif.
The retail arm of this Wine Country resort aims to capture unspoiled opulence. The focus is consumables, like caramel candies, wine and a splendid chocolate torte, but you’ll also find accessories—from a wee spa sponge ($12) to a handsome cheeseboard with knives ($57).shopaubergedusoleil.aubergeresorts.com
Perennially Cool
Shops at Ace Hotels
Known for its hipper-than-thou style, Ace is a natural merchant. (The brand has its own design atelier, for crying out loud.) The website sells hotel-specific collectibles, like a little Japanese soap dish from Kyoto ($18) to a Pendleton for Ace color-block wool blanket from the downtown L.A. hotel (from $425). shop.acehotel.com
Get a Bead On
The Drifter, New Orleans
A reimagined midcentury modern motel, the Drifter exudes a tropical urban chic, with rattan light fixtures, Oaxacan tiles and neon. The shop collection is small, with assorted travel-size toiletries, tote bags and nostalgic keychains. Standout item: the Buaisou Yakusugi Beads Bracelet ($140) made of hand-dyed Japanese cedar from the island of Yakushima where the trees are as old as 2000 years. Only ones that have fallen by natural causes are used for timber. thedrifterhotel.com/new-products
Game Preserve
Camp Store at Camp Wandawega, Elkhorn, Wis.
Dating back to the era of Prohibition—it was a hideout for nonconformists—and purchased by the Catholic church in the 1960s, this lakeside camp has layer upon layer of history. Today, it’s a reinvented 25-acre resort owned by a Chicago couple; the husband attended summer camp there as a boy. Still rustic, with an antler-festooned lodge, it’s become an Instagram hit. For the vintage-game collector on your list, the camp store is a find. There is a collection of seven games—including Rook from 1936—that start at $25. wandawegacampstore.com
Tea and Textiles
Shop Kit Kemp, Firmdale Hotels
Kit Kemp is a study in eccentric British design with an expanding network of deluxe properties, like London’s whimsical Charlotte Street Hotel. Tea at one of them is an exercise in self control—it’s very tempting to pinch a charming egg cup. Instead, avail yourself of the online shop. There’s everything from the Sailor’s Farewell china collection (from $74 for a pair of egg cups) to an array of pillows that shows off Ms. Kemp’s way with textiles (from $140). firmdalehotels.com
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