While cheap travel options, including cheap airplane tickets often make travel affordable, the ready supply of discount hotel rooms and cheap vacation packages has resulted in many hotels looking for ways to distinguish themselves from their competition by offering unique free hotel amenities.
The following are hotels that are taking their guest services above and beyond, wooing guests with everything from a personal tanning butler to free bike rentals:
The Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago offers guests the ability to select one of 20 Fender guitars, including iconic Stratocasters and classic Telecasters, and play them in the privacy of their own rooms. Floor amplifiers and top of the line headphones are provided so that fellow guests are not disturbed.
The Jane in New York City offers guests complimentary bikes. These bikes come with wooden baskets that can transport picnic fare to nearby Christopher Park or wherever a guest might be headed.
The Heathman Hotel in Portland, Oregon, offers an on-site library which includes over 2,000 books by authors who have previously stayed at the hotel. Guests are free to browse and enjoy signed first editions in the librarys comfortable plush chairs as well as take books to their rooms.
Ace Hotels offer turntables as well as a carefully selected variety of vinyl records for their guests listening pleasure.
The Ritz-Carlton South in South Beach, Miami, has a Tanning Butler on the premises who spends his afternoons walking around the pool deck and beach area offering refreshing Evian facial sprays, personal sunglass cleaning services, and a variety of suntanning products.
Hotel Triton in San Francisco offers guests pet goldfish for their rooms. Hotel staff takes care of their daily feedings and other necessities. Research has found that watching colorful fish can calm nerves, reduce anxiety, and lower blood pressure.
Hotel Preston in Nashville offers guests lava lamps and art kits at check-in. Milk and cookies are available to be delivered to guests rooms for a nominal charge until 10 p.m.
The Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, CA, offers complimentary use of its luxury house car, a Rolls-Royce Phantom, on a first come first serve basis. Chauffeur service is included.
Hotel Jan Jose in Austin offers vintage Remington typewriters as well as Polaroid cameras that can be delivered to guests rooms.
The Commons Hotel in Minneapolis comes with a Book Butler who provides classic as well as bestseller books on loan. Guests can order breakfast in bed that comes with complimentary Sudoku puzzles to help sharpen their wits.
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