To live happily, let's live hidden. This is the policy of certain VIP business travellers - bosses, senior executives or fashion and design professionals - who prefer the intimacy of small hotels with character to the big names in luxury, Four Seasons, Mandarin and the like. Addresses that may be less formal, but which rival each other in excellence, like the Nine Orchard in New York or the JK Place in Paris, for example, which have been awarded two Michelin stars in the same way as the Royal Monceau or Peninsula in Paris or Fouquet's Barrière in New York.
Away from the heart of Manhattan or Paris's Golden Triangle, these boutique hotels are very much in their time and their city. Located in the Lower East Side, on the border of New York's Chinatown, half of Nine Orchard's clientele are business travellers who " are not looking to stay in Midtown, an area where people don't really live It's all about luxury," explains Simone Hanscom, the hotel's sales and marketing director, whom we met at the Crème de la Crème luxury travel trade fair.
As for JK Place, it conveys a certain idea of Left Bank luxury through its arty feel, interior design by Michele Bönan and privileged services such as its indoor swimming pool and Casa Tua Italian restaurant. " More a house than a hotel "According to managing director Guillaume Bourniquel, this German-Pratin pied-à-terre reflects a shift in expectations, comparing the experience to that of a couturier faced with the ready-to-wear of the grand palaces: "We're not talking about a luxury hotel, we're talking about a luxury hotel. Our customers are looking for more informal settings where they can make themselves at home and relax on a sofa with their computer. ".
But what undoubtedly appeals most to the residents of these establishments is the extreme degree of personalisation. With a limited number of keys, 29 in all, each JK Place guest is known by his or her name, " unlike establishments with 200 rooms where it is physically impossible for the manager to get to know them all It's the first time we've done this," explains Guillaume Bourniquel, who has also worked at the Peninsula and, more recently, the SAX Hotel, the Hilton Group's first luxury hotel in Paris. Not without pointing out that some of our customers are also looking for " this more formal distance "It's a palatial experience.
Michael Voigt, General Manager of the Goring in London, the only independent five-star hotel in the heart of the British capital, is also caught up in the game of seven differences. You can have 10 or 15 arrivals a day, or even 25 on a busy day. It's very different from a large hotel. ". Located in the Belgravia district, this 69-room hotel has been run by the same family for four generations since it opened in 1910, and offers a tailor-made service. " Every morning, we hold a 15-minute briefing on the customers we're expecting. Everyone has their own profile, and we know whether Mr Smith likes his tomatoes roasted on one side or both, or whether Mrs Smart prefers her dry martini with an olive. "explains Michael Voigt. " We know everything about everything. Sometimes it's a bit frightening... "he says.
Of all the guests at this boutique hotel, a third stay at the Goring on business, including senior executives from the pharmaceutical, steel and financial sectors, with Michael Voigt explaining that he has a number of corporate accounts generating 30 to 50 overnight stays a month. Renovated over the last few years, with its hand-painted coloured paper and cosy atmosphere, the Goring is also an exclusive venue for business meetings, with three meeting rooms that can accommodate 6, 12 and 40 people respectively. Plus a green space for beautiful events when the weather permits, as big as four football pitches. " The largest private garden in the heart of London after Buckingham Gardens "says Michael Voigt with pride.
Without having the 'Olympic' dimension of this corner of urban greenery, New York's Nine Orchard also has everything it takes to regularly host professional events, from law firm dinners and major bank seminars to product launches. Housed in a former bank dating back to the 1910s, which was converted to hospitality in 2022, the boutique hotel building is topped by a rooftop event space, called The Greenhouse, for dinners for 70 people or cocktail parties for more than 200. " One of the most premium event spaces in New York "according to Simone Hanscom. Brooklyn on one side, Manhattan on the other: where you can see everything without being seen.
