Motel Fix

HOTEL BATHROOMS ARE THE NEW MINI-BARS

Why is it impossible, even in the self-acclaimed cells of tranquillity lining the corridors of all those new boutique hotels, to relax in a hotel room? Invariably, one arrives in No. 222 only to find oneself, minutes later, prostrate on the bed in acute sugar shock from polishing off the mini-bar. Well, breathe: boutique owners are getting wise to this injustice in one regard, at least, and are stocking up on luxurious merchandise in the bathroom instead of the fridge. A few old-school charmers (the Hotel Costes and the Ritz in Paris, the Beverly Hills Hotel and both Standards in L.A.) carry custom-made products. The pristine baths at London's newest hotel, Sanderson, are chockablock with items from Agua, the in-house spa. All the W Hotels (where serenity might as well be on the room-service menu) and LA's L'Ermitage stock heady products by Aveda, which practically invented aromatherapy. Across town, the Chateau Marmont offers lotions, bath gel, etc. from Aromapharmacy—the name says it all. In Miami Beach, guests stay squeaky-clean: only Neutrogena products at the Raleigh Hotel. The Townhouse's pampering kit includes a condom. In New York they know how to spell relief: l-u-x-e. Whose heart rate wouldn't slow at the sight of the Kiehl's products in the bathroom of her (or his) mini-suite at the Carlyle? Meanwhile, the posh City Club offers bath products from Hermes, 60 Thompson stocks Philosophy, the Mercer provides products from its SoHo neighbor Face Stockholm, and the Inn at Irving Place provides deliciously Brit stuff from Penhaligon's. Think of it as aromatherapy for the stuck-up nose.

DAVID COLMAN