Have you ever heard of boutique hotels? Do you know what a boutique hotel is? Most people have no idea what these hotels are? Take a name brand hotel like the Holiday Inn and take a bed and breakfast inn. Now mix those together and you get your boutique hotel.

Well what is so different about a boutique hotel i hear you ask. Well for startets there is a greater emphasis on individual service. The idea is too make your stay a personal experience. You get the hospitality of home, and the luxury of a big name hotel.

Most early boutiques started out life in historic buildings. These antique estates where then modernized. All the technological modern conveniences where added. Widescreen tv's, wireless internet, satellite tv. Room service is added in as well.

New Orleans boutiques that are housed in old buildings, have been decorated to fit in with the 19th Century era. Some larger boutiques have swimming pools, spas and fitness suites. Rooftop terraces may also be avialable. Restaurants and bars will also be located inside the hotel.

Themes and local culture, artwork and handicrafts play a big impact on a boutique's decor. This adds a touch of originality and that chain hotels fail to match. This individuality makes them stand out from the chains. If you have ever wondered why all your previous experience at standard hotels have the same resonance, now you know.

While many hotels use their surroundings to come up with a theme, some boutique hotels stick with a time period. One such place is New Orleans. However, there are other places including a hotel in San Francisco. Hotel Union Square has a Prohibition era theme in its rooms and halls. Each room and hallway has a black granite and cream travertine tile.

Remember there are boutique hotels all across the world. While they are plenty in the United States, cities across the world that have them include: Paris, Cannes, Istanbul and Seville. Each hotel in each of these cities has something different to present its guests.

If this all seems interesting, all you need to do is some research through the World Wide Web. If you want to visit Paris, you do have a choice of hotels including boutique hotels. You need to remember that the boutique hotel you want may not have room for you especially if you wait until the last minute to make the reservation. Why? Many boutique hotels are not very big ranging in size of the single numbers to 100 plus rooms.

While the commercial names like The Hilton are catchy and make you think about that particular brand, sometimes a little research finds you staying somewhere you never even thought about. You should realize that you pay for what you get. A boutique room is not cheap but well worth the cash you spend. With all the amenities you get, there's no need to stay anywhere else.

Just this once, forget about the money, go ahead and spoil yourself. Your once in a lifetime trip may not be so memorable, unless of course you book an amazing boutique hotel.