How to Give Your Home a Boutique Hotel Vibe, According to an Expert

Upgrade your home this holiday season with this all-in-one luxury hotel box from Hotels Above Par.

Whether you're off on a beach getaway, urban adventure, or ski trip, there's a coziness factor that comes with checking into a boutique hotel. Combining the feel of an elevated home-away-from-home with all the pampering in the world makes it feel like a true vacation.

Often, I've returned home to find myself trying to recreate elements of those experiences, hunting for (and constantly failing to find) fluffy towels, bringing back scents (I'm still holding onto my last few drops of lotion from Lake Como's Grand Hotel Tremezzo), and infusing new habits into my daily life (I've become a sparkling water mega-fan after the all-you-can-drink fountains at Denver's Catbird Hotel and London's One Hundred Shoreditch), yet never even coming close to matching the feelings these hotels provide. Enter The Hotel Box by Hotels Above Par, a gift box filled with six products that can instantly turn any home into a hotel-like oasis.

Meticulously curated by founder Brandon Berkson, the inaugural edition comes stocked with slippers from Monaco, a face mask from a well-known spa, a scented candle from a charming inn, a honey jar from an international hotel's beekeeping program, a cookbook with a property's trademark dishes, and a famous hotel's branded playing cards. The box comes just in time for the holiday season for $155, including shipping, and can be ordered here.

"Boutique hotels are my greatest passion — and it's not only me but our hotel-hungry readers, too," Berkson told Travel + Leisure. "So, with that in mind, I conceptualized The Hotel Box as a way to bring the magic of hotels into our readers' homes and daily lives."

Want to turn your house into a boutique hotel oasis this winter? We talked to Berkson about all the tricks to give your home that elevated atmosphere you're after.

T+L: What gives boutique hotels such a special feel?

Berkson: In my eyes, for something to be a boutique hotel, it needs to have a distinctive personality — most of the time, its traits garner inspiration from a general overarching theme or the surrounding area. While boutique hotels are commonly considered strictly petite, I believe they come in all shapes and sizes — they just need to embed a sense of character, feel boutique-oriented, exceedingly unique, and, most of the time, independent-feeling, the antithesis to overly commercialized, hyper-corporate stays.

How can travelers recreate that same energy at home?

The best way to bring boutique hotel energy into your home is not only to implement a theme into it, but also by ordering signature products on sale from your favorite stays — think signature-scented candles, bath bombs, and branded towels. I can tell you firsthand that making your apartment feel like a boutique hotel gives you a dose of vacation every time you use an item — and who doesn't love a vacation?

What's one quick switch that can instantly give your home that vibe?

Decluttering is the easiest way to make your bedroom feel like a hotel within five minutes, from clearing your nightstand to organizing your bathroom sink area.

What room is the easiest for a transformation?

I'll have to say your bathroom. You can organize the sink area and put items such as your toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, plus fragrances accordingly so they don't clutter your space. You can also add bath products that your favorite hotel stocks — Chicago's The Emily Hotel's shower equips Malin and Goetz cilantro hair conditioner, and ever since my stay here, I've been buying it for my shower.

What hotel decor inspiration have you brought back into your own life?

I love the Murano glass pieces at my favorite boutique hotel, Casa Angelina, on the Amalfi Coast. Each sculpture is colorful, whimsical, and surrealist, with the majority showcasing disfigured humans and animals. They burst with personality among the hotel's whitewashed interior and, from some angles, the sea backdrop.

The sculptures put me in a good mood — they are playful yet exceedingly delicate. While my apartment is too small for a slew of glass sculptures (and I'm too clumsy to have them), I've brought that playfulness into my loft: a glass encasement full of colorful rubber duckies and a black-and-white picture of a female supermodel reading a newspaper while nude hang on my living room walls, then a surrealist-meets-pop-art painting of Marilyn Monroe fronting an assemblage of East Asian scriptures is in my kitchen. The bottom line is that bringing playfulness into my home drew inspiration from these whimsical, don't-take-life-too-seriously sculptures found throughout Casa Angelina.

What hotel decor are you still trying to emulate?

I recently stayed at The Thinking Traveller's Palazzo Alvear villa, in Noto, Sicily. While it's not technically a hotel, the boutique holiday villa company manages independent properties across Italy, Greece, and France. Each one, from the services to setup, feels like a boutique hotel, but with no lobby or onsite restaurant (although you can arrange for a private chef). At this specific villa, I fell in love with the zebra-striped ottoman sitting between two white sofas. So much so that I've been on the hunt ever since then to find a zebra-patterned furnishing for my living room.

Beds are the centerpieces of most hotel rooms — what's the secret to making your bed more hotel-like?

London's Beaverbrook Town House's bedroom configurations exemplify what it means to have the bed be the nucleus of a hotel room. Nicola Harding's design efforts at this British hotel, which sports bedroom headboards that enliven the room via their colorful clashing patterns, make your bed a statement piece.

Fluffy towels are one of the greatest comfort items, but it's hard to find ones that last. What's the trick?

Not only are they as fluffy as can be, but Mayfair Townhouse in London also has heated towel racks. Let me tell you, this functionality is on my holiday wish list — winter in NYC can be brutal, so I need these racks in my life!

How can the at-home bath experience be made more boutique-like?

You need candles from boutique hotels, first and foremost: The Morrow Hotel in Washington D.C., The Scott in Scottsdale, and the Sands Hotel & Spa near Palm Springs are three that I love. In addition to these candles, you need a bath bomb — I recommend Le Labo products, which you can find at many boutique hotels.

What colors and tones are best to capture a boutique hotel feel?

It depends on the hotel and its desired aesthetic. Soothing tones such as creams, beiges, and light browns are perfect for minimalist interiors, while statement colors such as red, yellow, and blue inject vibrancy into a space, sometimes spawning a maximalist feel. I appreciate a consistent interior design theme when visiting a hotel.

What hotel stands out for immediately having an aura you wanted to bring back home?

I love Scandinavian-style minimalism — exposed concrete, a dearth of furniture, and a monochromatic color palette of neutrals and soothing tones are my vibe. Some of my favorite boutique hotels that exemplify this are Paradero Todos Santos in Mexico, Forest Dolomites in Northern Italy, and Andronis Concept Wellness Resort in Santorini. With all this in mind, I've brought a monochromatic color palette of whites and grays into my living room, specifically with the sofa, rug, and wall shade — the only pops of color are my travel- and hotel-centric coffee table books sitting atop my coffee table.

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