Luxury is about substance, but it’s also very much about the details — the “wow”, especially when it’s unexpected. In hotels this can range from a value added amenity in a spa, restaurant, bar to a service (we just launched a “baby concierge” for one of our clients), presentation, and more. Speaking of presentation, we were “wowed” by the hotel laundry service at The Peninsula Shanghai. First, there’s what I call the “dumb waiter”. In the closet you put your clothes to be laundered and shoes to be cleaned (the latter free of charge) and press the “valet service” button. When it’s received by the service, another button, “received” lights up. The laundry is returned as soon as it’s done, no express charge. And what a presentation. It comes in what looks like a pouch whose flaps you open, much as you would open a piece of jewelry from Tiffany’s. If the shirt has cuffs, they put in cufflinks as “place holders”. How about pressing? We arrived at the hotel at 4:30 and had a meeting at 5:30. A blazer and shirt were pressed in 45 minutes, again, no extra charge.
Shoes get similar VIP treatment. They go in the same dumb waiter and are returned in a handsome soft cloth bag complete with shoe trees. Now that’s what I call service.
Photography by William Oberheiser
