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Feb
I love hotel bath amenities, just as I love airline pajamas and taking cooking classes while on vacation and recreating those recipes in my own kitchen.
It’s a part of bringing the road back home and connecting with travel and brands on an emotional level.
So I probably have a bit too much of a fascination when hotels change up their toiletries, the ones I don’t like I really don’t like probably way more than is justified, and the ones I do like I buy myself and use when I’m not on the road.
I miss Molten Brown at Westins, I’ve gone through phases where I like L’Occitane. And I’ve long detested Portico White Ginger, I’ve been following the saga of when Hyatt would replace it and was ecstatic when they finally did (and proud of my prediction 16 months in the making that Hyatt’s choice would be KenetMD, although in ultimately that was only for Hyatt Regency and Hyatt brands in North America). I even celebrated a little bit inside with the end of that Durian-smelling White Ginger stuff.
I know, true first world problems, but also the stuff of daily life, the kind of thing that makes us human.
Given that fascination I asked Hyatt if they could give me an understanding of their new brand standards in bath amenities, what were the final changes?
I did learn also that there are individual properties exempt from the brand standards, and that Andaz and Park Hyatt amenities aren’t changing.
Here’s a table with the new brands, first on the left side for Asia Pacific, Europe Africa and Middle East, and Latin America and then on the right side for US, Canada, and Caribbean
Le Labo at Park Hyatt is the Bergamot 22 stuff which have been in place for awhile, and which I find perfectly fine.
Andaz has amentiies which vary at the property level, I’ve enjoyed the C.O. Bigelow stuff I’ve had (which I first tried at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas).
The changes come into play with Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency and plain old “Hyatt” and Hyatt Place and Hyatt House in North America.
- June Jacobs at Grand Hyatt is perfectly fine though the body wash isn’t quite to my liking when actually put into practice. I had been getting the June Jacobs stuff at Grand Hyatts in Asia for awhile, and I do think it’s an improvement for North America now.
- Portico and Pharmacopia will be brand standard for Hyatt Regency and Hyatt brands outside of North America — but fortunately the there’s a new Portico scent (“Verbena”) which I haven’t tried but isn’t Durian. The Pharmacopia scent is “citrus.”
- I am really liking KenetMD, I think it’s a great choice and even grabbed a small bottle of the moisturizer which is sitting in my desk at work.
Probably truly minutiae, but minutiae that interests me (this post likely won’t get a lot of comments) and this is my blog.
What’s your favorite hotel toiletry brand, and who has it?
Sean M. said,
I don’t believe that I have ever checked the brand of the toiletries I’ve used in hundreds of hotels around the world!
I do however collect hotel pens. I then leave them on my desk for others to steal – that way they don’t ask to borrow my nice pens (and make me chase them down to return them).
You should do a review of hotel pens.
wwk5d said,
“…but also the stuff of daily life, the kind of thing that makes us human.”
Er, no, not quite. Interesting post nonetheless…
B M S said,
I also hated the white ginger at Hyatt. I thought it smelled more like bug spray than anything else. My favorite is/was the quince and bergamot, also from Hyatt. It’s amazing that Portico managed to develop something so disgusting (white ginger) and so agreeable (quince and bergamot).
bluto said,
Doesn’t the same company make all of the major hotel chain toiletries? I’ve always been under the impression that the manufacturer slaps a brand (e.g. Portico) on a specific fragrance/color combo and then supplies it to the hotel chain.
Steelsnow said,
What’s up with the cartoony script-look of the BeWell amenities? Did they hire the creator of the Four Points bottles? Definitely did not make either of us think ‘classy’ when we saw them there by the sink.
The Mystery Traveler said,
Grand Hyatt Washington DC only hadJune Jacobs body soap, the rest was still Portico crap. Park Hyatt Washington DC had Le Labo Santal 33 not Bergamot 22 during my stays this week.
jfhscott said,
Was at the Williamsburg Inn last weekend. Their in-house spa’s lavender oatmeal soap was excellent.
Alanea said,
Square bar of C.O. Bigelow lavender/peppermint bath soap is amazing! Like you, I recently got it at The Cosmopolitan in Vegas.
Andre said,
Interesting post, I rarely stay at Hyatts and when I do it’s PH which don’t appear to change much. I liked Molton Brown when it was on BA back in the day.
Happy said,
Verbena is the same scent long time ago, I think dated back to 2006 or earlier during the FFN years. It has a lemony scent and far nicer than White Ginger which is awful!
Denis said,
Doubletree’s toiletry from Crabtree & Evelyn is great! Lemon scent
The avocado ones that they have at Embassy Suites is not so good
KC said,
Has the Park Hyatt Paris replaced the Blaise Mautin with Le Labo?
Mark said,
Conrad Hotels offer guests a choice of three toiletry brands, and I like Aromatherapy Associates best. http://conradhotels3.hilton.com/en/explore/exclusively/amenities.html
mark said,
You never pass up a chance to pat yourself on the back, Mr. Sky Pesos.
Carl said,
Sorry Gary, this is a bit much for a dude
The Miles Professor said,
I actually really like Bliss at the W. When my cousin comes to NY on business, he stays at the W. I also come visit and take all of it
Orange said,
Most are pretty much the same. I agree that the W’s Bliss products are decent, and occasionally I come across others that are nice.
I hate the Portico White Ginger products, and I could do without Marriott’s Orange Ginger products. Kimpton’s Musk scent is downright awful.
Diana W said,
None. Having a family with sensitive skin issues means we try to avoid scented toiletries
Michele said,
I like Crabtree & Evelyn’s La Source at the Hilton’s properties. I try to get those as much as possible.
Gary said,
@KC – no Park Hyatt Paris was using Blaise Mautin over New Years at least. Some hotels will offer their own specialty products still. Park Hyatt Maldives still provides their stuff in reusable jars.
Matt P said,
Park Hyatt Tokyo is still offering Aesop as of yesterday. By far the best brand I’ve ever encountered. If I must choose a second preference: the new Shanghai Tang line that is being offered at Conrads.
eco mama said,
I like it that you’re passionate about your travels and notice these details. Personally, I cannot use most hotel amenities because I find them overly perfumey and containing too many undesirable chemicals (parabens, phalates and whatnot) but when I stay at an eco friendly hotel and they have products I can use–I’m giddy.
TheBeerHunter said,
I am an IHG (IC specifically) person and I found the toiletries at the Hilton in Windhoek far superior to the Agraria stuff the IHG brand is standardized on now. I was kind of sad on my last stay at the IC Paris Le Grand that they no longer offered L’Occitaine. I mean, hello, this is a Hotel in Paris. Why not source locally especially since that is so trendy these days…
Jeremy said,
I actually didn’t really like the Le Labo stuff at PH Toronto. The smell isn’t exactly great although I am glad they don’t use parabens.
Joe said,
@Matt Aesop is indeed awesome. I slather myself with whatever I can get my hands on everytime I use the Club At The Park.
I’m willing to try something new for Hyatt Regency Tokyo, but I do hope that they’ll keep the Ren brand for their suites.
Gobluetwo said,
The new(ish) Hilton toiletries are nice. I also like CO Bigelow at Andaz and Kimptons. The Westin white tea aloe is nice.
Hate the old Marriott toiletries. Not as bad as the Portico White Ginger, but it’s so dated and has to go.
Jon said,
blech good riddance white ginger! i just stayed in a suite (diamond upgrade) at the regency in dubai and they had Aigner toiletries, which were quite delish (and classy) smelling. i would assume it’s not the norm in their standard rooms.
Sam said,
Favorite: Bliss, at W Hotels. I love the body butter, which is also available as unscented.
ptahcha said,
The Portico Lemon Verbena is the previous iteration of the nastiness prior to the white ginger nastiness. bleh.
Also, for those of you keeping scores at home, Both Andaz West Hollywood and Andaz Napa use Lather products.
Carol said,
I stayed at the London Churchill a week ago and they were changing from Molton Brown to Pharmacopia floor by floor at that time.
Jackie said,
Peter Thomas Roth at the Hilton now, and it’s great. I like when see Aveda products. Molton Brown? I have some, but can’t remember where I got it. I stayed at the Ritz and happened to run into the housekeeper. I asked what had happened to the Bulgari, and she said that they put it in the suites now and the regular rooms get Ritz Carlton generic. I came back later on to find a bag of the Bulgari on my bed.
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