Online hotel booking merchant, Agoda Company, has released its list of top 10 boutique hotels within Southeast Asia to coincide with the start of the New Year. Noting the continuing trend among travelers to choose boutique-style accommodation, Agoda CEO Michael Kenny commented, “When it comes to booking accommodation for a holiday – especially one in the tropics – many travelers choose chain hotels, because of their standardized rooms, services and facilities. However, an increasing number of travelers prefer to book smaller, personalized alternatives. Agoda’s analyses have indicated this trend is particularly evident among professional travelers between 25 to 40 years of age.”

 

A boutique hotel is characterized by its size (usually less than 100 rooms) plush design and personalized service.

Boutique hotels are also often independently-owned and have unique themes or design features. Importantly, they can tailor-make the individual guest’s experience. The term ‘boutique hotel’ was coined in New York after the birth of the exclusive Morgan’s hotel – opened by Ian Schrager and designed by Andree Putman – on Madison Avenue in 1984.

Besides having to fall within Agoda’s definition of boutique, the selection criteria for the Agoda top 10 list included each hotel’s popularity in terms of customer bookings and reviews.

“It is important to note that hundreds of boutique hotels have literally been built in the South East Asia region within the last 10 years and the building is accelerating. We expect this part of the industry to grow substantially in the coming years,” Kenny said.

Agoda’s Top 10 Boutique Hotels in SEA are:

1. Kemang Icon Jakarta, Indonesia

2. The Scarlet Hotel, Singapore, Singapore

3. Dream Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand

4. AKA Hotel Resort & Spa - Hua Hin, Prachuabkirikhan, Thailand

5. Hotel de la Paix, Siem Reap, Cambodia

6.S15 Sukhumvit Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand

7. 3 Nagas – Luang Prabang, Laos

8. The Nam Hai, Hoi An, Vietnam

9. JapaMala Resort – Tioman Island, Malaysia (East coast of Malaysia)

10. Trisara, Phuket, Thailand