These hotel concierges can get you anything you need
At the Hotel Vermont in Burlington, Vermont, guests can take advantage of a unique amenity: a Beer Concierge. The concierge, Matt Canning, spends his weekends at the hotel helping guests tackle the booming local brewery scene, offering educational sessions and tastings and leading beer tours.
When the program launched seven years ago, Canning says, it was designed to provide a simple resource to one of the hotel’s key demographics – “people traveling to Vermont to experience beer. Today that resource is as relevant as ever,” he said.
Canning’s position is an example of a new trend among hotels and resorts around the world, using specialty concierges to draw in visitors. Here are some of the most unusual. Court Concierge; The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands: Had to cancel your wedding in 2020? Not to worry – The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas offers a Court Concierge service to help you and your partner elope. It’s part of a larger Elopement Escape package that also includes an officiant, flowers, and a wedding planner.
Sloth Concierge; Nayara Tented Camp, Arenal National Park, Costa Rica: Sitting in the middle of Arenal Volcano National
Park, Nayara Tented Camp isn’t just an eco-friendly resort – it’s also a sloth sanctuary that’s home to nearly 20 of the adorable animals. Juan Pablo, the camp’s Sloth Concierge, takes guests around the resort, helping them to spot sloths hanging in the trees and sharing information about their lives. Did you know sloths sleep up to 20 hours per day?
Instagram Concierge; W Punta de Mita, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico: The design-focused W Punta de Mita is a riotous burst of bright and bold colors. Basically, it’s an Instagrammer’s dream – and they embrace it, offering an Instagram Concierge to guests. All guests need to do is email their Instagram profile to the concierge, and they’ll send back a map marked with the most ‘gram-worthy spots on the property. The locations chosen are based on the guest’s interests and the general feel of their Instagram account. That map also gets them a free cocktail at the resort’s bar.
Cool Down Concierge;
Hyatt Centric Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Skip the hotel gym and instead opt for a private fitness experience at the Hyatt Centric Las Ola. The property offers a Cool Down Concierge for travelers who want to exercise on their own. The experience includes a private session on a Peloton (either in the guest’s room or poolside), and the concierge acts as their personal fitness butler, supplying cold towels and drinks during the ride.
Soap Concierge; Viceroy Riviera Maya, Riviera Maya, Mexico: No longer are you limited to the same
old vanilla and lemongrass scented soaps that populate hotels worldwide.
The Viceroy Riviera Maya puts a personal touch on bathing with a Soap Concierge. After guests arrive, the concierge comes by to help offer a selection of curated artisanal soaps. They’re made locally by hand utilizing ancient Mayan soap making methods and local organic seasonal ingredients.
Cocktail Concierge; Gray Hotel, Chicago, Illinois: Boring minibars are a thing of the past at the Gray Hotel, where they’ve been replaced with a Cocktail Concierge. Different groups of staff members have each created a cocktail, which comes to the guest bottled and labeled.
The Lift Your Spirits, for example, was devised by the housekeeping, engineering, and night shift teams, and is a Prohibition throwback cocktail of gin, ginger, grapefruit, honey, and soda. Part of the proceeds from the Cocktail Concierge service go back to the service industry, supporting a program that helps break down mental health stigmas in the hospitality world.
Pet Concierge; Woof Cottages, Nantucket, Massachusetts: Bailey, the Pet
Concierge at Woof Cottages on Nantucket, knows the island better than most. He offers guests suggestions on pet-friendly beaches, trails, and restaurants, arranges dog-walking services, and showers new pet guests with a welcome bag stuffed with toys, treats, bowls, and personalized tags. He also offers a turndown service just for dog guests. And he should know what they like–Bailey is the Woof Cottages’ owners’ golden retriever.
Water Sommelier; Grand
Resort Bad Ragaz, Bad Ragaz, Switzerland: We all know we should be drinking around eight glasses of water a day, but did you know that the actual type of water can make a huge difference? The Grand Resort Bad Ragaz educates guests on this exact topic with two Water Sommeliers. The women, Irina Taculine and Anke Scherer, offer water tastings and mineral water pairings, plus teach visitors about the nutritional value of the resort’s 20 different types of water.
Genealogy Butler; The Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin, Ireland: If you’re one of the millions who claim Irish ancestry during St. Patrick’s Day, show your friends that you’re not just using the gift of gab. The Shelbourne’s Genealogy Butler, Helen Kelly, provides guests with a onehour exploration of their roots in the Emerald Isle, including a full genealogy assessment report and a one-hour follow-up consultation.