Monday, January 1, 2001

Distinctive Hotels meet Gourmet Coffee...

This morning the Small Distinctive Hotels Team and its members met at the Café Britt headquarters in Heredia.The special location of this meeting is due to a special anouncement we would like to communicate:

As of today, the Small Distinctive Hotels Group will be collaborating with the renowned Costa Rican  gourmet coffee brand Café Britt in order to provide unique offers for the market of locals and residents!

During the "green season" which approximately lasts from May to December, our hotel members provide special offers for locals and residents of Costa Rica. A special website has been established to communicate these promotions. Moreover the distinctive Fresh Market chain will be featuring our member hotels as well as Café Britt with this campaign, offering an interesting variety of prizes provided by our member hotels.

In this context, this morning the entire Small Distinctive Hotels Group had the opportunity to taste the high-quality coffee provided by Café Britt this morning...

With 6 empty cups before us, we little by little became more acquainted with the diverse tastes of this Costa Rica gourmet coffee. The grind, fresh beans were first pressed in a French Coffee Press for best taste as we learned. We learned about the process of growing excellent coffee beans, for instance how altitude affects the quality of the beans, as well as about the roasting process, followed by a tasting of the various roasts from the characteristic and mild light-roasted to the more sweet and chocolaty dark-roasted beans, as well as decafeinated coffee and finishing with a gourmet espresso.

The beautiful coffee farm, interesting and entertaining coffee tour as well as of course the delicious coffee, make Café Britt not only an excellent partner for Small Distinctive Hotels, but especially a great place to visit on your next vacation to Costa Rica!


Boutique Hotels - A Growing Trend

Boutique hotels pose a welcome alternative to traditional resorts and are no longer just embraced by few avant-garde travelers. This growing popularity is reflected in the Costa Rican Tourist Board's decision to dedicate boutique hotels to its list of seven regulations of tourist accommodations.

Small Distinctive Hotels has offered a collection of unique boutique hotels located in the most beautiful places of Costa Rica since 1997. But what exactly is it that distinguishes boutique hotels from other categories?

Some of the main characteristics of boutique hotels can be summed up with the term atmosphere. This distinct ambiance is created by various qualities, such as their size, since boutique hotels are small in terms of the number of rooms and usually have under 100 or in some definitions even less than 50 rooms. Moreover design plays an important in creating the uniqueness of boutique hotels, they are frequently themed, offering themed rooms or an overall theme for the hotel. Another one of the most distinguishing qualities of boutique hotels is an outstanding level of service, for instance meaning that staff knows each guest by his/ her name or frequently offer 24-hour guest services. In terms of technological amenities hotels vary; whereas some might offer the latest in technology, other hotels choose to focus on offering a calm and soothing environment.

Small Distinctive Hotels takes these features one step further and sets out the following guidelines:
  • No geographical competition: each hotel has the exclusiveness in its area.
  • 60 rooms maximum.
  • To be working toward or certified with CST “Certification of Sustainable Tourism.”
  • Have SPA on premises or at least offer massage services.
  • To have “a la carte” restaurant.
  • No involvement in real estate development.
  • The minimum duration of prior operation has to be one year.
  • Casinos and gambling are not allowed.
  • The owner must be directly involved in the operation of the hotel.
  • Member properties must offer high-class facilities and personalized service.

We hope now that you are more aware of the specifics of this special category of hotels, you will come visit us and experience this distinct holiday experience for yourselves!

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