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Boutique hotels offer travelers personal service and apartment-style living. Guests say it is a productive business environment.

All the comforts of home

Boutique hotels go beyond mere convenience

May 15, 1998
Web posted at: 10:20 a.m. EST (1520 GMT)

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- As more business travelers take to the road, they're seeking out hotels that offer more than just a bed, phone and free continental breakfast. It's the new genre in hotel accommodations for the business traveler: a home away from home at boutique hotels.

Simply put, it's apartment-style living with a built-in business center and many of the conveniences of home. San Francisco's Galleria Park Hotel is one of these new "boutique" hotels, where business travelers are booking reservations in record numbers and customers say the service sets them apart.

"It's that personal attention, that I know whatever I ask for, my needs are going to be met," says traveler Barbara Chavis. "That's really important to me when I'm traveling."

"The Galleria Park Hotel offers the one thing I don't think you get anywhere else, and that's a very high quality of client service," says Paul Angello, another traveler. "A very personal touch."

The Galleria Park has fewer than 200 rooms, making it much easier to concentrate on its guests. A fashionable lobby attracts patrons, as do daily wine tastings in the evening.

"It's a very intimate style of service," says hotel manager Mark Schwass. "Our customers know our employees. Our employees know our customers. And they like that."

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The roof-top courtyard comes complete with jogging track and benches. Guests say the central lighting, two-line phones and sound-proof rooms increase business productivity.

"It fits right into my routine when I come and leave," says Angello. "So again, it's like when I walk in the door, I'm at home. I walk out the door, I'm leaving."

Room rates start at $180 and suites run $300 per night at the Galleria Park. Customers say a boutique hotel is worth it -- and companies will continue to book reservations as long as they see a good return on their investment.

Based on a report from CNN's Business and Travel and Beyond. The segment appears weekdays on Early Edition at 7 AM (ET) and on Morning News at 10 AM (ET).

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