Haute Hotel Room Service
Breakfast in bed used to be what passed for indulgent room service. But now host of big name chefs who have aligned themselves with hotels have upped the ante for dining — in your pajamas. The most gustatory-minded hotels now offer chef-driven room service menus, or better yet, allow guests to order straight off the restaurant menus to enjoy in the comfort of their rooms.
Some of the best new hotels are the biggest proponents of haute room service. After its year-long renovation, The Surrey in New York City reopened in late 2009 not just with a sleek new Art Deco-inspired look, but a terrific in-room dining menu crafted by the culinary geniuses at Café Boulud. At the glamorous Elysian Hotel, which opened just over a year ago in Chicago's Gold Coast, guests have the choice of ordering off the menu of its Balsan restaurant or room service menu, both developed by talented chef Danny Grant.
Of course, some of the country's most forward-thinking hotels have long paid attention to in-room dining. The 20-year-old Little Nell in Aspen lets guests order any dish off its Montagna menu (and they'll even pack picnic baskets for a hike). The decade-old Healdsburg Hotel in Sonoma is so synonymous with its restaurant Dry Creek Kitchen that guests expect nothing less than star chef Charlie Palmer's dishes for room service.