The Best Design Gifts Come From the Hotel Lobby Store
Convince your loved ones of your excellent taste in both decor and travel with these finds—and these days, you don’t even have to leave your house to buy them.
Convince your loved ones of your excellent taste in both decor and travel with these finds—and these days, you don’t even have to leave your house to buy them.
I am writing this from my apartment, but I wish I was writing it from a luxury hotel—ideally a suite, but I’d settle for a couch in the lobby if we’re being honest. Hotels are everything I want home to be like, from the artfully-appointed curios lining the bookshelves to the noticeable absence of a pile of laundry I can’t bring myself to actually do. It makes being somewhere new feel like being somewhere new, in a good way. It’s crisp sheets, a chance to try shampoos with new and unusual scents, and watching hours of Shark Tank reruns on a giant wall-mounted TV instead of sleeping or exploring—sign me up!
But since I am not Eloise, living full-time at the Plaza, much of my engagement with hotels involves poring over detailed TripAdvisor reviews and, lately, ordering things from online gift-shops. From household goods to art to beauty products, hotels around the world are selling things that will make people coming over to your house think you are exceptionally well-traveled—and you don’t even have to go outside to get them.
The Mark, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, is a hotel whose vibe is old-school luxury with a soupçon of modern whimsy—I would channel that energy by using this bone china mug to microwave leftover drip coffee.
The Mark Illustrated Mug
Keep your morning coffee warm in our fine bone china, white with artwork by The Mark's signature illustrator, Jean-Philippe Delhomme. This collectible item can contain liquid beverages of all temperatures.
Bon vivants of the 1920s might have used this ashtray as an actual ashtray over cocktails at the Ritz’s iconic Hemingway Bar, but I think you should use it to keep track of loose change.
Ritz Paris Bar Hemingway Change Tray
The classic Hemingway Bar ashtray embodies the festivity of an evening enjoyed around a delicious cocktail.
A chic little monogrammed towel from La Mamounia, the luxe Morocco resort you might have seen on Netflix.
La Mamounia Marrakech Bath Towel
Made in Morocco Weight Small Model: 0.7kg Large model weight: 1.3 kg
Shinola isn’t so much a hotel as it is a lifestyle brand: they have a hotel, of course, but they also make covetable watches and clocks. This one, in sunny yellow and cheery sky blue, softens the blow of having to actually care about what time it is first thing in the morning.
Shinola Detroit The Detrola Clock
Detrola is here to bring fun to your walls—and make a difference. Our first ever Detrola clocks pack a colorful punch and are inspired by the design language of the watches in our Detrola collection. But it doesn’t stop there. Every clock is crafted in part with #tide® ocean bound plastic material and assembled in Detroit. These clocks are living proof that single-use plastics can have a second life. Just not in the ocean.
I could talk about the Positano hotel Le Sirenuse for hours, despite the fact that I’ve never even been to the Amalfi coast. The designer Luke Edward Hall is similarly smitten, and his collection of dishware captures the breezy elegance of dining on one of the hotel’s famous terraces (or so I imagine).
Emporio Sirenuse Positano Dessert Plate
Bone China dessert plate featuring Luke Edward Hall Positano view design. Gold rim.
Living as we are, in a historical moment when no one leaves the house without hand sanitizer, why not indulge in a spray version from a surfer’s paradise in Malibu?
The Surfrider Mailbu Botanical Hand Sanitizer
A collaboration with AMASS Spirits, our Surfrider botanical hand sanitizer smells incredible, feels great on the skin and is perfect for keeping in your handbag or car! Recipe takes inspiration from the Four Thieves original recipe of Cinnamon, Eucalyptus & Clove. 2oz.
Anyone who is anyone has stayed at Claridge’s: Queen Victoria, Katherine Hepburn, literally all five Spice Girls. For spring and summer dining, I love this pale pink and cream tablecloth, which will look great piled high with scones on Instagram and still pretty good covered in crumbs from said scones!
Claridge's x Summerill & Bishop Linen Tablecloth
Created exclusively for Claridge’s with our friends Summerill & Bishop, our collaborative collection of table linens is inspired by the hotel’s art deco heritage. In a soft pink hue it's perfect for summer dining. Linen is a beautiful and timeless fabric, loved for its natural and irregular look. Due to its textured rough surface and the manufacturing process, developed to relax and soften the fabric, your tablecloth and napkins may have some small white spots and areas of fading on the printed surface, which is characteristic of the technique. These irregularities are completely normal and make each item truly unique.
What if you could spend the night at MoMa? That’s the question posed by the 21c Museum hotels, which pair cool, modern rooms in southern and midwestern cities like Louisville and Durham with a contemporary art collection you can get up-close and personal with. Each hotel has different pieces, but one constant is a set of life-size penguins rendered in rainbow hues—this miniature version, in purple, is a quirky souvenir worth saving suitcase space for.
21c Ceramic Penguin
Take home a pint-sized version of 21c's iconic Penguin. The 6 1/2" tall ceramic Penguins are hand-crafted especially for 21c by the artisans at Louisville Stoneware and inspired by the 4-foot-tall plastic Purple Penguin limited edition sculptures exhibited throughout 21c Oklahoma City. The Penguins were created by Cracking Art Group, a collective of artists who inspire people to think about art as something that is simultaneously fun and thought-provoking.
The Chateau Marmont has towered over Sunset Boulevard for decades, serving as a semi-secret clubhouse for generations of celebrities and people (like me) who love to spot celebrities while eating overpriced blueberry muffins. The sweatshirt, cozy after a long day of lounging poolside, communicates that you love both gossip and 1920s Gothic Revival architecture.
Chateau Marmont Sweatshirt
The Chateau's classic logo is silk screened on the front of this trim fit unisex crewneck sweatshirt, flat french terry on the inside.
From the East Village to the Maldives, The Standard is, well, the standard when it comes to glossy, minimalist hotels for people who stay up past midnight. This bottle opener—it goes in your wallet, like a credit card!—brings a little bit of ‘we’re on vacation’ fun to ‘‘opening a mineral water at home on a Thursday.’’
The Standard Key Card Bottle Opener
Inspired by the keycards that open our rooms at The Standard, High Line, these metal cards are now designed to open bottles.
I love a hotel with a signature spa treatment, which is why I’m desperate to go to Hershey, PA’s Hotel Hershey, where one option is to have your entire body wrapped in chocolate fondue and then in a blanket to really let the chocolate (it also has mud in it) sink in. Until that dream comes true, this scrub from the gift shop is also pretty chocolate-y.
Hershey COCOA BEAN POLISH
Cocoa Bean Body Polish from The Spa at The Hotel Hershey.
The Disneyland Hotel, just outside the Magic Kingdom in Anaheim, has long been a draw for people who love both Disney movies and midcentury design. Glassware, keychains, and matchbooks from the property are all over Etsy, but I’ve got my eye on this drinks tray, which I would use as a conversation piece at my "It’s A Small World"-themed dinner party.
Vintage Disneyland Round Painted Metal Drinks Serving Tray
Vintage 1960's circular metal drinks tray featuring scenes from all of the original lands. Light grey with matte gold trim.
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