At other properties, they’re called “partnership rooms,” which means they’re only available through exclusive membership clubs that require six-figure buy-ins. At Paradise Beach on the Caribbean island of Nevis, two of the resort’s new beach houses—which sit on stilts at the water’s edge—can only be rented via Exclusive Resorts LLC, a vacation club whose initiation fee is $125,000.
By Invitation Only
Economically speaking, it may seem counterintuitive to keep your most expensive product shielded from public view. But hotels prefer not to shoulder the risk of a last-minute, fee-free cancellation on a pricey suite, and splurging travelers are more prone to last-minute pangs of guilt than a wealthy regular. For this reason, the JW Marriott Essex House in New York and San Francisco’s St. Regis require their penthouse suites to be booked via email—it gives managers time to vet potential stays before confirming a reservation.
Of course, there’s also the perennial question asked by rejected walk-ins at hospitals and restaurants: “What would you do if Beyoncé dropped in?” At many hotels, a few luxury rooms are always kept empty in case a valued VIP decides to stay on a whim. These aren’t always celebrities; they can simply be big spenders. At the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, for instance, the 21 Boulevard penthouses are entirely unlisted, unbookable, and reserved for those who spend a cool million in the high-roller lounge.
Exceptions to the Rules
Unlisted rooms aren’t always the biggest or the most glamorous. Sometimes, they’re botched or rejected prototypes for renovations that have hung around for financial reasons. And sometimes they’re just unusually small or oddly shaped. According to travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt of Atmosphere Research Group, these broom-closet-size rooms are most common in older, Grand Hotel-era properties, which were “built to serve people who traveled with staff, like a personal butler, a valet or a maid.”
Harteveldt says while many of those cramped quarters have been knocked together or reconfigured, such renovations aren’t always possible, leading hoteliers to turn them into cheaper, secret rooms that are held in reserve. That’s how New York’s Moxy Hotel in Times Square—which was built in 1907 as the Mills Hotel—ended up with its 120-square-foot Crashpad rooms. They’re priced at just $99 per night and are truly off-menu: They’re only bookable off the drinks menu at the Magic Hour rooftop bar, for guests that have had one martini too many.
In other words: Don’t assume that all of your options are listed on a hotel’s website. And know that like any good secret, unlisted suites are always at risk of going public.
“Honestly, we might put it out there at some point,” says Masson of the Blue Lagoon suite, meaning listing it publicly, not talking to us for this article. “But for now, we want it to be like a hidden gem.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.