Today, one way for a hotel to appear distinctive is in its choice of room amenities and in-room features. These accents should be useful, tasteful, distinctive, and local whenever possible. Nothing second-rate or corner-cutting.

The hotel must furnish all the luxury travel essentials. These include necessities like ample drawer and closet space; a safe with an interior laptop charger; puffy hangers; free bottled water; robes and slippers that go beyond basic white terry; an iPhone dock or other way to play your own music.