Relais and Chateaux opens NYC boutique

Above: Maison des Relais and Chateaux boutique in midtown Manhattan.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Bebeto Matthews
---------------------------
MAISON DES RELAIS and CHATEAUX
10 E. 53rd St.,
near Fifth Avenue
or 877-334-6464.
Open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

The hotel association Relais & Chateaux may not be a familiar name to the average American, but the organization is hoping to change that with the opening of Maison des Relais & Chateaux.
The Maison is a warm and inviting place, part home, part hotel lobby, a boutique in the heart of Manhattan with a small sitting area, Rolls Royce kitchen, and reservation agents for booking Relais & Chateaux hotels and restaurants around the world.

The New York Maison opened on Feb. 13; other Maisons are in London and Paris. Three sales offices are set to open this year in Singapore, Switzerland and the Benelux countries.

Relais & Chateaux (relais means lodge or resting place; chateaux means castle) was created in 1954 when eight hoteliers decided to form the association to attract attention to their properties located between Paris and Nice. The exclusive collection has since grown to include 478 hotels and gourmet restaurants in 55 countries. There are 45 U.S. properties.

Europe has a long tradition of small country inn hotels, says Jaume Tapies, international president of the association, adding that the average property is 23 rooms. When the organization started, North America was known for mega hotels. But he says the number of "small luxury inns" in the region and the numbers of North Americans going overseas for vacations who are seeking "unique experiences" warrants a New York boutique.

Tapies says he wanted the Maisons to be more than reservation offices, which explains the mini-theater, where people can watch a DVD of the history of the association, and in the future, take a video tour of one of the properties. A Library of the Five Senses includes tall shelves lined with guides to the properties and chefs' cookbooks. The kitchen features an $80,000 Electrolux island consisting of a stainless steel grill, champagne sink, induction wok and induction cooktop where food is prepared for tastings and other events.

While there is no celeb endorsement (according to a spokeswoman), the boutique does plan to host invitation-only events at the Maison, such as wine tastings and cooking classes from Relais & Chateaux properties, including Patrick O'Connell from The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten from The Mercer Kitchen at the Mercer Hotel in New York.

Source: Associated Press
http://www.relaischateaux.com/page.php3?lang=en