Think about the fanciest hotel you’ve ever been in or the nicest spa you’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. Can you remember what it smells like? The odds are, you can. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of walking into a luxury hotel and getting a whiff of that signature, fancy hotel scent, but what exactly are you smelling? Whether you’re looking for a summer fragrance that will have you smelling like the lobby of the White Lotus or a relaxing scent that transports you to the spa table with every sniff, we’ve got you covered on all things hotel fragrances.
What fragrance notes smell most like a luxury hotel?
“When people talk about that ‘luxury hotel’ scent, I personally believe that they’re usually referring to two different olfactive experiences, both equally transportive, just in different ways,” says Maekaeda Gibbons, founder of Brown Sugar Babe. “On one end, you’ve got what I call the spa lovers. These people crave a fresh, clean, restorative vibe—think eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender and citrus notes like bergamot or grapefruit. These scents are grounding and clarifying, and they really give a feeling of serenity.”
On the other end of the spectrum are what Gibbons calls the “luxury lovers,” or the people who want their home or signature scent to smell “like the lobby of a 5-star hotel or a candle burning in a penthouse suite.” In that realm, she highlights notes of oud, saffron, amber, sandalwood and musk. “These are rich, layered and sensual and honestly smell like money,” Gibbons says. “If you are trying to recreate that hotel scent experience, I always say to look for words like ‘ambered,’ ‘woody,’ ‘musky’ or ‘velvety’ in the fragrance description. Many hotel-inspired scents also lean unisex because they’re all about clean, expensive depth rather than sweetness.”
7 Expensive-Smelling Hotel Fragrances to Try Now
