Luxury hotel brands try to differentiate themselves in all kinds of ways. One (arguably) minor way they do so is by partnering with other luxury brands on their toiletry and skincare lines. While I’m not suggesting that you should pick a hotel brand because of the toiletries that they offer, I think I’m not alone in preferring some brands to others.
In this post I wanted to share my favorite hotel toiletry brands, and then I’m curious to hear what brands OMAAT readers prefer. To be clear, my rankings are based purely on my perception of products and brands, from the packaging, to the scent, to how it feels using them, to memories I associate with them. I’m not claiming any authority with my opinion, so please don’t ask me to defend my preferences!
Still, I’m sure I’m not alone in getting more excited about some toiletry brands than others. I think it’s also interesting to reflect on how two major hotel brands have switched their toiletries brands in the past couple of years.
With that out of the way, below are some of my favorite hotel toiletry brands (let me also emphasize that not every single property belonging to these groups has the brand standard toiletries).
In this post:
Le Labo at EDITION & Park Hyatt
Le Labo generally supplies toiletries for EDITION and Park Hyatt hotels, and it’s probably my single favorite toiletry brand. I love how there are different scents, and how they’re often customized for individual hotels (with the branding on the bottles even reflecting that). I enjoy the scents, and also appreciate that they seem to be fairly mild.
Diptyque at Ritz-Carlton
Within the past couple of years, Ritz-Carlton has started partnering with Diptyque on toiletries. What an absolutely massive upgrade this is, compared to the previous Asprey Purple Rain collection, which I personally found to be completely unremarkable. I find Diptyque to have a very pleasant scent without being overpowering. It’s something I otherwise associate with Qatar Airways, as it’s the only major airline to partner with the brand.
Aesop at Waldorf Astoria
A couple of years ago, Waldorf Astoria made the switch from Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries to Aesop toiletries. I’d consider that to be a significant upgrade. I love the scent of Aesop, and it can’t help but always remind me of Cathay Pacific back in the day (which used to have a close collaboration with Aesop, but that’s no more).
BVLGARI at various hotel brands
I love BVLGARI toiletries, including the packaging, scent, and feeling of using them. The catch is that while many hotels have BVLGARI toiletries, there’s not much consistency as to which brands have them. Yes, as you’d expect, BVLGARI hotels have these products, but that’s a small hotel group, with under 10 properties. On top of that, you’ll find BVLGARI toiletries at select properties of Four Seasons, Rosewood, and more.
Acqua Di Parma at various hotel brands
Acqua Di Parma is another one of my favorite hotel toiletry brands, in terms of packaging and scent. The catch is that there’s not a major hotel group that consistently stocks these products, though they’re common enough among hotel groups that I feel good about including it on the list. For example, while not brand standard, the St. Regis Venice uses Acqua Di Parma products.
Molton Brown at various hotel brands
Molton Brown makes great products (I particularly like the soap). While no major hotel group consistently has Molton Brown products, I find that they’re pretty common at luxury hotels, including at many Marriott Luxury Collection properties.
MALIN+GOETZ at Le Meridien
Admittedly this is a bit lower end than the other options, but I wanted to also throw in a toiletry brand from a more mid-range hotel brand. For upscale hotels, I’d say that MALIN+GOETZ, available at Le Meridien properties, is probably my favorite line.
Bottom line
The above are seven of my favorite hotel toiletry lines. As you can see, some are pretty consistently available at select hotel brands, while others are frequently offered, though not consistently at any brand. I don’t claim that my opinions are right, but the above are the toiletry brands I’m typically most excited to see at hotels.
What are your favorite hotel toiletry brands?
I love the Alila in-house made toiletries. The natural scents are fabulous!
Lanvin @ Sofitels are awesome!
The Le Labo that Fairmonts stock is one of our favorites when we travel- I've even bought the shampoo for my husband to use at home.
I also like anything not too heavy or perfume-y and more on the citrus/clean notes.
Love this topic. I love the Santal 33 Le Labo (eg. Kyoto) but some Park Hyatts uses Bergamot 22 (eg. istanbul, Bangkok). PH Tokyo used Aesop and not sure if that’ll change after the reno.
Four Seasons in certain cities uses Diptyque too. I don’t like it as the scent is overpowering.
I love the Bamford Geranium series used in The Okura and Palace Hotel Tokyo. Might like this even more than Le Labo. Would like to know which other hotels use this too!
I was a huge fan of Sheraton's Le Grand Bain and it's a shame they switched over to Gilchrist & Soames!
Love this topic. I love the Santal 33 Le Labo (eg. Kyoto) but some Park Hyatts uses Bergamot 22 (eg. istanbul, Bangkok). PH Tokyo used Aesop and not sure if that’ll change after the reno.
Four Seasons in certain cities uses Diptyque too. I don’t like it as the scent is overpowering.
I love the Bamford Geranium series used in The Okura and Palace Hotel Tokyo. Might like this even more than Le Labo. Would like to know which other hotels use this too!
Since Cathay Pacific was mentioned, curious to know how Aesop compares to what they use now (Bamford).
I believe Fairmont also uses Le Labo (Rose31). That’s how I was introduced to the brand.
AESOP is also quite common at Marriott Design Collection hotels.
Apart from the usual suspects like Le Labo, Aesop and Byredo, I also like Sodashi quite a bit although they’re quite rare. (AFAIK only Roku Kyoto uses it)
My favorite is the Le Labo Rose 31 that I believe is an exclusive scent for Fairmont.
I also like the momo brand at the W and used to like the Bliss brand they used to stock.
For mid-range, I like the Sheraton Gilchrist & Soames Warm Oak bath products. They are so much better than the awful Le Grand Bain that Sheraton used to have that smelled like cigarette smoke.
I also really like Grown Alchemist but have only ever seen it on Delta not in any hotels.
Really? Am the opposite, I quite liked Le Grand Bain vs the Gilchrist & Soames Warm Oak.
On the other side of the spectrum, and I know this doesn’t exactly spell luxury, but I also really like that Holiday Inns in Europe now stock Dove! Nice touch.
1 Hotels has Bamford products, which are quite nice. Peninsula Hotels has very nice products too and "local fragrance" specialist. I very much like the Maison Cauliers that Rosewood stocks. Four Seasons in some markets has Natura Bisse products - which are nice too. These are the ones that made it home in my luggage and I regularly use. I wish it was possible to buy some of these products, but quite a few are not for sale to general public.
Diptyque is also available at select Luxury Collection properties and I was shocked to also find it at the Indigo, Larnaca.
I am also a big fan of Byredo, (both Le Chemin at Luxury Collection and Bal D’Adrique at Intwrcontinentals) and I think it’s certainly been a great choice by Intercontinental. Interestingly, although many IC’s have Bal D’Afrique, some others such as IC HK carry different fragrances.
That is so funny, I have work in Cyprus and have stayed at the Hotel Indigo (IHG) in Larnaca as well and enjoyed not only the bathroom amenities but the excellent food and rooftop pool and bar. Small world.
Dang, no love for Byredo Le Chemin? My absolute favourite! I hate that it's exclusive to Luxury Collections and have to buy it through them because it smells so pleasant without it being too pungent like Le Labo & Dipytque.
Do people not realise that most of these products are made by large license manufactures often in china using different ingredients to the products you buy in store? This is certainly the case for Le Labo, Diptyque, Salvatore Ferragamo, Malin&Goetz and many others. If you compare the ingredients the hotel products are usually a generic shampoo formula with fragrance added, without any of the ‘unique’ formulas that the original products have.
I love Aesop. Because they actually work well besides having fantastic aromatherapy properties.
No Bowmakers from DS & Durga at The Thompson?!?! I love that stuff. Also Byredo at Andaz Mexico City.
Btw, they have Malin & Goetz at The Fordson, which is part of Hyatt's Unbound Collection in Oklahoma City. A steal at a category 3.
Bowmakers - When you want to smell like your grandfathers library with leather bound books!
I wanted to like this one, but a one and done for me.
Great post. Agree with most on your list.
I also quite like Aromatherapy Associates. Used to have it at the Landmark Mandarin in HK as well as a few JW Marriotts (and some independents).
Surprised no one has mentioned Blaise Mautin - the signature scent they used to have at the Park Hyatt Paris is just amazing. Park Hyatt Istanbul had another Blaine Mautin scent which was not as good.
But probably my...
Great post. Agree with most on your list.
I also quite like Aromatherapy Associates. Used to have it at the Landmark Mandarin in HK as well as a few JW Marriotts (and some independents).
Surprised no one has mentioned Blaise Mautin - the signature scent they used to have at the Park Hyatt Paris is just amazing. Park Hyatt Istanbul had another Blaine Mautin scent which was not as good.
But probably my favorite hotel toiletry is Frederic Malle - Editions de Parfums which is (or was) at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons in LA.
We should probably take this post as an opportunity to remind people to to use their Saks credit before the end of the week. $50 is the perfect amount for picking up some of the products mentioned.
I’m also on Team Breydo Mojave Ghost, for what it’s worth. Great product.
Echoing others about Breydo. I discovered it at the Conrad both in US & Japan Mojave Ghost body wash is my favorite. Malin+Goetz rum body wash is a really nice cheaper brand.
Le Labo is appearing at many more brands now than just Park Hyatt and Edition. A number of LHW hotels etc are featuring them.
Le Labo and Aesop are both owned by Estee Lauder as of recent and the quality has been, unsurprisingly, less "essential" than the old days. Still nice, but less so. Aesop is a more recent purchase so I imagine that the quality will be diluted a bit more in the...
Le Labo is appearing at many more brands now than just Park Hyatt and Edition. A number of LHW hotels etc are featuring them.
Le Labo and Aesop are both owned by Estee Lauder as of recent and the quality has been, unsurprisingly, less "essential" than the old days. Still nice, but less so. Aesop is a more recent purchase so I imagine that the quality will be diluted a bit more in the coming cycle.
Le Labo relies on freshness to its scents. Which is why it's best when they mix your perfume in house, like Santal 33, right there and fresh at the store. Any product you are getting at hotels is a far cry from the real deal. Not that the real deal is even all that real any/more.
Le Labo and Aesop are a perfect study in how corporate buyouts will eventually dilute what once were two privately held and proud niche brands that had a unique quality.
I'll add, the only brand that does unique and distinctive scents in the world is Como. They created it and continue it only at their hotels. And it is truly special.
Aesop was acquired by L’Oreal, not Estee Lauder. There has not been any change in Aesops formula since the acquisition, and while Aesop fragrances are partially mixed in store, all their body products are prepackaged beforehand, same as the hotel toiletries, and for many their first point of contact with the brand (and what they enjoyed enough to look up the brand) is the scent from those toiletries.
I stand corrected. Yes, L'Oreal. I agree, have not noticed any changes as of yet to Aesop. But the purchase is fairly recent in 2023. Like Le Labo I saw the changes gradually over time where it seemed the scents were getting diluted a bit. It will be interesting to see if Aesop goes through the same.
Back in the late 1990's, Molton Brown used to be the brand standard for Westin Hotels. It was switched over to the white tea after the introduction of Heavenly Bed and Heavenly Bath.
Ben, do you even have to shop for toiletry items at home or is your cabinet just overflowing with small bottles?
Our guest bath medicine cabinet has a healthy stash of them in case our guests need them and we don't travel anywhere as frequently as you do.
We discovered Roam products from a Hilton Curio and really liked them, enough to actually buy full-size bottles later for home. We bought direct and their customer...
Ben, do you even have to shop for toiletry items at home or is your cabinet just overflowing with small bottles?
Our guest bath medicine cabinet has a healthy stash of them in case our guests need them and we don't travel anywhere as frequently as you do.
We discovered Roam products from a Hilton Curio and really liked them, enough to actually buy full-size bottles later for home. We bought direct and their customer service was great, even catching an error we had made in our order.
Jo Malone's Lime Basil & Mandarin at Mandarin Oriental in HK is my favorite, not to mention a great name pun!
My impression is that the times when brands license their scents to 3rd party hotel toiletry suppliers, these formulations end up a bit diluted compared to the original formulation. Le Labo is one such example. Compare their Santal 33 lotion (hotel) to any sample of the original formulation, and it seems clear.
So hotels...
Jo Malone's Lime Basil & Mandarin at Mandarin Oriental in HK is my favorite, not to mention a great name pun!
My impression is that the times when brands license their scents to 3rd party hotel toiletry suppliers, these formulations end up a bit diluted compared to the original formulation. Le Labo is one such example. Compare their Santal 33 lotion (hotel) to any sample of the original formulation, and it seems clear.
So hotels which use the original formulation as their toiletries get extra points in my book. Mandarin Oriental uses the original formulation. The ones I've seen that uses Aesop also seem like original formulations. Same with Molton Brown and Diptyque.
I believe Le Labo also work with Fairmont (Rose for them).
Byredo Le Chemin at Luxury Collection hotels, and Byredo Bal d'Afrique at Intercontinental. Those are the two winners.
Then we can talk about Bulgari, Le Labo, Diptyque, etc.
I must be one of the few that detest Le Labo. Every iteration I’ve had thus far stinks so bad. Acqua di Parma makes an exclusive blend for Belmond in Italy which is far better than their standard offerings.
Penhaligon’s and Floris are my favourite British brands. All of these tend to be one off hotel offerings but I’m delighted each time I see them.
I do collect all hotel toiletries, even ones I detest, and donate them to charity at home.
Yeah I also dislike Le Labo. So much that I will avoid Fairmont.
I don’t know if they still use them but the Ormonde Jayne amenities at Raffles after the renovation were lovely.
Remede products are at the St. Regis Istanbul as of two years ago. St. Regis Rome has the Acqua di Parma as of December, Ohhh, is the Acqua di Parma soooo nice.
Count me in for liking the Aesop brand. I knew it was special when even my husband commented on liking the toiletries at the Andaz Tokyo recently. He usually never notices that stuff.
I enjoy the scent, but between the IC Athens, Al Maha, and Hotel Alfonso in Seville, I discovered i have a severe allergy to the Byredo products. It's a shame because it always pops up in nice hotels
We, too, fell in love with Aesop some 15 years ago after our 1st stay at PH Tokyo! I’m embarrassed to admit how many of the mid-sized bottles in the suites we’d leave with after a several nights stay! Let’s hope they bring it back post renovation. With the demise of mini bottles in hotels, I’ve settled into using Malin&Goetz ordered online at home, both their body and skincare products! Cheers!!
Absolutely love the Byredo products at certain Intercontinental. The last one I was at had Bal D'Afrique and thought it was really great.
Although more niche, the Equinox hotel in NYC uses Grown Alchemist products that smell so good - I even bought a bottle of soap when I left.
And lastly I haven't stayed at a St Regis in years and I think it's been discontinued, but huge fan of the Remede products they used to have at some point.
Didn't you love Bliss at the W?!
I thought they moved away from Bliss to momo and /skin regimen/ ?
They did.
I got hooked on Jo Malone after a stay at the Waldorf Astoria in DC, wish more hotels would stock JM so I can pinch or decant the contents!
Le Labo and Byredo.
But a hotelier used to tell me the ones found in hotel these days are licensed and not from the same production as the retail version.
Funny, I had a hotelier tell me the exact opposite.
We stayed at a boutique hotel that stocked MALIN+GOETZ Rum body wash. It was fantastic and much more richer/cleaner than what I purchased previously. The hotelier stated M&G uses a higher percentage of essential oils in their hotel products.
This is very personal.. and may be due to the amount of exposure to them, but I can’t stand the smell of the Bal d’Afrique toiletries at Intercontinental.. wood, tobacco, toast.. dunno.. I usually carry my own in order to avoid using them :)
I'm with you, and take my own fragrance-free products with me. The Hermes Eau d'Orange Verte at the Sofitel Hanoi was the last straw. I thought it was much too strong and polarising a scent to offer at a hotel, and it neutered any attempt to apply an alternative fragrance after showering.
100% Agree. Some of these hotel toiletries are way too perfumed to use. Especially if they are trying to cater to both men and women. And the scent of the Bugari is super perfumed.
Agree, Bal d’Afrique is offputting for me.
I discovered Aesop on my first visit to the Park Hyatt Tokyo, and I use it at home. For a few years I've been ordering from Saks with my Amex Plat credit.
I generally agree with you about Le Labo. I first tried Bvlgari lotion in a Thai Airways first class amenity kit, and their shampoo, bath gel and conditioner at Al Maha. Quite good!
You're too young to remember, but more than...
I discovered Aesop on my first visit to the Park Hyatt Tokyo, and I use it at home. For a few years I've been ordering from Saks with my Amex Plat credit.
I generally agree with you about Le Labo. I first tried Bvlgari lotion in a Thai Airways first class amenity kit, and their shampoo, bath gel and conditioner at Al Maha. Quite good!
You're too young to remember, but more than 20 years ago Molton Brown bath amenities were a Westin staple.
I always thought I didn't like Portico White Ginger, and was grateful when Hyatt dropped it from Regencys a decade ago. Came across an old bottle the other day and strangely missed it? It's amazing what these bottles and scents can do for us, and what the small bottles as a takeaway can mean.
Of course larger bottles were even better. I loved getting a substantive bottle of Bliss in the suites at the W Hong Kong!
My favorite find in recent times was trying Bryedo Mojave Ghost at Resorts World. Among other places, Conrad Tulum has this as well.
Used Byredo at Conrad Dubai. Crappy stuff as it’s made in China but in an ok bottle. Can’t compare to Aesop imo
Thompson hotel DS & Durga
I agree!
Somewhat amusing talking about toiletries. We stayed at the Ritz in Vienna (very nice staff) and I will admit to enjoy the Hommage shaving cream. Maybe a tad bit strong with the smell but it worked very well. Probably 15+ years ago when we were lucky to snag first class tickets on Lufthansa, in the toiletries bag, my wife loved the hand cream/lotion they had.