Desperately Seeking the Scent of W Hotels, Can You Help?

October 6, 2010 at 1:12 PM | by juliana | Comments (9)

Something smells good at the W Montreal and apparently at the other W Hotels as well.

A few years ago, one of the must-have trends that emerged for hotels, especially chain hotels, was the signature Hotel Scent.

These are powerful, carefully selected smells that waft through the lobby, "greeting" you at check-in and sometimes, following you all the way up to your room. They are all supposed to enhance your hotel experience as well as give you a strong olfactory reminder of your stay. So that whenever you smell a similar smell, you will be reminded of that hotel. (Tricky!)

Some of our fave scents include the jasmine scent at The Palazzo, the white green tea scent at Westin Hotels and the floral perfume that permeates throughout the Le Meurice in Paris.

But we weren't aware that W Hotels had their own scent until a very concerned reader wrote into to us. Here's what he asked:

All W hotels smell the same. What is that scent?! I need it for my house.
I know that the scent is NOT the smell of the candles that are available in the W hotel store -- I already blew 40 bucks to learn that. I recently asked the front desk agent at a W and she informed me that the smell is "proprietary" and that I can't purchase it anywhere. When I asked for the manufacturer name, she said "I could tell you, but if you contact them they won't sell you any!"
Then, I figured one of the housekeeping employees could slip me some. When I asked, she went into her closet and pulled out some smoke deodorizer that smelled like pine. No dice. At this point, the chase is more important than the prize. Help!

We've put in the question to W Hotels but if this is indeed a proprietary scent, we're not expecting much of an answer. However, we know you hotel insiders might be able to help out our desperate friend and the rest of us as well. What is this smell? Wheatgrass? Something more floral or relaxing? And where can we buy it?

Got an inside tip on what that smell is at W hotels and where we can get it? Spill it to us in comments below or send us an email. (Anonymity Assured.)

Comments (9)

Return to » Desperately Seeking the Scent of W Hotels, Can You Help?

The W in San Francisco uses a scent called "Tre" from Alora Ambiance. You can even see the reed diffusers in the elevator, on their own little ledge. I haven't been to enough Ws to know if this is a universal scent, but I have purchased this one and know it is definitely the one that that hotel uses (their manager at the time provided me that information).

I have not noticed a W smell ever. This leads me to assume two things--

I have crap sense of smell.
All Ws DO NOT smell alike bc then I would have put together some sort of association by now.

However, someone else tells me there is a W signature scent. I'm eager to hear what it is. Maybe it is "Tre" from Alora Ambiance. If it is, Brandon, you win, $1,000,000...in Monopoly money.

A company called DMX (not the rapper)sells these scents to large companies like Starwood, a lot of retial fashion stores, etc. I would think it would have come from them.

Each season the W issues a new scent for their hotel lobbies. Yes, an awesome marketing technique I must say. THIS is the scent you are smelling - it's the candles.

As I write this, I have a W candle burning in my bathroom but unfortunately there is no name for these mysteriously wonderful scented wax creations. You can only purchase them for $40 at www.whotels.com or you can schmooze your W concierge to see if he/she can give you a complimentary candle. :)

Last year's scent (which had a dark purple wax color) was called Spring09 - how original, right? I purchased 4 of these as gifts from the store at xmas since they were discounted to $25. That was my favorite scent. The Winter 09 scent reminded me of a dentist office so I was not too fond of that one. This year - Spring10 (had a light pink wax color but similar scent to Spring09) is pretty good as well.

Now, there's ALSO a particular scent that is used for cleaning the hotels as well - which unfortunately I do not have info to provide. There's a cleaning solution that they use to wipe the bathrooms and toilets which almost has the same scent of the Bliss Face Wash you receive in your bathroom. Maybe someone can do some experimenting with this.....

-Mike

I found the smell in a candle at Rite Aid out of all placed. The scent was Lemongrass and Coriander.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefo x-a&q=lemongrass+and+coriander&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=11532482924474454313&ei=3qkWTYn yI464sAP84JWnDw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=image&resnum=4&ved=0CCwQ8gIwAw #

Not sure what they use as I've never smelled it but i didn't hear they might use their own blend.

Our company specializes in scent distribution and scent marketing for hotels, retailers and casinos.

If readers are interested in learning more about AromaTech Scent Marketing please visit our company website for more info. perhaps we can assist in getting some answers for you.

About AromaTech Scent Marketing.
Aroma Technologies (AromaTech), is the leading provider of scent marketing solutions for brands, hotels, casinos and retailers. AromaTech's patented scent technology transforms the perception of your commercial identity and environment as well as enables businesses to create a unique experience by engaging memory and emotions. Proven to enhance the appeal of any environment, these pioneering scent machines can be customized to reflect even the most challenging environment or brand. AromaTech is based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

For information on scent marketing and aroma diffusers please contact us at (888) 276-6245 or sales@aromatech.ca

The W hotel room scent is called W hotel room scent. I was able to get some recently and will be selling them on ebay. You can do a search un W hotel room scent.

I found the manufacturer of the W Room Scent: http://www.soulartherapy.com/products/private/index.php

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