New Amenity Trend Focuses on "Quiet Luxury"

- The "quiet luxury" trend prioritizes experiences over overt branding, focusing on high-quality, sustainable materials and personalized wellness. This is exemplified by amenities that promote tranquility and well-being, such as the Six Senses London's 2,300-square-meter spa which includes a magnesium pool, biohacking recovery lounge, and an "Alchemy Bar" for creating personalized botanical blends. - In a competitive market, this trend translates to offering hotel-level, highly personalized services. For instance, Park Tower, located over the Park Hyatt, provides residents with access to the hotel's room service, dry cleaning, and the world-renowned NoMI restaurant. Similarly, the Waldorf Astoria (formerly The Elysian) offers residents access to a 14,000-square-foot spa with a mosaic-tiled lap pool, specialized Pilates and Gyrotonic classes, and in-room bath services. - Competitor Millie on Michigan, a newer property, targets a modern luxury renter with amenities like a 46th-floor rooftop pool, a state-of-the-art fitness center featuring a Mirror system for on-demand classes, and extensive co-working spaces with private work pods. This focus on integrated work-life amenities reflects a key priority for today's renters. - The Deco at 1400 N Lakeshore Drive, a renovated Art Deco building, competes by offering tiered levels of interior finishes ("Prestige," "Premium," and "Vintage") to appeal to a wider range of renters within the luxury segment. Its primary amenities focus on essentials like a 24-hour fitness center and a rooftop patio with views of Lake Michigan. - This amenity evolution comes as downtown Chicago's Class A apartment rents see significant increases. In the second quarter of the previous year, average gross rents rose 5.6% to $3,295, with the Gold Coast/Old Town submarket experiencing one of the highest increases at over 9%. Streeterville remains the most expensive submarket with an average gross rent of $3,735. - The Six Senses London spa highlights a move toward hyper-specialized wellness technology, often termed "biohacking." This includes offerings like red-light therapy beds, float pods, compression boots, and sound loungers, demonstrating a data-driven approach to well-being that is currently a distinguishing feature in the ultra-luxury hotel space.