But the hottest new amenity flowing into luxury hospitality is one you might not expect to pay top dollar for: good ol’ H2O.

A growing number of upscale hotels are ditching standard water bottles and investing instead in high-tech filtration systems, per Robb Report.  

  • At Conrad New York Downtown, every room is outfitted with a ​​Rocean Zero filtration system — a sleek device that blends into the existing mini bar setup — plus a complimentary steel bottle. (It also installed a fancy water dispenser in its lobby that uses desiccant technology to convert atmospheric air into drinkable water.)

  • The L7 in Chicago, which opened last year, pairs reusable bottles with a reverse-osmosis filtration system by Apec Water that’s built into its rooms’ faucets, so guests can drink straight from the tap.

  • Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills is hoping to eventually get its high-paying guests to drink recycled wastewater purified through its ​​Epic Cleantec filtration system.

Why?

They’re cost effective and sustainable — L7’s filtration system, for example, costs just $15 per faucet and is estimated to save ~97k plastic bottles from being used annually — making it a hit with both hotel managers and guests.

  • The majority of global tourists (73%) prefer to stay in hotels with eco-friendly accommodations, according to the World Tourism Organization.

Plus, the filtration systems allow hotels to control the flavor and experience of their in-house water, which Robb Report writes has become “especially important for luxury hotels.”

Beyond the suite…

… hotels and other hospitality businesses are giving water the high-brow treatment in a variety of ways — several restaurants now have water menus and water sommeliers, and many spas, like the Hotel Royal Evian Spa in France, are making H2O a focal point of their services.

It’s all part of a broader “luxury hydration” trend that’s given rise to things like $300 medical-grade water bottles, and which leading hydration expert Martin Riese says hotels are finally catching on to.

And though the concept — essentially, the premiumization of life’s most basic necessity — might seem a bit ridiculous, it fits into the greater health and wellness movement influencing today’s microplastic-wary, trendy drinkware-loving consumers.

Singdhi Sokpo