Room Service Is Different Now. Here’s How 14 Hotels Are Doing It Right

Guests booking one of four private dining suites at Malibu Beach Inn can enjoy a customized four-course dinner on their private oceanfront terrace while watching the sunset over the Pacific. Handcrafted cocktails and wine pairings accompany each course, with masked servers appearing on cue just when your glass needs topping off. Chef Ryan Caldwell crafts a special menu for each guest, with dishes like shrimp ceviche on housemade tostadas followed by petite filet and diver scallop surf and turf.

Between Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, Montage Palmetto Bluff is the epitome of laidback Lowcountry Luxury, sprawling across 20,000 Spanish moss-draped acres—nearly 1.5 times the size of Manhattan. This September, the resort launched a picnic and pedal experience in partnership with Veuve Clicquot, sending guests off with chilled champagne, a Sferra cashmere throw blanket, and a picnic basket filled to the brim with Southern fare (deviled eggs and pimento cheese and Benton’s ham sandwiches) or Parisian bites (cheese, charcuterie, baguette and macarons) to explore the surrounding maritime forest and lagoons for a socially-distanced al fresco lunch.

Wisconsin’s premier golf and wellness resort, Destination Kohler, recently added two new cabins, Lake and Pond, to its growing collection of private and secluded accommodations. Cabin guests enjoy contactless grocery delivery from the resort’s specialty grocery store Woodlake Market, which boasts one of the area’s most extensive selections of organic and locally-grown produce, along with local Wisconsin cheese and craft beer. Just order online or through the Rosie app 24 hours before arrival to have your kitchen pre-stocked. Shop the Kitchens of Kohler section for marinated meats and seafood, housemade sausage, and prepared foods like pistachio couscous. Fine dining at home has never been this easy.

Kimpton La Peer Hotel launched a secret in-room dining menu that pairs elevated versions of fast-food favorites with Veuve Clicquot. Along with Veuve Clicquot’s iconic yellow label champagne, 2008 La Grand Dame is also available for those wishing to splurge. For breakfast, pair Veuve with cheesy English muffin sandwiches filled with eggs and avocado, smoked salmon, or chicken sausage. Come evening, chow down on beef sliders with truffle fries or crab and sausage fried rice, all served in Vevue Clicquot’s signature orange takeout containers.

Prior to the pandemic, Four Seasons St. Louis had a more typical in-room dining menu with soups, salads, and sandwiches. But now the full menu at signature restaurant Cinder House is available, so guests can enjoy wood-fired dishes by James Beard Award-winning chef Gerard Craft while lounging in their plush spa robes. Grilled lamb ribs glazed with lime, soy, garlic, and honey have been a favorite among the influx of leisure travelers, along with hen of the woods mushrooms slow-roasted in chorizo butter and served on pomme purée.

Guests can order fresh cocktails shaken and stirred to order without leaving their room with the new sunset bar cart service at The Portofino Hotel & Marina. The $75 package includes two cocktails and housemade bar snacks—pickles, olives, and potato chips—prepared right outside your door between 4 and 8 p.m. Try the Summer Night Negroni with jasmine-infused rye gin, vermouth, and Campari, or This Way to Montego for a tropical hit of pineapple, banana, and rum.

Hotel Bel-Air has added several new dining experiences for guests to enjoy in the privacy of their rooms or the hotel’s lush gardens. Savor a patio picnic from Wolfgang Puck with Mediterranean mezze, Santa Monica farmers’ market crudités, a selection of sandwiches, and sweet treats. There’s also the option for a California market-inspired four-course tasting menu served on your private patio with optional wine pairings. The plant-based tasting menu is a hit, even among omnivores.

If you’re feeling snacky at new boutique hotel The Chloe, order a thoughtfully-packed provisions package for $140 that includes housemade pimento cheese and crackers, a sweet and salty snack mix, pre-batched cocktails for two, and a chocolate bar from local bean-to-bar chocolate maker Piety and Desire. Locally made small-batch Eki hot sauce and hand-stitched keepsake napkins by Hibiscus Linens are the finishing touches.

Book a private home, cabin, or cottage at Old Edwards Inn and Spa, and a dedicated concierge will arrange dinner cooked by a personal chef, cocktail hour on your private wooded deck, afternoon tea, catered food and beverage gatherings, and a basket on your kitchen island filled with fresh bounty from local farms upon arrival. They’ll even light a fire in the outdoor fireplace with a complimentary s’mores set up for cozy stargazing. The robust food and drink programming at this European-style Relais & Châteaux resort debuted this summer in response to the pandemic.

A classic English afternoon is a highlight of staying at the quaint Deer Path Inn in Lake Forest, Illinois. The Tudor-style hotel just outside of Chicago is now serving afternoon tea en-suite for the first time, with all the same trimmings as before. Choose from an assortment of more than 50 teas accompanied by English-inspired finger sandwiches, scones, and petit fours. Instead of a communal tray of candy and cookies in the lobby, there are now individually-boxed sweet surprises in-room and complimentary coffee and pastries via room service upon request.

Caesars Entertainment has launched a mobile ordering service that offers convenient delivery from 11 different dining outlets to all four of their Las Vegas properties—Caesars Palace, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, and The LINQ Hotel. Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen, Nobu, Beijing Noodle No. 9, and Pronto by Giada are just a few of the options. So, whether you’re in the mood for pasta, miso-glazed black cod, or steak, dinner is just a few taps away. For football season there are even tailgate to-go packages from Fulton Street Food Hall, DiFarra Pizza, and Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen & Bar.

The historic Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, Delaware opened a new restaurant for the first time in more than a century this September. Replacing the old Green Room is modern French brasserie Le Cavalier, and the full menu is available to order for room service, including dry-aged ribeye au Poivre for two, French onion soup, and brown butter lobster tails. Try the epic sundae for two or four to end your meal, which includes sweet cream and salted caramel ice creams with accouterments like warm chocolate ganache, the original Green Room macaroons, spiced walnuts, barberries, and brown butter whipped cream.

When you book the Local Escape package at Four Seasons One Dalton Street, hotel mixologists will swing by with a cocktail cart, bringing the bar to your door. Enjoy a hand-crafted drink—the Uncommon Margarita with grilled pineapple is a favorite—along with locally-featured snacks while enjoying views overlooking Boston’s Back Bay. Ten percent of the proceeds from this package are donated to local Boston charities supporting populations disproportionally impacted by COVID-19.

Guests booking a suite at the Waldorf Astoria Park City have access to kitchenettes, so the hotel is offering new in-suite chef’s basket experiences so that guests can prepare a meal together using the highest-quality local ingredients from purveyors like Park City Creamery and farms in Heber Valley. You’ll have all the ingredients for dishes like shrimp and vegetable quesadillas, fusilli bolognese, or filet mignon with Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, and Yukon Gold potatoes waiting in your refrigerator and pantry, along with a detailed recipe card written by the hotel’s executive chef.