Luxury hotels are no strangers to rolling out the red carpet, but those looking to really impress their guests are rolling out something else — amenity trolleys. These creative carts often highlight a hotel’s signature element, delivering special moments, memorable experiences and perfect photo opportunities.
From Turkey’s most famous pastries to a gym delivered to your door, these five unique trolleys are pushing hotel perks to new levels.
Jean-Georges Philadelphia
Presentation has always been integral to caviar service, and Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Jean-Georges Philadelphia’s tableside caviar cart is in a league of its own. Diners start by taking in sweeping views from the top floor of the city’s tallest building — which also houses the Four-Star Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center — before settling into chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s six-course tasting menu and then watching a trolley arrive with its decadent caviar display.
A trio of Petrossian caviars, in the brand’s iconic blue tins, sits chilled atop the trolley’s marble surface. Each round of the Jean-Georges signature Caviar Egg Toast Trio is plated tableside. A warm, creamy egg yolk is sandwiched in buttery, toasted brioche, and then crowned with a generous spoonful of fresh herbs and the three selections: the bold, briny Royal Baïka; the nutty, rich Royal Ossetra; and Jean-Georges Select, an exclusive Kaluga-Huso option with a silky texture and lingering finish. An optional wine pairing, which might bring a glass of Laurent-Perrier, rounds out the moment.
Shangri-La Bosphorus, Istanbul
Picture Istanbul’s signature sweet served on a silver platter. Better yet, picture it rolling toward you on a trolley at Four-Star Shangri-La Bosphorus, Istanbul, steered by the hotel’s own baklava butler.
The phyllo-layered treats come from Gaziantep, a city many credit as baklava’s birthplace, where the same family has run the supplying bakery for five generations. While other regions dress up their baklava with rosewater or cinnamon, Gaziantep’s bakers keep to tradition, using nothing more than honey, phyllo, butter and crushed pistachios.
The showmanship lives up to the pastry. Upon arrival to the hotel, guests receive an ornate key, which they later hand to a server at the Lobby Lounge or IST TOO, who summons the butler, dressed in traditional Turkish finery, to the table. The cart also carries an upright skewer of Maraş, a chewy Turkish ice cream made from clotted cream, ready to be tucked into flaky layers for an unforgettable indulgence.
Four Seasons Hotel Chicago
If you’d like to work out but have a packed schedule or a lack of motivation, Four-Star Four Seasons Hotel Chicago’s FYSIK Fitness Cart rolls the gym into the privacy of your suite. Part of the hotel’s on-demand wellness menu, the cart itself looks more like furniture than equipment, with leather-wrapped weights and warm wood shelving. Stocked with a medicine ball, dumbbells, a muscle roller, kettlebells, push-up bars, a jump rope and a mat, there’s something for every body type on this sleek workout wagon.
In addition to the exercise equipment, the Four Seasons’ renewed In-Room Wellness Menu features recovery tools from Peloton and Therabody as well as post-sweat rituals like face masks, therapeutic baths and LED light therapy.
Of course, if you’d like to balance all the arm curling with some cocktail sipping, the hotel’s mobile martini cart brings the bar to your room.
Waldorf Astoria Bangkok
Start the day with dessert, courtesy of the Four-Star Waldorf Astoria Bangkok’s mango sticky rice trolley. The look alone is worth the detour. A dark, fluted cabinet, wearing the hotel’s gleaming W monogram, is accented with a white marble top, brass-toned rails and woven baskets of ripe mangoes. The dish gets the same refined touch. This beloved staple pairs creamy sticky rice soaked in sweetened coconut with juicy mango. It’s refreshing, faintly tangy and sweet in just the right measure.
Find the trolley at The Brasserie, the hotel’s all-day dining venue in the upper lobby, where brasserie-inspired fare shares the stage with local flavors, and the breakfast spread ranks among Bangkok’s best.
The Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York City
Ditch the random airport paperback for something a little more elevated with the help of Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Fifth Avenue Hotel’s Book Ritual. This Manhattan hotel’s library cart is as expertly curated as its Martin Brudnizki-designed interiors. A butler wheels it right to your door, presenting 20 titles selected by the property’s next-door neighbor and literary landmark, Rizzoli Bookstore, for you to sign out and keep for the length of your stay.
Whether you’re into art, travel, classics or philosophy, you will to find something suited to your taste. And as any good writer will tell you, the right details make the scene. Complete yours with an accompanying plate of chocolate chip cookies and milk or a glass of red wine. Should the page turn on your mood, the hotel also offers a Tea or Martini Ritual to give your room a different vibe.
