Hotel smells – the secret scents that influence a stay without you even noticing


Reception at The Bedford Townhouse in Limerick is not manned after 6pm.

fter that, guests arrive by mobile key or pin access. However, they are met by something “warm, inviting, alluring and a little bit quirky”, owner Denise Brazil says… with a base of bergamot.

It’s the hotel’s signature scent, which was developed together with Cork-based company Scent Ireland. “We wanted to create a welcome for guests even though they would not be meeting our team on arrival,” Brazil says. “We feel it captures our personality very well.”

All over the world, hotels are diffusing similar scents of place. Westin’s is called ‘White Tea’. Ballynahinch Castle’s scent has “hints of pine, turf and floral notes from the walled garden”. The Newt in Somerset, Madame Rêve in Paris, W Hotels — all boast olfactory originals.

“In design up to now, we’ve always engaged four of your main senses,” says Liam O’Connor, owner-manager of Scent Ireland. “The one that was always forgotten about was your sense of smell.”

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Lobby of Ballynahinch Castle. Photo: Barry Murphy

As well as hotels, he has worked with businesses like gyms, dental surgeries, nightclubs, crematoriums and even a luxury train to create customised scents. He won’t reveal his secrets, other than to say they avoid evaporating chemicals, aerosols or heat. Diffusers can be fitted on the floor, walls or ceiling to emit the scents.

Smell is closely linked to memory and emotion — think of a turf fire or a loved one’s perfume. But O’Connor says hotel scents should be understated, complementing other elements like the lighting, welcome and décor. “If you can smell the lavender, for example, it ain’t working properly.”

Scent Ireland’s scent list includes names like ‘Adriatic Coast’, ‘Blossom Tea’ and ‘Baby Powder’ — “a powdery and delicately soft floral fragrance with notes of fresh pink rose, warmer lily and a suggestion of smooth, soothing vanilla”.

I can see how different brands might lean into different notes. Smells can also change between spaces or seasonally (what seems cosy at Christmas could be a stinky fit for summer). I also imagine strong or divisive scents are best avoided. O’Connor uses a musical analogy: “You wouldn’t have Black Sabbath blasting at you out the door. You might have Richard Clayderman on the piano with no lyrics.”

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Relaxing at Monart, Co Wexford

In Co Wexford, Monart developed its bespoke scent with a small, French perfumery whose experts travelled to immerse themselves in the gardens, guest experience and “feeling and tone” of its spa. The result is a subtle blend of “cool bergamot and neroli enhanced with notes of white jasmine, rich amber, cedarwood and patchouli”, it says.

“A scent can often transport a person to a particular place in time or place physically and indeed invoke a memory,” a spokesperson tells me.

Several Blue Book properties also use scents to enhance the guest experience – including No.1 Pery Square in Limerick, Dunbrody House in Co Wexford and Gregans Castle in Co Clare, which has been burning Co Galway-made Cloon Keen Gooseberry Leaf candles for a decade.

“The scent is a fresh green smell that reflects the greenery that meets the guests as they step out of their cars when arriving at the hotel,” it says.

“We’ve always used fresh colours and flavours in the hotel. Therefore, it made sense to use fresh and light scents to enhance the atmosphere of the hotel rather than using heavy, woody, or musky ones.”

And, of course, there’s an “aroma marketing” element for hotels to connect with guests, as Liam O’Connor calls it — think of everything from sprays, sticks or scented candles to Marriott Bonvoy Boutiques’s fragrance subscriptions.

In Limerick, guests have reacted positively to the warm, welcoming scent greeting them at The Bedford Townhouse, Brazil says.

“Some have even wanted to purchase it for their own homes.”



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