Nam Prig Long Rua, a chili-spiked stir fry dish that you can order to your room at the Anantara Siam Bangkok. Photo / Anantara Hotels & Resorts
Nam Prig Long Rua, a chili-spiked stir fry dish that you can order to your room at the Anantara Siam Bangkok. Photo / Anantara Hotels & Resorts
Bleary-eyed from a long flight that lands after dark, staring down an even-more-exhausting work trip ahead, you drop your luggage in your hotel room, grab the room service menu and flip straight to the "late night" pages ... only to find nothing but cheeseburgers and club sandwiches.
Room service might be one of the most indulgent perks to staying in a luxury hotel-especially if you dig in while wearing a plush bathrobe. So it's a long-standing mystery to frequent travellers that the critical late-night hours, usually between midnight to 6am, are consistently neglected by hotel food and beverage managers.
There's a reason for the culinary blackout. After dinner service ends and before breakfast begins, the kitchen gets whittled down to a skeleton crew whose capabilities are limited to pasta, salads, simple sandwiches and soups. And that's if the hotel offers late-night menus at all. (Some have thrown room service programs out the window, claiming the concept is no longer profitable.)
But not all hotels have given up on feeding you well late at night. The big-city establishments below stand out not just for their comfortable rooms and top-notch service, but are also winners for their ability to satisfy your hunger pangs-with local flavours!-all around the clock.
In the heart of Ratchaprasong, the Thai capital's premier shopping district, this recently rebranded property (formerly the Four Seasons) provides excellent respite from the chaos of downtown Bangkok. Tons of amenities-eight restaurants and bars, a pool surrounded by a lovely garden-make it feel like an urban resort, too.
Your late-night order: Midnight meals make up only a page and a half of an otherwise sprawling room service menu. But what makes the cut is legitimately interesting: crab spring rolls, Thai omelette with minced pork, pad Thai tossed with prawns, a satay sampler, and mango with sticky rice.
Shangri-La Hotel, Paris
Tucked away in the elegant, crowd-free 16th arrondissement, this palace hotel has it all: balconied rooms with Eiffel Tower views, two restaurants with Michelin stars, a gorgeous pool drenched in sunlight, and a light-flooded spa in the estate's former stables.
Your late-night order: Live out your most decadent French fantasies with such indulgences as scrambled eggs with caviar and foie gras on toast. If that'll ding you on your corporate expense report, more modest choices - like French onion soup, cheesy Croque Monsieurs and a Millefeuille for dessert - will still have you swooning.
London's Dorchester is a bona fide hospitality institution where A-listers take afternoon tea in the classically plush Promenade and gourmands clamour for reservations at Alain Ducasse's namesake spot. The glamour extends to the rooms, too, with a decidedly regal aesthetic and an all-hours room service menu that pulls out all the stops.
A healthy (but not at all boring) Bento Box at the Dorchester. Photo / Dorchester Collection
Your late-night order: Channel the royal family (Buckingham Palace is less than a mile away) and hew to the menu's most opulent items: beluga caviar and buckwheat blinis, a seafood mixed grill, or a 21-ounce T-bone steak. Not one for such gluttony? A robust spa menu means you can actually order something that's both delicious and healthy, like the Vitaly bento box, which includes a tomato soup, stir-fried beef with cashews and honey, and a banana-blueberry-avocado smoothie.
Raffles Dubai
More is more at this pyramid-shaped hotel that's dripping with marble and ornate chandeliers: There are seven restaurants and bars; the pool is lined with imposing, mosaic-tiled pillars; the gold-trimmed accommodations are among the city's largest; and the in-room dining menu includes 43 pages of tasty treats.
Your late-night order: Skip the Western-style comfort foods you could order anywhere else, and train your sights on the Arabic section of the menu. It includes excellent renditions of Emirati classics such as tabbouleh salad, labneh with za'atar, and harira lamb soup (a Middle Eastern tomato-and-bean concoction amped up with garlic and lemon).
Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown
This new TriBeCa hotel is more pared-down than your typical Four Seasons-think monochromatic colour schemes and subtle floral patterns. What's not minimalist? The detail-oriented service, from the bellmen who remember your name to the meticulously-eyed housekeepers and the always-on kitchen staff. Breakfast is served until a delightful 11 p.m., and the rest of the room service menu is available 24 hours a day.
Order room service via an in-room tablet at the Four Seasons Downtown - and don't be surprised when breakfast is available almost around the clock. Photo / Four Seasons New York Downtown
Your late-night order: An especially large menu means you can go for the three-course, in-room feast of your dreams. Your starter? A trio of perfectly seasoned crudo (soy yellowfin tuna poke, spicy lobster, and truffle-ponzu hamachi). Then comes a fortifying plate of tagliatelle bolognaise, which the server will finish tableside (or bedside) with a heap of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. And to close, a slice of classic New York cheesecake-cherry topping and all.
The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas
It's known for having some of the best restaurants in all of Vegas-including a Momofuku, Eggslut, and STK-so it would be easy to overlook the Cosmopolitan's in-room dining. But the lures of Sin City nightlife mean you may well come home hungry after all those dining rooms have closed. If you do, you won't feel slighted. A broad menu is available until 6 a.m., with hangover cures and hearty meals alike.
Your late-night order: Transition from a night full of drinking to a morning full of meetings with house-made hummus and warm pita, then detox with a tuna niçoise salad. Or bring the Vegas surf-and-turf buffet into your apartment-size room by ordering a New York Strip sandwich and a pound of steamed crab legs.
