nly the awesome beauty of Sedona, Arizona’s Red Rocks surpasses the attraction of this area for hikers and mountain bikers. So, it’s not surprising that the water bottle in most demand at the Hilton Sedona Resort & Spa is the plastic “sport bottle” that outdoor types request to keep them hydrated in this high and dry climate, explains Joseph Serreyn, food and beverage director for the 219-room resort.

Serreyn adds that guests look for a “recognizable name at a moderate price” and that “price point takes precedence over label.” He has also noticed that consumers’ growing awareness of “being green” impacts sales.

“Guests are more knowledgeable about being green when it comes to water,” says Serreyn. “Shipping and packaging are tied into water. The farther that bottled water is shipped, the less green it is, so local suppliers are more popular. The shopper is more savvy.”

Currently, FIJI Water “sells well” in meeting rooms, according to Serreyn. He plans to test market four different waters in the guestroom refreshment centers and will ultimately select the best sellers for overall hotel usage. Among the offerings will be a bottle bearing the hotel label, a bottle with a higher price point, a flavored water, and a vitamin-infused water.

“I’m curious myself what guests are looking for,” says Serreyn. “Currently, there is no one brand that seems more popular than another.”

At the 241-room Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver, another mecca for the athletically inclined such as skiers and hikers, the movement to bottled water from sodas and sugary beverages has been evident for several years, says Michael Maruca, food and beverage director. Interest in vitamin waters is growing, he notes.

“About once a week we get a request for vitamin-infused water for a refreshment break,” says Maruca. Other top sellers include San Pellegrino and FIJI Water.

SWELL WELL WATER
According to Maruca, because the Brown Palace doesn’t have in-room refreshment centers, the hotel offers four different waters in glass bottles on its 24-hour room service menu: VOSS, FIJI, San Pellegrino, and Evian. The property also boasts a strong following for a glass carafe of the Brown Palace’s signature water—Rocky Mountain spring water that flows from its own 720-foot-deep artesian well and requires no added purifiers. The well has been in operation every day since the hotel first opened for business in 1892.

This signature water is available for sale in a 16-ounce plastic bottle in the recently opened lobby coffee shop that took the place of the gift shop. Guests also find an assortment of other bottled waters for sale, Maruca says.

At the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Director of Catering Jon Reecher says he’s not aware of any special requests for bottled waters other than their “standard set” of offerings, which includes DASANI still, San Pellegrino sparkling, and their signature Greenbrier still. This 802-room resort boasts 100,000 square feet of meeting and event space as well as a self-contained conference center, a barometer of what’s hot with attendees. During the nineteenth century, the hotel’s “restorative mineral water” was one of its drawing cards.

Similarly, the first French Lick Springs Hotel, built in 1845 in French Lick, Indiana, attracted guests to its “miracle” free-flowing mineral water springs. So certain were guests of the power of this “Pluto water” that they supposedly took home jugs and canvas containers of it.

Nearby, West Baden Springs Hotel opened its doors in 1902 because of the “Sprudel” mineral springs and their alleged curative powers.

While “Pluto” and “Sprudel” waters still flow on property, guests can only experience these waters through spa tub treatments. Currently, the water is neither bottled nor available for consumption, according to Greg Poplewko, VP of food and beverage for French Link Resort Casino. Guests can, however, find VOSS sparkling and still water in the restaurants, along with a 12.6- ounce glass bottle of Walnut Grove spring water with its “branded logo sliding lid” from Walnut Grove Spring Water Company in Bloomfield, Indiana.

The biggest sellers at meetings and events are DASANI still and a natural spring water bearing the French Lick logo—both in plastic bottles. Requests for sparkling bottled water are infrequent, Poplewko reports. Likewise, at grab ‘n’ go places, plastic is king, he adds.

After multi-million-dollar renovations and the addition of a 42,000-square-foot casino, the 443-room French Lick Springs Hotel reopened in November 2006, and the 246-room West Baden Springs Hotel opened its doors to guests once again in May 2007.

Susan Bard Hall is a frequent contributor to HOTEL F&B.